Salt Springs Recreation Area

On Veteran’s Day this year, since National Parks had waived the fees for the weekend, my buddy and I went up to Ocala National Forest and stopped at a few places, the highlight of which was Salt Springs Recreation Area. I had lost my goggles during my triathlon the day before, so I decided to take out my snorkel and mask and try them out a week before starting my PADI Open Water Diver Class. I also brought along my booties and flippers to try those out. We parked at Salt Springs and walked down to the spring. The area was completely empty except for a couple swimming in the water, who left shortly after we arrived. I took some pictures and watched the fish jumping out of the water, though every time we started recording video the fish would stop jumping, then start up again once we stopped the video. They obviously knew what we were doing.

We returned to the car and I swapped my camera phone for my GoPro and swapped my sandals for my booties. I headed down to the water with my fins, mask, and snorkel in hand and stepped into the water before putting on my fins. I spit in my mask as a defogger and washed it out, then jumped in the cool water. There were hundreds of fish swimming around and tons of plant life for them to eat and hide in. I swam over to where the boils were, but they were pretty small. I tried diving down into some of them, but they were pretty cramped and with my fins on, it was hard to readjust myself. Almost all of the swimming area was less than four or five feet deep and with the plants there, some of it only had a couple feet of swimming room.

The spring was really nice though, and with nobody else there it was exceptionally peaceful. I expect most springs to be devoid of people throughout the winter, especially those that are farther from civilization. After about an hour of swimming, we left the water and headed back to the car to dry off and warm up before moving on to other locations for the day.

Wes Skiles Peacock Springs State Park

 

The final stop of our road trip was to Wes Skiles Peacock Springs State Park. The park had multiple springs, but we stopped at the Peacock Springs in the back. Again we saw the same two guys that we had seen at Troy Spring and Big Shoals State Parks. I headed down to the spring and took some photos before jumping in with my GoPro. I swam around for a bit until my GoPro died and I headed back to the boardwalk. I went to put my GoPro in the car since I wouldn’t be needing it anymore and so I wouldn’t lose it. My friend was searching for his goggles and one of his shoes and he was afraid he had left them at Troy Spring.

We headed back down the boardwalk and I took another quick swim. The boil was right below the boardwalk and swimming downstream I had found lots of vegetation in the water along with a number of fish. I didn’t stay for too long here and we didn’t hit the other spring in the park, instead choosing to head back to Troy to find my buddy’s missing gear. We got back to Troy Spring and in the parking lot were a pair of goggles and one shoe. I’d like to go back to Peacock Springs someday. The swimming hole we were at was okay, it might be more interesting diving into the boil, I don’t know. I’d like to check out the other area. Overall, it wasn’t anything overly special.

Troy Spring State Park

After visiting Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park and Big Shoals State Park in White Springs, Florida on the final day of our road trip, my buddy and I decided to hit one more spring on the way home. I checked the map of state parks and found three in the area, but Troy Spring stuck out as not only the closest, but also had a shipwreck there. We got to the park and headed down the long winding boardwalk to check out the spring and get some pictures. The swimming area was large and there were two guys there already, the same two guys that we saw at Big Shoals State Park.

I headed back to the car to change into my swimsuit and grab my goggles and GoPro before heading back down to the spring. I got into the water and right next to the boardwalk was the boil – a deep seventy foot hole in the ground. I dove down as far as I could a few times, but I wasn’t getting too far before running out of breath. After several dives I was out of breath, so I decided to swim around the swimming area which ended at a river – the Suwannee River. I had never realized the path that the Suwannee had cut through Florida before, it snakes its way through the state covering a lot of area. On the far end of the swimming area I had found the shipwreck, though I didn’t know that’s what it was at the time. It looked like a platform of some kind with rails going across buried almost entirely in the sand.

Throughout the water there were dozens of turtles swimming around, possibly over a hundred. Down near the river I had run into a large school of fish, though I wasn’t sure of the species. I spent some time checking out the shipwreck and the fauna before heading back towards the boardwalk. I took a couple more dives into the boil before heading back out. We decided we had time to hit one more spring before the day was over, but we would be back here before too long.

Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park, Florida

On a recent road trip, one of the many stops made was to Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park, or Wakulla Springs State Park for short. My friend had remembered coming here previously and spoke highly of it. We entered the park as daylight was beginning to wane after spending most of the day travelling from Tampa to the panhandle to see caverns and waterfalls. We only planned on staying for under an hour since we still had to find a place to camp in the nearby Apalachicola National Forest.

Upon parking we scouted out the park and took some pictures. The swimming area was large compared to most of the parks we had been to; there were even two floating platforms to rest on or jump off of. There was also a large two-story open-walled structure on one side of the swimming area, which upon closer examination revealed to be a platform for jumping off of. After returning to the car to change into my swimming gear, I grabbed my GoPro and headed back. I swam to the platform closest to the jumping structure and placed the GoPro there to record. I then swam over to the jumping platform where my buddy joined me.

