I was happy to return home last night after a quick business trip involving driving 600+ miles and staying overnight in a place where someone hung themselves. More on that tomorrow. I was eager to jump into our little pool and cool off a bit. The spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak. Instead, I jumped onto our couch for some TV watching.
But this morning, oh, that was going to be a different story. I was up early and ready to swim. I love those cool late summer mornings when steam rises from warmer lakes, ponds, and pools.
The air was a crisp 62F (16.7C) this morning, so I found it odd that I didn’t see that steam rising from our little pool. I wasn’t sure why … until I got in.
Brrrr! I had big plans for a long swim, but I stopped after a quarter mile when my toes started to go numb. After I got out, I checked the water temperature. It registered 67F (19.4C) which is really not ideal swimming temp … unless you’re a penguin.
Or a show-off …
I haven’t been in water that chilly for a while. I had flashbacks to a triathlon I participated in many years ago early in June in Wisconsin. The water temperature in Lake Michigan was a brisk 56F (13.3C), so race management reduced the swim length down to some ridiculously short distance. It didn’t matter. The lifeguards were hauling people into rescue boats all over the place. At that time, I had no body fat. My arms went completely numb. I flipped on my back and frog-kicked to shore as my legs started going numb. Success! I made it. Then I tried to run to the bike transition area, except my arms were like 2 kielbasa sausages hanging from my shoulders as I ran.
You can imagine how easy it was to put my shoes on with dead hands and arms. I needed some sophisticated shoe assistance technology like this …
Or, pure shoe sorcery like this …
Anyway, if the nights stay cool in August, I’m going to have to figure out a way to warm-up the pool. Okay, okay, not this way …
But I can’t guarantee a pee-free pool if this happens while I’m swimming …
Jim Flanigan Looks at the World 