tldr

Date: December 16th
Time in water: 11:22
Water Temp: 42-44°F
Air Temp: 47°F, sprinkling
Where: Milwaukie boat ramp

Not much of note to report here; I wish I would have gone a few more minutes, but I was back at the start and it’s so hard to make myself go out again, both because it’s quite easy to end up swimming an extra 2 or 3 minutes further then you want, which can lead to a rough recovery, and because my body is telling me to get the eff out of the water. I was just starting to get the knives-in-armpits sensation, which I could have handled for a few more minutes. But better safe then sorry, so I had a smooth recovery in the mobile sauna.

Date: December 11th
Time in water: 10:50
Water Temp: 42°F
Air Temp: 50°F, raining, windy
Where: Broughton Beach

I sat at my desk at home, watching the rain hit in sheets on my window, and I checked every once in a while for an email or text saying the swim was off. Nothing. Well, this crowd is nothing if not tough, but we’ll see, I thought.

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Date: December 9th
Time in water: 10:06
Water Temp: 39-40°F
Air Temp: 39°F, raining
Where: Milwaukie Boat ramp

Thank god for pop up tents. The rain had only just started when we arrived at 10:30am and began setting up the tent. We basically set up a living room, as the tent was fully enclosed; I brought chairs, we had a tarp, it was quite the cozy set up. As such, we decided to just stay in the tent post-swim rather then warming up in the mobile sauna (aka someone’s car with the heat on full blast). I was a little nervous about that, but I could always go into the car if needed.

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Date: December 1st
Time in water: 13:56
Water Temp: 45-46°F
Air Temp: 46°F
Where: Broughton Beach

Normally we swim mid-morning, but this day was a bit different, we met at the beach at 3pm. This was most people’s first time here, and I was happy to show it off. I always thought it was the perfect beach for cold water swims with its long, visible beach with a gradual entry, and clearly defined boundaries in the water that keep the boats out. It doesn’t hurt that it’s much closer to my house.

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Date: November 25th
Time in water: 16:32
Water Temp: 44°F
Air Temp: 39-41°F
Where: Milwaukie boat ramp

I was thinking about just paddling instead of swimming all morning long, but finally I got my butt in gear and left the house sans paddle board. The fog was thick again, but wasn’t nearly as bad in Milkwaukie, but the wind was picking up slightly. There were 8 swimmers, we milled around for a while, I tried to decide between 15 or 20 minutes. I decided to shoot for 20 but wouldn’t be sad with 15. Getting in was easy once my lower half was numb; I really have to concentrate on my breathing for the first 3 minutes. Long slow breaths, focusing on the exhale to prevent hyperventilating.

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Date: November 24th
Time in water: 23:55
Water Temp: 43/44°F
Air Temp: 39-42°F**
Where: **Milwaukie boat ramp

The fog was thick in North Portland, and I prayed for clearing the whole way down. No luck. When I walked down the boat ramp, Anita’s car sat idling, half on the beach, half on the ramp. Cindy’s face poked out the window and beckoned me inside.

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