adrian is rad

Yesterday was the second time I swam in Aquatic Park in San Francisco. Aquatic Park is an area of the Bay that is protected by two piers, so you get all the coldness without any of the ship traffic or crazy currents.

I’m getting ready for a swim from Alcatraz in just under a month. The best preparation for swimming in that cold water is to swim in similarly cold water. Aquatic Park was probably about 58 or 60 degrees.

I knew what to expect this time and I still went into panic breathing when I went underwater. Once I forced myself to put my head in the water again and start swimming, I relaxed.

I did probably a mile and it didn’t feel too bad. I mean, it was cold, that’s for certain, but it wasn’t painfully cold after about the first five minutes. My injured elbow did nag a bit and I’m a bit worried about it, but I think it’ll be okay.

I was wearing a Barracude Hot Head neoprene hood and I had in silicone ear plug, which did help with the coldness. I figure I should be okay to swim without a wetsuit.

At this point, I’m going to start swimming a mile twice a week, one in Aquatic Park and one in the pool down here and probably two shorter work outs a week of kicking and whatnot to still get in the water but to not overwork my elbow. My previous regiment was 3 half-mile swims a week.