We climbed to the top of the structure and looked out over the edge – we were pretty high up and the swimming area below was fairly narrow. We counted down and both jumped off the edge. The sound of wind raced past my ears as I sped towards the water below and then ‘splash’ I was plunged deep into the spring water. I had taken off my goggles so they wouldn’t come off during the jump, so I had no idea how deep I had gone and instantly began making my way to the surface.

I made my way back up and made three more jumps off the platform before heading back to collect my GoPro. I swam around for a few minutes to collect video of the underwater plants and animals that called the springs their home. I saw a small turtle fairly quickly and as I reached shore there was a large school of fish swimming around – all in all not bad scenery, though not the best I’ve seen.

The park was nice, especially in the early evening during the fall when there aren’t many people there. The jumping platform was a nice change from the other parks I’d been to. It’s always nice to find something a little different.

Ichetucknee Springs State Park

When returning from Georgia on a previous road trip, my buddy and I decided to stop at Ichetucknee Springs State Park for a swim. Upon entering the park, there was a boardwalk that led to one swimming hole while a sidewalk led to another swimming area. Still in street-clothes, we decided to scope out the park first before changing. We walked down the boardwalk for probably a half-mile before reaching the end where there were people swimming in the water and teenagers jumping off the railing of the boardwalk into the water. It was pretty crowded in this area, but the water was pretty.

As we left the area to go scope out the rest of the park, one of the park rangers came down the boardwalk screaming that anyone who had been jumping off the railing needed to leave the park immediately. Of course no one fessed up and he had no idea who it was that was doing it. We walked back down the boardwalk and made it back to the main area of the park, then walked around to the other swimming area. The water was deeper here, so people were huddled around the stairs and the edge of the water. We went to the car to change and returned to the second location we had scoped out. I jumped in the water and was instantly overcome with cold. Just like Ponce De Leon Springs State Park, which we had hit a couple days prior, the water seemed a lot colder than the 72 degrees advertised by all the state springs.

I swam for a few minutes and then had to get out to warm up – even swimming wasn’t keeping me warm enough and it was hard to get enough oxygen in the cold water. After warming up a bit, I hopped back in for another swim, but after maybe ten minutes I had to get out again – now the cold was giving me a headache. I warmed back up out of the water and then we decided to leave and continue our trip back home. The park was nice, though pretty crowded – not something I’ve a fan of. I much prefer solitude over crowds, though I’m sure it’s more based off time of year and weather than anything else. Now that it’s creeping closer to colder days, most springs that I’ve visited have been mostly devoid of human activity, which also improved the visibility in the water since there are less feet kicking up the bottom composition.

Ponce De Leon Springs State Park

A few months back during my first road trip that led to North Florida and parts of Georgia, one stop that we had made was to Ponce De Leon Springs State Park. We had driven all morning up from Tampa to stop at Britton Hill, the highest point in Florida. The next stop on our list was the Florida Caverns State Park, but being hot and sweaty, we decided to stop at a springs and the highway provided a sign for Ponce De Leon Springs – perfect!

We stopped to check it out and there were a good number of people at the park, mostly swimming around in the water. The springs were divided into a circular area on one side of a bridge and a run on the other side. Across the bridge was a hiking trail, so I decided to check that out first. Just after crossing over the bridge the forest begins along with the trail. Upon stepping a few meters into the forest we were instantly assaulted by dozens of mosquitos. We tried to move down the hiking path to pass the swarm, but the entire forest seemed to be infested. We turned around and left the woods and as soon as we broke free of the trees, the mosquitos stopped as if there was an invisible wall preventing them from coming out to the feeding frenzy of bodies swimming around.

We decided to take a dip in the spring, so we hopped in where the run started next to the bridge, since that side was less crowded. The water was probably the coldest spring water I’ve ever felt. All the Florida springs are supposed to be 72 degrees year-round, but this one felt much colder than the rest for some reason. After a few minutes we left the water and the park. I wasn’t overly impressed with it, though it did have some redeeming features. I think the hiking trail would be nice in the winter once all the blood-sucking pests have died off.

Swimming with the Dolphins

Today I embarked on a second adventure through Dolphin Paradise Tours on Merritt Island. The first adventure had been a two-hour paddleboarding lesson that I had enjoyed. This time I went on the Two-Hour Swim with the Dolphins and Manatees for Two People tour. I had gotten a deal for it off of Amazon Local, so it was half-price. Tax isn’t included on the Amazon Local, so the first thing I had to do was pay another $9.40 in tax and parking fees.

