Angie Swims

Mid channel to Alcatraz  Round Trip Angel Island (RTAI) A month ago now I was walking out of the water (at about the time I'm starting this post) after swimming 7 hours 50 minutes and 9 seconds in the San Francisco Bay. The course was the famous  Round Trip Angel Island , one of the  Toughest Thirteen  according to MSF. Leading up to this swim I was a nervous wreck. This past summer was especially tough. After a successful, but painful,  Portland Bridge Swim  I had to cancel my planned  Three Islands Waldo Lake  route to focus on stroke work with  Intrepid Water  (more later in this post on my work with Shannon at Intrepid Water) and shoulder recovery. I felt undertrained and like I was still mending when my feet hit the water in Aquatic Park at 3AM on September 23. For all those feelings of trepidation, I made it through- in large part to my crew: Sue Phillips, Wendy "Pepper", Vicky Miller, and Sumner Williams; piloted by Tom "Reptile" ...

Fall swimming is in the air in Portland, but not in the Gorge!  The past two weekends I've made the short trek out to Hood River to swim 5 miles from Mosher to the Best Western in Hood River. It is such a gorgeous swim and the water remains a balmy 68 Fahrenheit while the rivers in Portland continue to cool down to the mid to low 60s.  On both weekends there was a moderate current assist, but the locals insisted "there's not any current right now."  Well, I know my 500 m splits and sub-7 minutes is not  my usual pace in open water. Regardless, the water and scenery are lovely and the company wasn't bad either 😉. The first weekend was a bit rough for me, I hadn't been sleeping well and was feeling burned out from studying. The swim was fine  the scenery was beautiful, but I was tired before I got in and so it was less enjoyable than a swim in the Gorge usually is. BUT! Week 2, wow. It was GREAT. I was better rested, Sue from Corvallis joined us, Brianna came, ...

Golly. I can't believe it was one month ago today that I was in the Willamette for 13 hours and 45 minutes. Whenever I reflect back on that day I am humbled and filled with joy for all the love and support I had on my 25 mile journey down the lower Willamette River.  This morning I went for a swim at Broughton Beach. The conditions were perfect and I smiled the whole time. It reminded me so much of that Saturday a month ago where, at one point I looked around at my friends who were providing paddle support, giggled and shouted, "I feel so loved!"  And the past month, I have completed my first MSF swim (soon to be ratified), presented My capstone research and project, graduated from a 3-year occupational therapy doctorate program, and completed (well...nearly completed, my last day is tomorrow) my final clinical rotation. Needless to say it's been a bit of a hectic month, but I'm still looking towards the future. I'm struggli...

The 2021/2022 morning Yeti crew (minus Matthew) Photo: Susanne Kicking on my back as the sun comes up. Like so many things, the hardest part of ice swimming is getting in. Interestingly, it's not getting out of bed or getting to the water, but literally putting one foot in front of the other until I'm in.  The second hardest part is getting out. Once I'm in and floating on my back, it's like the world disappears and (especially in the dark or during sunrise) I exist only as a small speck in the universe floating in harmony with the world around me, its so cold that my body seems to disappear and everything becomes peaceful and simple. It's centering and meditative. I casually notice small changes in how my body is feeling, I notice them, check if it's normal, and then put it out of my mind. If only I could cultivate this process with thoughts and emotions I would be well on my way to solid meditation practice.  Frosty morning. Frozen bottoms! (Photo: Matthew) Tw...

Post "swim" bliss last Sunday. It's been six weeks since my rotator cuff injury (more on that below) and my recovery is going well. Still not cold swimming but got the go ahead to try some light breaststroke and freestyle in the pool. For now, I'm pretty happy floating on my back in the Columbia. Water temp going between 36-38 f. So, not staying in as long as I would like, especially since I'm not moving much, but pretty happy none the less. It hurts to not be in my final fieldwork/clinical for my OTD, but everything happens for a reason. Maybe there's a bigger purpose to the timing of my injury. Don't fret though! I'm still planning to swim another 24.5 mile Lower Willamette this summer, this time jumping through all the hoops for MSF. I've done a few swims in the pool using fins to push me through the water and, as best I can, passively moving my arm through the catch phase. It's really hard. I am constantly catching myslef (ba d...

