Angie Swims

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! 😊🥶🏊🏻‍♀️

 This was the first, last, and only swim of 2020 that felt like a (fairly) normal Yeti swim. We socially distanced in and out of the water and shared household made their own pods. We had a few one-time editions to the Pandemic Pod, but everyone played by the rules :) It was also a celebration of Amanda's birthday! (Together we are 11/12/13 since I was born on 11/12 and she was on 11/13.) Socially distanced Birthday Pod. This is what much of 2020 felt like.  In a lot of ways, this is the most important swim of 2020 for me. The people that matter were there, including my beau Matty. He rarely comes to my swims but brought the dogs and paddle boarded. We inducted a new Yeti into the pod according to tradition, with a Yeti hat! It's exciting to see someone hesitantly approach cold water and embrace it. Most years we have several people that join the group, but this year just the one. She was already showing up and swimming at the same time as us, so it made sense to invite her to...

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...

The last two weeks I have pushed myself in cold water more than I have in previous years at this time. I've swam an hour at 53° f 52° f and 50.5° f. The first two swims felt really good I got out and took very little time to warm up maybe 20-25 minutes. Yesterday, and the excitement to get in I broke one of my own rules of Cold water swimming: checking the temperature before getting in to make a plan. I had approached yesterday with the intention of swimming for an hour and 15 to 20 minutes. I felt like this was a reasonable goal since I had been swimming reliably for just over an hour at 52 and 53. What I didn't count on was the water dropping in temperature as much as it did. It might not seem like it, but a degree and a half is a lot especially when the air temperature had also dropped substantially and was now in the mid-40s rather than the mid-50s. It was also pouring down rain overcast and windy. After what felt like 20 minutes I looked at my watch and only eight minutes ...