Angie Swims

My swim this morning really started last night. I went to bed at 8:30 it was fantastic! I can't believe how well I slept and I was able to sleep all the way to my alarm at 5:30. An hour after getting up I was in the water. Which is no small feat considering it was 33° outside, dark, and windy. It was one of those mornings where it was easy to get in the water quickly because at 54° the water  was substantially warmer than the air. Knowing that it wasy first swim of cold water season with combined air/water temperatures below 100° I gave myself a limit of 30 minutes. The water was so much warmer than the air that it was hard to get out! Well, that and dawn was just beginning to break. There is something ethereal about swimming in the darkness especially when the sun starts to creep over the horizon and the fog rolls in on the water and the sky is just a pale enough blue to tell which direction the shore is in. Swimming into the dawn might be my favorite. And

 Waking up the air in my house felt crisper than it has all fall. I was so close to turning off my alarm, grabbing my 9lb dog, and throwing the covers back over both of us- but I didn't. I got up in the dark, put on my suit, and turned on the electric kettle. I couldn't find my favorite fuzzy pants. Bummer. Thanks to COVID I now have quite the selection of pajama pants, so finding a pair wasn't that hard. While putting on a fleece shirt I paused. Is today the day? Is it Dry Robe day? Yes. Yes, it is.  Stepping outside I could see my breath hanging in the air. In the car, the thermometer read 45*F. Substantially cooler than Wednesday's 57. The NOAA forecast shows the water just below 58 at 7 am. ( https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/ofs/ofs_station.shtml?stname=Vancouver&ofs=cre&stnid=9440083&subdomain=up )  Paying attention to the air and water temperatures is crucial as the fall progresses into winter because these can change rapidly and swimming when the com

It's almost my favorite time of the year, winter swim season! The beaches and water clear out, and each swim feels like an epic adventure. With COVID, there won't be back seat car saunas cuddles with treats and tea, but there will still be seeing friends and shivering on the beach. This might be the year that we all take a page out of Laura's book and sit on the beach drinking tea and shivering for an hour before heading home. We might emerge stronger than ever. Already this fall, we've had some colder days pouring down rain, making the water warmer than the air. This fall's most excellent development is weekly morning swims at 7 am Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Thanks to those swims, I've spent time swimming with folks I didn't see all summer and conquered (well mostly conquered) my fear of water plants and started to make friends with the local minnow population. Thanks, Ice Wolf for the photos to prove it! Today is the day! First Broughton Beach s

A month ago, I did a thing. I swam from Sellwood to Saint John's with my friend Swim-emma. It took six hours and is my longest swim to date and only made me hungry for more. I thought I would be hungry when I got out, but I wasn't for several hours. I thought I would drop like a stone and sleep for hours; I couldn't get to sleep that night. I thought I would feel uber proud of myself; instead, I feel humbled. While this is a huge accomplishment, it feels like the beginning of something rather than an end. Dreams of future longer swims tug at the back of my mind as I go about my day.  Looking ahead, I know that as I complete my last two years of graduate school, my opportunities to get in the water will only get fewer in number, but this is not the time in my life to focus on swims. This is a time in my life to use them for renewal and affirmation. Swimming will have to take on a different role in my life. Last week, in school, we read about Matuska's Life Ba