Yes, friends, I'm chomping at the bit to get out in the open water. Yes, I know it's only February.
But I figure that in the interests of not getting my fool self killed come spring, having an idea of the temperatures I'll be swimming in might be a good idea. I'll know how far I should be swimming out into the lake at any given time.
No, that it's a rubber ducky with nifty shades has nothing to do with it. I stoutly deny it. I need cold, calculating measurements to plan my training. You can believe me because I have my serious face on.
I'm a lot more concerned about cold for this year's swims. In other chilly water swims I've done. I've been able to wade into the water and get acclimated or (in the case of the one where I just had to jump in) the water was above 65F, so that's not too intimidating.
This August, I'll be jumping off a ferry into the San Francisco bay -- water that is colder than the Official Swims I did last year (though warmer than my early training swims). I'm too intimately acquainted with the negative effects of the shock of cold water not to take it seriously.*
Sorry, this post was supposed to be all light-hearted and goofy about the rubber ducky thermometer. But in all honesty, Quackers McShadez might be cute, but he's still kind of a serious training partner.
* Lost a dear family friend several years ago to a kayak accident in early spring.
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