Blimey now that is rain!
The wind this morning was literally howling and the rain was coming down
in sheets; sheets of very cold lumps of water.
Sometimes the rain can be almost soft and slightly warm; not today!!
I was up at about 6am having had an almost peaceful night
(only a couple of short visits from the kids for a change and they did go back
to their rooms), I even was allowed to sleep in my own bed all night; miracle of
miracles. Having looked out the window
and being barely able to see past the rain I contemplated not going to the
beach today. I thought about the pool
instead, which would have been more sensible, but just didn’t fancy a chlorine
breakfast today; some days you just don’t.
So instead I headed to the beach wondering if I would be the only fool there;
but of course this is Brighton Swimming Club and I am never a fool on my
own. This morning I was one of five; LB,
Mike, Martina and Flick. We headed down
the beach at a jog and by the time we hit the water we were soaked through and
shivering. The sea, being around 8 degrees today, was a warm welcome from the
driving cold rain; now that clearly is madness.
Whilst my four foolhardy friends stayed in the shallows of the shore I
headed out a bit further. The waves were
constant and strong, but the low tide kept it safe; no way we would have gone in otherwise. After swimming about 10 minutes straight out
I looked up and realised I had been dragged all the way to the west out of our
beach and almost to the middle of the next beach along! The tide and drag were probably the strongest
I’ve known in the 2 years I’ve been doing this.
I tried to swim back to my beach but no chance of that so I headed in to
waist deep and tried to walk back.
The drag was so strong that even walking back was completely impossible. So I headed straight to shore then walked
along the beach and climbed over the groin back to my side. Certainly one could say crazy, or foolish or
just ask why; I’ll tell you – not only was it fantastic physical exercise both
in terms of swimming through a powerful sea and walking against the strongest
treadmill you could ever find; but also it really does set you up for the
day. Whilst everyone else is complaining
about the “bad weather” and getting soaked on the way to work; I can take cold
comfort in the fact that by 8am I have already done a days exercise and am
ready for the onslaught of life with a little more of a spring in my step.
Yes, turned out nice again!
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