Beach Freak

June 9, 2024

Wind: from S 4.2 m/sec (9 mph);Air Temperature: 18.6 °C (65 °F); Water Temperature: 17.48 °C (63 °F)

Today at the lake it was overcast, warm but not hot, breezy. 

As I walked to the beach I noticed a few people with a table and huge jars of some colored drinks. They were selling tamales and drinks. Brilliant idea. And I’m sure the park will shut them down asap. 

The beach wasn’t too crowded due to the later hour, but there were still a few kids in the water and several families spread out across the grass, sitting and talking on their towels. 

I was wearing my new wetsuit for the first time, so I was a tiny bit on edge about that. Not stressed, but I was trying to get it on without tearing the Yamamoto rubber. The wetsuit comes with little white gloves that are supposed to help with preventing tears, so I used them (knowing I’ll ditch them or lose one of them in the very near future.). My impulse is usually to dive in and deal with the mistakes later, but I want to avoid the dozens of tears I got in my last new suit. 

The suit fit pretty good, except for in the arms. I wear a men’s suit, so going up a size means larger sleeves and my forearms are the thinnest part of me. I wasn’t too worried because the legs and torso fit close to my skin. My arms are the least of my worries when I’m swimming. If my body, head, and hands are warm, I’m good. 

It’s been a couple weeks since my last swim, so I forget my slippers that help me get in and out of the water. I hate those slimy rocks. I couldn’t get my socks on all the way because it’s not good to sit in a wetsuit (it puts pressure on the zipper), so I didn’t want to sit for more than a quick second. I didn’t care. My feet usually warm up after I’m in the water for a few minutes. 

When I entered the water a little boy who was in teh shallow area said hi to me. I love that. Friendliness! So we chatted a bit about the water temperature, and he assured me that he was plenty warm. I thought the water felt quite cold. 

I pressed off and swam into the deeper water. It was clear today so I could see the rocks on the lake floor. There were little inch-long fish darting about. As soon as I reached deeper water the underwater scene dramatically changed into a wild, wooly milfoil forest. But a crazy, overgrown, menacing forest. I don’t think a single milfoil died over the winter. I cold’t believe how long the stalks were. Long, windy, reaching. I couldn’t see the bottom of the lake, just thousands of stalks, all bent over and undulating with the waves. A little creepy. A little interesting. I was too tired and too out of shape to worry about them, but as I swam over them I couldn’t help but notice how tall the stalks are.  

The view is fascinating from above. It feels like I’m peeking in on another community, eco system, world, and I guess I am. The plants grow and move. The little fish have their own things to do. All of these things interact and have full lives with no regard to me or my friends or anyone else on the beach or anywhere else. 

I can’t imagine how much this observation will hit me when I get up the nerve to swim in the sea this summer. I think it will be more colorful, and I’m sure there will be creatures that scare the crap out of me. Today the biggest thing I saw in the water was a fish about eight inches long. 

I swam around the cement dock, then swam south until I reached the end of the swim area. I’ve been swimming here for so long that I can tell from the large rocks and other lake floor landmarks where I am. 

After two weeks out of the water it felt comforting to be in the water. The cool temperature was refreshing, and the movement helped me get out of my head. I tried to swim crawl for most of the swim, but I took breaks and swam breast stroke when I got too tired. 

The new wetsuit felt very nice. I can really tell the difference in the shoulders. This suit is stretchier than my old suit, and it allows me more range of motion and freedom of movement for both crawl and breast stroke. I love my old suit, and I highly recommend it, but after four yeas the neoprene is getting stiff, which leads to chafing. I am so attached to it, though, because it was my first wetsuit and because a friend from college send it to me when I first started swimming in the lake. Eternal gratitude that she thought of me and took the time to package it up and send it. Not sure if I would have kept swimming at the end of that summer without that gift. 

One thing about the new wetsuit that isn’t ideal: it’s snug through the torso vertically. I have the longest torso ever, and I wish I had another inch or more in this one. Maybe I will see if I can get myself deeper into it next time, make sure the crotch of the suit is up where it should be and snug. Maybe I can find that inch. 

I ended up doing two laps around the cement dock, then floating on my back for several minutes. It’s hard to keep my eyes open when I float because it’s so relaxing, but I know if I shut my eyes I would fall asleep in the water. That’s the weird thing about my health. I’m always struggling against some level of fatigue. I can push it out with the shock of cold water, with caffeine, with adrenaline, but at any moment I feel like I could fall asleep if I shut my eyes, except for when I’m in bed at night. Then nothing works. 

I wanted to swim more, but I could feel my energy draining. Better to get out before I’m overtired. The hot shower felt great, and I took the time to rinse off alloy gear and pack it into my tow float. 

Then I walked over the picnic tables to rest. There were two women in black headdresses. They looked very elegant. One of them had a t-shirt with “beach freak” written on the back. The contrast made me smile and approach the woman. We chatted about the park, then her two little girls arrived just as a mother duck and her little fuzzy ducklings approached the picnic area, looking for food. The mother told her girls not to feed the ducks Taki’s. 

The ducks are so bold because they’re used to people, but I’m sure the mother duck would attack if she felt threatened. 

Really happy that I made it to the lake today. I’m trying to enjoy all the people at the park this summer instead of feeling like they are invading my space. It’s summer. Gotta lighten up and get into beach freak mode!