With the end of Polar Bear drawing near, every swim counts. "Every swim counts" that was my waking thought this morning at 4:55. I woke up 10 minutes before my alarm and headed out for the club. I arrived earlier than usual. The club was dark and quiet. I decided to swim solo for a while with an eye for my friends on the beach.
As I toed the freezing cold water I almost lost my nerve. After two week of sunrise swimming, the daylight savings time change put me squarely back into the night. Every swim counts. I took off across the beach and spied the white spray of a swimmer up ahead. Thank god, another swimmer. I swam after him or her until I reached the end of the beach and realized the white spray was the waves crashing against the dark rocks ahead. My apparition companion swimmer had vanished and I was alone in the dark.
As I made my way back to the beach I saw two swimmers heading out to sea. I followed then for a while and recognized them as Sunny and Mark. I tagged along uninvited for a while before accidentally bumping Mark's foot. Even through the dark and my misty goggles, his face clearly registered fear and aggression. After he realized I was not a shark we laughed and parted ways.
As I turned back toward the club, I could see the 6 am group making their way into the water. I felt like the lone dog at the dog park playing with whichever dog showed up that day. I swam hard to catch up with the usual suspects and we circled the cove together. As the sky started to warm, a few folks headed in. Jason, Ted and I swam once more across the beach before returning to the club. Total swim time 1:05, distance 2 miles. 6.25 miles to go and every swim counts!
