Body Image and Bathing Suits

I've posted a lot of photos of myself in a swimsuit or wetsuit here on this blog.

So you probably all have a sense of what I look like. One of the things that swimming, and this blog, (and possibly being in my 40's and maybe having a good F-off Fairy) have done for me is given me an "I don't care" attitude about being photographed in my bathing suit.

I look at these photos and generally think "that was a great swim".  I'm focused on how much swimming helps me love my body. When I saw this meme, I thought "YES, that's it!!"

When I swim I remember who I am.  I get to absolute pleasure of feeling the power of my body move me through the water. I get the playful feeling of buoyancy lifting me off the ground. I get to be an orca.  I get the feel of the water on my skin. I get to sense the changes in temperature, in wave motion, in smell. Swimming helps me love my body and all it can do.

During a recent group swim, I heard one of the other swimmers refuse to be photographed in her bathing suit without a cover-up.  This made me sad.  Swimming is about celebrating my body.  Rejoicing in its strength. Enjoying the sensuality of the water.  Any photo taken just documents that joyful experience. Nothing could make me happier.

Rules of the water

Seattle has been under Viadoom 2016 for the last two weeks.  The Alaska Way Viaduct was closed as Bertha, the resident tunneling machine, dug her way underneath.  This created traffic chaos, and therefore a spin off group of the Notorious Alki Swimmers.  5 of us met at the usually meet up time this weekend, but at a different beach-- Golden Gardens.  This north end beach allowed us to not have to travel the viaduct to Alki and to still get in an open water swim.

However.  It was boating opening day.  So as we pulled up to Golden Gardens, we were greeted with probably 200 sailboats parked just off shore, luffing.  Our swim started around 9:30, and at precisely 10am, they all tacked and started to sail away.

Except there was no wind.  And there were TONS of boats in a very small area.  So some of them tacked toward the beach.  One of them came withing about three strokes of me.  The captian waved at me, so I know he saw me.  But it still made me uncomfortable.

Since boating season is now officially open, and swim season lasts all year, this is a good time to review the rules of the water.

Seattle Parks website outlines the rules for open water swimming as follows:

SMC 16.28.010 indicates that swimming is prohibited except:

1. in designated swimming areas
   
2. within 50 feet from shore, unless the swimmer is accompanied by a boat that is designed for both swimmer and boater, is within 25 feet of the swimmer and have lifejackets for all persons on the water

SMC 18.12.180 states that watercraft cannot operate within 75 feet of a swimming beach, and powered watercraft cannot operate within 300 feet of a swimming beach.

75 feet of a swim beach. This sailboat was MUCH MUCH closer.  I could not have been more than 20 feet out, as the line of sailboats was probably less than 75 feet out. 

I looked for further information to make sure I was in the clear.  Seattle Police list the following information about swimming:

RULES FOR SWIMMING

Swimming (SMC 16.28.010)

Swimming in all the navigational waters of Seattle shall be prohibited except:

• A: In designated swimming areas; or
• B: Within 50ft from shore or a pier; or
• C: Within 25ft of a vessel

Swimming is prohibited in:

• Government Locks
• Montlake Cut
• Fremont Cut
• Under any bridge
• Within the confines of any guide wall
• Within 300 feet of a ferry slip
• Within 300 feet of a boat launch ramp

So basically, I was in the clear.  The sailboat was in the wrong.  However, being right is not helpful if you've been hit by a boat.  I will continue to practice defensive swimming-- wearing bright colors, keeping aware of boat traffic in the area, doing my best to make eye contact with the boaters, etc.

There were at least three times as many by the time we swam!

Pool swimming

I swam in a pool today for the first time in months (possibly years).  I did laps for half an hour. It felt great.  But I also had totally forgotten what it feels like to swim in still water.  It is so easy.  With a stripe on the bottom to guide, the effort is simple.  I was able to just take pleasure in the motion of my body through water.

When I swim in the Sound, I wear neoprene gloves to keep my hands warm.  The ones I have are webbed, like this:

I kept forgetting, as I swam without, to cup my hands instead of spreading my fingers. I hadn't realized how automatic using the webbing had become.  Now that the weather is getting warmer, perhaps I'll have to leave the gloves behind a bit more.

