Bloody Hell it's Cold in Here!

Monday night after work, we headed out for our first open-water swim.

We are down to mere days before the Welland triathlon and I really wanted to get in to open water to make sure I still knew what to do and how to do it.

I had delayed as long as possible in the hopes that the water would warm up but it just hasn't been hot and sunny enough this year to make much of a difference.

We got there and walked to the edge of the dock. A guy was standing there with his wetsuit.

"How's the water?" I asked.

"Much nicer now" he replied.

"Nice enough to swim without a wetsuit?" I asked.

"Not that nice" he said with a shudder.

Great.

I sat on the edge of the dock and dangled one foot in. Yikes! Not a good idea.

I stood back up again. This was not the kind of water temperature that one should ease themselves into. It was the kind that you had to commit 100% and dive in. So I did.

And my last thought before hitting the water was: I wonder if it's too cold for my pump?

My first thought once I hit the water was: bloody hell, it's too cold for me!

I popped up, swore, and started swimming. My breath was gaspy as my lungs shivered so I switched to the breast stroke until things calmed down. Within a minute, I was fine. Within two, I decided that the water temperate was just fine, thank you very much, and I swam a few hundred practice metres.

I practiced breathing, I practiced sighting. In no time I remembered how very much I love open water swimming.

On the way back I passed four swimmers heading out. They were all in their wetsuits.

No thanks.

I love the freedom of a bathing suit and the refreshing feel of the water.

Saturday, here I come!