About Last Week in La Jolla...

La Jolla Shores from the water, 3.23.23.
Not the nicest conditions, but great training! 

This winter I'd blocked time to zip down to San Diego and complete an English Channel relay qualifier with Dan Simonelli (Open Water Swim Academy). Initially I was on a 2023 relay but excused myself after this qualifier had been arranged, but I decided to keep the CA date. I figured if nothing else this is always a nice way to set the tone for early-season training ahead. Then, swim buddy Mary S. checked in on 2024 dates and secured an early-season relay on SUVA--16 months out from now. She is swimming a solo in 2025, and a relay is always a nice appetizer to the main course. For EC, I'm only interested as an appetizer! The hope is now we can build a Vashon team, but it's a tough sell. Mary R. was intrigued at the notion and decided she and Mary S. would come down with me and knock out a qualifier this year (They are good for 18 months, so why not?).

Initially, Becky my fall tandem buddy was also part of this plan, but a family medical emergency kept her back, understandably. We booked an AirBnb in La Jolla, within easy walking distance to the shores--site of the qual swim. We filed in Weds on different flights, got a few provisions from the market, and met Dan the next morning at 7:15a. Okay, so booking this qualifier an entire month later than I've done it in 2021 and 2022 was with the notion that I could eke out two or three more ocean degrees for a warmer swim; WRONG! 

The turbulent CA storms and currents churned the sea into a cooler-than-usual refrigeration unit. And sunshine was nowhere to be found. The water was 56-57f. Wind, rain squalls, chop, disorganized lumpy surf awaited us. No wetsuits allowed. No swim buoys allowed. Pacific NW swimmers don't half-step. This was the hand we were dealt and we were going to do it. SUVA is a CSPF boat (sanctioning org), so qualifications mean 90 minutes of swimming on leg 1, a break of 60-90 mins, and another 60 minutes of swimming leg 2. This is done presumably to test your mettle on the repeat rotation. The qual used to be a straight 2 hours. It's more challenging this way I will attest. The three of us all did a back-n-forth "line" (well, kinda) from the Shores toward the caves of the Cove. Being half blind and in rough water where seeing anything required a good pop up or just treading water looking from the peak of a swell, I overshot my 90-minutes swim a tad. I never saw Dan or the other swimmers heading to shore. The sound of the sea and wind made it impossible to hear. Tardy for the party!
We were cold. That sidewalk: also cold.

Straggling in, Dan waited patiently. "Overachiever," he joked. My brother Kris (who lives in SD) was on shore with a fluffy, white oversize towel, enveloping me in it as I staggered to shelter; he headed off to an appointment but a towel never felt so good. Thankfully Dan welcomed us into his heated car for the break. We were all four cold, wet messes. I did a deck change in the passenger seat when Dan excused himself to the loo. I think we all did. Heavy rain pelted on the windshield. Mary R had a moment where she questioned doing the 2nd leg but she fortunately changed her mind. The break ended much too quickly for my liking. It was time to reenter. 

Those first few minutes felt wholly unnatural - such a cold. The rains that restarted brought a muddy rush of water through a culvert into the waters. It turned the sea brackish in parts. But...we got dolphins between us and the shore and Dan took pix and video. They kept us company most of the second hour and that made it all worthwhile!

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