I waded into the bay Sunday afternoon with the goal of swimming 100 minutes. I had a really off day. My swim stroke was a mess. I wasn’t feeling very good. There was a bug going around the office last week and I was sure I had contracted it. The water was 50 degrees (a couple of degrees colder than normal) and the wind was whipping.
At 80 minutes, I was done. At this point in the swim, I couldn’t have imagined swimming another 20 minutes. Cold and tired, I headed in to the warmth of the club. One lesson I learned during Ironman training is to let tough days like this go. . Some days are good. Some are bad. It is just training.
Now for the fun part of the story. . .
I stopped at the opening of Aquatic Park to admire the bridge and wave to some tourist. As I turned to head back toward the shore, I heard a faint but distinct high pitched screech underwater. I pulled up immediately and scanned the surface of the water. Nothing. I quietly treaded for a bit and removed one ear plug. I then slipped under the water and listened. The high pitched screech rang out again, louder, clear as day! Again, I scanned the surface and saw nothing. I was certain it was a whale, but at the same time I knew it couldn’t be a whale. The thought spooked me and I sprinted back toward the beach.
Later, on the beach, I ran into a woman who was a member of the South End Rowing Club. She said SERC held an Alcatraz swim event the previous day and during the boat ride out to Alcatraz they saw a baby whale that had apparently gotten lost and swam into bay.