Auditions to swim with me

The University of Washington Cheerleaders posted a "Do's and Dont's" list for how to become a cheerleader:

It is really offensive, for a lot of reasons.  But I thought it would be helpful to make one for the Notorious Alki Swimmers.  Want to join us?  Here's your list of Do's!!

Sea Lions- they don't actually "attack" humans

I love marine mammals. Orcas are just about the coolest animals on the planet, and I love watching them an learning about them.  Sea lions are up there among the cool. I've spent hours at both Pier 39 in San Francisco and on a beach near San Luis Obispo talking to the sea lions.  In fact, the fact that my boyfriend at the time waited in the car while I spent another 30 min with the sea lions was one of the many signs that he was going to be an ex.

Pier 39 San Fran

Last week, I had my first sea lion encounter in the water. We'd seen a few swim by prior to entering.  This one I saw surface and dive about 25 feet in front of me.  I was in awe.  It was beautiful! Then I was scared, I didn't see which way it went!

I looked for it under the water. I didn't see it.  I looked for it above. I didn't see it.  I'm pretty sure, however, that it saw me.  And probably swam away shaking its head at the poor blubber-less mammal that swims so slow.

The whole thing got me thinking about the safety of swimming with sea lions. So I did some research.

The news headlines were abundant "sea lion attacks man taking photo" "sea lion attacks kayaker". Seriously, a kayaker?  They aren't even really in the water. "Diver attacked by sea lion". But as I drilled down, I saw that all these articles had one thing in common-- the person was FISHING at the time they were attacked.  The man taking a photo had just cleaned fish and had one in his hand for the photo. The kayaker was "attacked" by a playful young pup who climbed on his kayak and stole fish.  The diver was spear fishing as well.

So I kept looking for cases of swimmers (without fish) who were attacked by sea lions. I found a story about a beach near San Diego where the sea lions had taken over, for resting and breeding purposes.  Humans were used to swimming from that beach and still wanted to. A few had negative encounters, including being bitten, by the sea lions.

The story reports:
Lately, the increasingly territorial animals have started blocking swimmers from getting into the water, forcing people to walk back and forth on the beach until they can find a safe opening to enter the ocean.

In this case, one has to put at least some of the responsibility on the human.  When a wild animal is clearly signally to you "don't go there" then you probably shouldn't go there!

Monterey Bay Sea Lions

I did find one case of a lone swimmer in San Francisco Bay who was neither fishing nor harassing sea lions when she was bit.  That was the only case I could find through a casual search.

The bottom line, is that they are highly unlikely to bother you, if you don't have fish and don't bother them.  So I'll keep on swimming, and hope to see more again in the future.

Warmth and ear plugs

People have often told me that ear plugs keep you warmer in cold water. The idea is that the cold water hitting your ear drum makes you much colder than if you avoid this. It didn't seem all that believable to me.  But I decided to give it a try, as I've been having a hard time swimming with my face in the water. I get "ice cream" headaches, and therefore revert to head up breaststroke.

So I used some old silicone ear plugs I had sitting around. I hate how they muffle all sounds. BUT, I was much warmer.  My toes didn't get cold. And I was able to do my longest Alki swim to date with my face in the water most of the time. So perhaps it makes a difference. I will have to try the earplugs that advertise they preserve the ability to hear.

Strong Current

Back to Alki. Water temp about 50. Air temp about 50. It takes me a loooong time to get in the water, but I'm know I'll be happy when I do. So I do.  The current is strong. My half mile out and back takes about 40 min, 30 out, 10 back! I spend the rest of the day hungry, but happy!

I want to work on my refueling. Take a sandwich with me to the beach. I think part of why I'm SO hungry the rest of the day, is that by the time I change, get home, take a rewarming bath, take a shower and eat, it has been as much as 90 min since I got out of the water. I need to cut that time down.

The good news is that even with the longer time in the water, I'm not losing too much body heat.  My temperature was 95 after the swim.  Still in what I consider a "safe" zone.