My tired and achy shoulders told me to take a day off from swimming on Monday, but I was back at it full force thereafter. It was an interesting week since I found a foreign object in the middle of the ocean. That made things exciting and interesting. The water is warming up, the air is feeling like summer time, and I'm feeling faster and stronger.
Workouts for the Week of May 25 - 31, 2020
Monday, May 25
I thought about heading out to the beach early today to beat the holiday crowds and get a swim in, just because I could. But, I decided to take a day off swimming since my shoulders were talking to me.
I did a run instead. It was rather warm, but the run was good and I'm feeling stronger and faster.
Total Distance: 3.3 miles
Total Time: 38 minutes, 20 seconds
Tuesday, May 26
The water felt warmer today and the conditions were glassy with an incoming tide. I decided to do a long swim. Heading over to buoy 4, the water just kept getting warmer and warmer. I would say it was 2-3 degrees warmer out there, possibly 57F or 58F. The rest of the swim was 55F - 56F. After buoy 4, I head to the end of the Avila Beach Pier, where I bumped into Tom and said hi. Then I head to the Cal Poly Pier. The trip over went faster than typical and I wondered if the tide was more slack than I thought.
The trek to the end of the Cal Poly Pier ended abruptly when I saw a seal breech and play around at the very end of the pier. I decided that the last 30 yards weren't worth it. So, I head across the expanse to the Avila Beach Pier. Within 200 yards I spotted a foreign object. I decided to swim over and investigate. I was nervous it was something I didn't want to find, but it was actually just a sad, deflated, abandoned raft. So, I added some air and attached it to my flotilla so I could haul it to shore.
Once at the end of the Avila Pier, I decided to get some more distance so I head to the creek mouth (around the parked sailboat). I had expected warmer water over there, but it really wasn't any different. So, me and my tag-along raft head back along the buoy line to the pier and then in. The raft was retired to a trash can, since it was half filled with water by the time I beached.
Wednesday, May 27
I logged onto Surfline to scope out the beach and the fog was low and thick. My schedule wasn't adaptable enough today to allow me to swim at a different time, so I went for a run.
Total Distance: 3.3 miles
Total Time: 35 minutes, 49 seconds
Thursday, May 28
This was going to be my impossible-to-squeeze-in-a-workout day. Alas, I had a meeting where I was a passive listener, so I pulled out my bike and put in an hour on the trainer. The meeting ended up being a great meeting, so I was glad I was in it. And I was especially glad to get in a workout.
Friday - Sunday, May 29 - 31
Last minute, I decided to head into the mountains for some camping. There are several camping restrictions in place, though I know of numerous very secluded and sparsely visited areas on public lands. With the cool weather forecast for the weekend, I jumped on the opportunity to get away for a few days. When the weather is too warm, the area is swarmed by face flies, biting flies, and mosquitoes.
I got into the mountains by noon and starting finding my way to my favorite spots. Unfortunately, one of the links on my sway bar lost its bolts and my truck was somewhat crippled. I quite literally tied the link back in place with Velcro and hobbled over to a nearby friend's house. We effectuated the repair with a replacement part, and I resumed my adventure the next morning.
I had rain the first day and spent a lot of time in my hammock. Since the trees weren't close enough together, I used a tie down from my truck to bridge the gap. It was a little precarious since I hung it directly above poison oak. When it wasn't raining, I explored and wandered around. It was perfectly relaxing.
Totals for the Week
Swim Distance: 3,544 yards
Swim Time: 1 hour, 8 minutes
Run Distance: 9.6 miles
Run Time: 1 hour, 51 minutes
Bike Trainer Time: 1 hour
It wasn't a very swim-intensive week. I did have a great week regardless.