Water temp: 10 degrees (did I miss 11?)
It's Friday morning folks. After a lot of mind changing I find myself pulling up outside the men's pond on a very cold November morning. This is the time of year I usually hold up my frozen hand and admit I'm not a cold water swimmer and skulk off to The Oasis. A regular looking swimmer greets me with good morning collective madness look in his eye. The changing room air is cloaked in a thick fog of collective madness. Am I the only sane one here?
I find myself at the water's edge and begin my descent in to the cold, opaque waters. A regular (I assume everybody is a regular at this time of year) suggests I might try a dive from the springboard. The water feels warmer than the air temperature, so somehow, somewhere in the degrees of madness, diving in seems like a good idea. What a great idea. Before you know it I'm screaming with laughter and having a great old time. I swim out to the furthest perimeter rope feeling truly glad that I'd made both the mental and physical effort.
Quick chat with Dan the lifeguard about Lou Reed. Cycled to work with numb toes. I don't mention my heroism to my work colleagues, they might think I'm mad.