Sunday, January 19, 2020

Cold water swimming is like hitting a hard reboot on my mindset. It must be instinctive, or biological, to have overwhelming feelings of peace and safety after coming out if mild hypothermia. But I feel like those feelings have as much to do with being outside with friends. Today it was sunny and windy, but no so windy as to cause the sand to sting my calves getting out of the water. From the map it looks like I went for a walk and dipped my toes in the river, but in fact the river was super high! Not only was it high tide, but we've been having king tides this winter and they seem to be making an impact on the Columbia. The water was super cloudy and at one point my wrist dragged across rocks that I'm only used to seeing several yards away from the water line. I didn't have my usual bottom landmarks to gauge distance off of, the tire and car door indicate 100ish yards and 300is yards from entry point respectively. Now that I'm thinking about it, it would be a real bummer if those landmarks get moved by the high river volume and strong tides. Huh. Never thought I would miss river trash. 
Swim time today: 9:27
Water temperature: 41ish
Air temperature: 50
Distance: 551 yards

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