Saturday's Swim Up the Coast

On Saturday morning I met up with Dave and the dedicated paddle crew of Brian, Scott and Doctor Jack for a swim up the Pacific Coast. We started the swim at Corona Del Mar, swam north for 2 hours past the Newport Harbor breakwater, Balboa pier, Newport Pier, and then the next 2 breakwaters and put into shore after 4.5 miles. The water temperatures were in the low 60s, a few degrees colder than our southbound swim a few weeks ago.

Click to view the video of our swim past Balboa Pier

I felt pretty good until the Newport Pier, then my stroke started breaking down. It was tough keeping it together for the next 1/2 mile. Though the water temps weren't an issue and I felt like I had several hours in me still, I know my pace was dropping off significantly. These last 2 long swims have made glaringly clear my training needs for the next couple of months: weight training and stoke improvement.

Afterwards we made plans for training for the next 2 and half months. We are looking forward to spending a bit of time in the Pacific this summer.

Thanks to Brian "D-Fro" DeFrancesco for taking the picts!