12 Second Swim

I logged a 12 second swim in my training journal on Sunday. My neighbor Bob opened his pool, and I got the call, as per tradition, to Christen it. Here in Central PA, an April opening always means chilly water temperatures. This year's late season cold snap means it was even more so. So I donned my suit, grabbed my towel and walked over, knowing it was probably going to be a little extra chilly. I took a look at the pool. It just looked cold.


"Ummmm. Bob. What's the temperature in there?"
"45."
"Fahrenheit?"
"Yeah."
"Okay."

Mrs. Fish came over to witness the event/carnage and asked, "How cold is it?"
"Oh-my-GOD degrees," I said.
"Seriously," she asked.
I replied, "I was being serious....It's 46."
"Fahrenheit?"
"Yeah."
"Oh My GOD."



The bad thing is that part of the tradition is for a third neighbor, Joe, to come over and jump in with us. Joe was late, which gave Bob and me time to sit and think about it. And dip our toes in. And examine the bluish tinge they took on. Eventually, Joe showed up, much to the joy of my daughter, and he brought a shot of liquid courage, much to the joy of Bob and me.


Bottoms Up!


Another good shot of Little Fish, jumping in. She was amused by the whole thing, most specifically the stupidity of boys. This event never fails to confirm her suspicions about said stupidity.


I checked the water temperature again. It had warmed up to 46!
One....

Two...

You'll have to take my word for three. Mrs. Fish didn't snap any pictures of us hitting the water or swimming back and forth across the pool. I think she was trying to locate the skimming net, in case she needed to fish one of our carcasses out of the ice bowl. I'm pretty sure it was one of my faster splits, and getting out of the pool, the first thing I mentioned was the temperature of the water: OH MY GOD!


Still, a good time was had by all, nobody died, and we had a couple of shots, so everyone retired a winner. Good day. See you again next April.