Frozen Face

(Picture below-one recent early morning at T&L's for a swim/bike/run. Only part of the group regularily invloved in the craziness.)
Open water swim can mean a few different waters in which you submerse yourself for triathlon training. Just as long as it's not a pool.

Last year we started at local town beaches. Salt water. The water was cold, but I got away with a cheapie shorty short wetsuit and managed
fine. Then again, I wasn't really swimming last year but doggie paddling with some freestyle mixed in to feel like I looked like a swimmer. I was wearing a cap and goggles, I thought an arm-over-arm motion would help with the appearance of me in the water. A real swimmer.

We tried a few lake/fresh water swims, one that I almost drowned in, and we even went into classic Old Saybrook waters - where the Connecticut River meets Long Island Sound. My friend Gini has a dock that we would jump off of and brave the current just to get some "open water" swim time in.

All the waters I swam in last year were doable in terms of temperature.

Today, Amy was determined to get in the salt water, Long Island Sound, in preparation of The Providence Triathlon she and a few others are competeing in next weekend. The swim in Narragansset Bay is going to be chilly!! So what better idea than to hop in our town beach and swim.

FREEZING.

That water was not even 60 degrees, I am sure of it!! I was just there yesterday enjoying some much welcmed sunshine with my 6 little people and they were all in the water! With no wetsuits!! Today, some of us walked probably 1/8 of a mile or swam with our faces OUT of the water for some time. My hands, my arms (I wear a sleeveless wetsuit) and my feet were numb! Frozen. The water itself was clean.... no jellies. I didn't bump into any fishies or sharks. Bonus. But when we reached the half mile point, we stopped to chit chat about .... the cold water. Amy tried to tell us something but it was like her face was injected with novacain! It barely moved when she spoke!! My face felt like I had had a face lift.

It'll get better, but I'm not sure how much I look forward to the next beach swim.

Who does this stuff? Who gets up 4:30 am to be in the water, freezing cold water, at 5am and swim. Who??