Yeah, I hate ’em. I swam with a wetsuit for the first time this weekend, and I just couldn’t handle it – not only did I feel like I was being strangled around my neck, but I felt like someone was grabbing my legs and holding them still… no good, no good at all. And I took it off and was fine in the water, even in June in Lake Washington, so the idea that I’d need one to stay warm is just silly, I think.
But that’s not to say open water swimming was a piece of cake. Nope, it was pretty freaky-deaky. Not only was it hella hard to swim against even the slightest choppy waves, but I found I couldn’t really get by without my cap and goggles – sort of a security blanket more than anything, I think. So I put them on. And then I could see ALL the creepy little fishies underneath me, and I could see the creepy long weeds that reached right up to the surface, and I could see my arms and legs swipe through the mucky weeds and stir up all the algae around me and ….. yeeeech. I always LOVED swimming with fishies and froggies and whatnot when I was a kid… I was most comfortable in lakes and rivers and oceans, and not so much pools… so what happened? Why am I now creeped out by sharing my swimming spot with other life forms? Why do I miss that long blue T at the bottom guiding me along? Why is a natural body of water suddenly DISGUSTING?
Eh, you learn something new about yourself every day. Next thing you know I’ll be driving a Hummer.