It's Halloween. The last day of October and what felt like the first Yeti swim of the season. It's not so much that the water was very cold (it was a balmy 53° f) but it was windy and bouncy.The water was crisp and the wind chilling but after the first 5 minutes all of it felt like heaven. The water there even when cold feels like a massage. Once my neck is in I feel my whole body relax. I know this is opposite of what most people feel when they get into colder water but for me my body seems to say, "Oh we remember this. This is lovely you're going to feel great." There's something particularly special about Broughton Beach and swimming in the morning. It feels like going home after months away even if it's only been two weeks. There's a level of comfort, satisfaction, and acceptance I feel there that I have felt only kayaking on the Middle White Salmon. It was great great swim great familiar feelings of being cold and my body reacting to ...

Theres a lake out there, I promise. It's 5:45 in the morning and I'm waiting for swim friends to join me in the pouring rain and dark. It's Tuesday of the 4th week of my first level 2 field work rotation as an occupational therapy student in Salem Oregon. I've made swimming here my morning ritual for the last month and missing a swim always makes my day at the hospital a little off. I checked my messages at 5:51 no one is coming.  I guess at this point I spend more time swimming alone in conditions I wouldn't recommend other people swim alone in. It's not that I think I'm a better or safer swimmer than others, it's that my soul feels claustrophobic the rest of the day when I don't get my gills wet in the morning. I'm  away from my tribe and rather than feeling lonely on my swims it feels right. Like the solitude of swimming even in a group of people is something that's hard to explain. You're never truly with anyone else in th...

One of the unexpected gifts of 2020 was the growing cold water community. The Pandemic Pod Yetis proudly share (socially distanced of course) Broughton beach with the Ballenas who have organized a fundraiser for Columbia Riverkeeper in March. In the end, the crew raised over $13,000! Just wanted to share that.  columbiariverkeeper.org Note: Totally thought I had already published this little ditty but, whoopsie! It's June 4th. 

Occasionally, I get asked about my swim kit and rewarming practices. I've been pointing folks to www.loneswimmer.com for a while now, but hey, why not actually take the time and write up my own post? So here we go! (If you haven't checked out lone swimmer- do it now! Or after you finish here 😉) A note on the timing of this post: it is late January and the river is pretty chilly at this point, between 42-39, so these are the things and practices I use at ice swimming temperatures (below 41 F/5 C). I use most of these things on warmer swims too, but wanted to speak to the context of this post.  Additionally, I want to preface this by saying that everyone's physiology is different and it's taken me years of trial and error to figure out what works for my body in the conditions I swim in. Depending on the conditions and how my body feels I'll use different combinations of my gear. Things I take into consideration when packing for a swim include: the combined air and w...

Wow! Where to begin December is over and January is halfway through and the holidays have come and gone. This time of the year is always been the toughest for me. So many people find joy and comfort and the holidays and they always make me feel disconnected, mournful, and insufficient. For the last 3 years, cold water swimming is the one thing that gets me through the December/January seasonal depression I've battled since childhood. This year the pandemic has added an extra layer of stress and anxiety particularly in deciding who to socialize/swim with and who not to. It's hard to reconcile risk and the desires of one's heart to be near the people that matter. I am thankful for the Pandemic Pod and the swims we've had. I'll let the photos from the last month or so speak for themselves. ;) Getting in for my first ice km.  Starting at the beginning of December- I very nearly did a thing! I swam just over a km on December 3rd when the water temp was between 40.8 and 4...

Every swim is a special swim, but today even more so! My partner came and paddle boarded with our dog while I swam, socially distanced, with a really good friend.  The water has reached the temperature where my mermaid scales really come out. I used to think that it was pain and discomfort my body felt as I got into cold water but the longer and the more frequently I do it I am more certain that is a sign of transforming into a mermaid. 🧜🏻‍♀️🧜🏻‍♀️🥶 41 minutes 46.7° f in the water and 37° f on land. Right around 1 mi! 😊🥶🏊🏻‍♀️

With a freezing frost warning and the air at 33° f we are distinctly now and Yeti season. It was lovely. I find this year that I warm up easier by walking around or jogging and chugging hot beverage. The only time I've sat in the car to warm up this year I shivered more and my back felt terrible the rest of the day. This checks out, back part at least. Since cold makes muscles contract, essentially I'm giving myself back cramps when I sit down and let the muscles cool too much after a cold swim.  Today my swim lasted roughly 25 minutes (I had to get out to make an appointment) I feel like I could have stayed in longer and I look forward to doing so on Wednesday for my birthday swim. I'm fortunate that my birthday and my best friend's birthday are a day apart. So, whenever I have a birthday swim I'd like to provide treats and make sure she comes. This year it's tater tot casserole! Delicious! I might make some kind of sweet breakfast item too but that...