We had arrived early, so I got ready by putting some sunscreen on and hydrating with some orange juice and getting my GoPro ready. Once our tour time hit, we boarded the boat along with the captain and our tour guide since it was the first tour of the day. Our tour started at ten and we got to the island about 10:20. We got a quick briefing of the island and the surrounding sandbar and were left to do our own thing. I made my way around the island, sometimes walking on the knee-to-waist-high sandbar, while other times just swimming to avoid stepping on all the shells and rocks.

I stopped periodically to check for dolphins, but saw none. Once I finally got back around to where I started, I turned around to see a dolphin off in the distance. I tried swimming out in its direction but it had already passed through, so I treaded water for several minutes to see if any others would come. The water was extremely murky and I couldn’t even see my feet. Eventually I headed into shore where my buddy had found a shoe crab. It was the most exciting animal sighting of the day so far. By eleven we were back on the boat heading to the dock – two hour swim my ass. On the way back, we did see some dolphins, though, as well as some manatees who quickly fled the area.

I wasn’t overly impressed with the tour or Dolphin Paradise Tours. I wasn’t overly impressed with the company during the paddleboarding, but the experience then had been fun. This time, I could have gone to the beach for a lot cheaper and had a similar day, sans the dolphin sighting on the boat ride back.

Weeki Wachee Springs State Park

I went to Weeki Wachee Springs State Park for some swimming. Upon arriving I found that it was kind of like a large park with shows and rides. I stopped to take a few pictures before searching for the path to the swimming area. The mermaid show was sold out, but I wasn’t really sure I was interested in seeing it anyway; I could hear it from the swimming area anyway. Once I reached the swimming area I realized I forgot my goggles and had to run back to the car to grab them. Upon returning I finally hopped in the water.

There were lots of fish swimming around and some interesting underwater scenery. It didn’t take long for me to swim over to the floating platform and start jumping off into the water. I continued jumping into the water for a half-hour or so before deciding to head out. The swim area was large and there was a nice beach area for lounging around. The water slides were all shut down, though that didn’t stop some teenagers from trying them out anyway. Some asshole decided to grab a turtle from the deeper part of the spring and carry it over to the beach area to show his friends. If you see wildlife – look don’t touch! He was a dick.

The park was pretty cool, but of the parks I’ve been to, it isn’t very high on my list. But anyway, here’s a video from the park!

Marathon, Triathlon, and Tough Mudder Training

While I should be writing about all the places I visited on my road trip this past weekend, it’s taking several hours to import all the video footage I took into iMovie. So instead, I’m taking another day to write about something else. I’ve posted before about my biking and running, as well as a couple of posts about goals I have for the year (until next August). I figured I’d do an update on my training.

A few weeks ago I had written up a training schedule for myself that looked something like:

• Monday – Gym
• Tuesday – Short Run before work, Bike Ride at lunch
• Wednesday – Swimming
• Thursday – Medium Run
• Friday – Gym
• Saturday – Long Run, Light Swimming
• Sunday – Swimming

After a few weeks of this, my knee was starting to really bother me, but it was my toe that sidelined me. I could make it a few miles without pain, but the long runs became horrible as I did over ten miles with intense pain on each step. I made a few changes including my desk at work which I had been using as a standing desk, I swapped back to sitting full time. I also scratched my short run altogether, moved my medium run to Wednesdays, and made both Tuesday and Thursdays swimming days. Now my schedule looks like this:

• Monday – Gym
• Tuesday – Swimming
• Wednesday – Medium Run
• Thursday – Swimming
• Friday – Gym
• Saturday – Long Run, Light Swimming
• Sunday – Swimming

On the running front, I just completed my sixteen-mile run last Saturday and will be attempting an eighteen-miler this weekend. I’ll probably go an extra mile in order to reach the next water fountain on my route. I skipped my medium run this week in favor of a bike ride since I worked up a pretty good blister last weekend and took Monday off for some hiking and swimming. My medium runs are now up to nine-milers and should make their way up to ten miles in the coming weeks before tapering off.

On the other hand, my biking seems to be getting worse. Not only did I go a couple weeks without a long bike ride, but when I do ride, I need to stay in lower gears to keep going. I got in an 11.5 miler this week, which is good enough for my sprint triathlon, but disappointing since I’d like to make more progress. My main problem right now other than fatigue is that both my hands and my crotch constantly go numb while riding. I’ve ordered some triathlon shorts and biking gloves to try out and see how they perform. Hopefully they’ll cure what ails me.

My swimming was what I was most concerned about heading into the triathlon, but over the past few weeks I’ve been increasing my swimming distance and time tremendously. Since I first went to Wekiva Springs State Park, I’ve gone from doing one lap, or 200 meters, to doing eight laps, or one mile last week and twelve laps or 1.5 miles this week. I have more trouble in the ocean due to their being fishermen on the shores and not wanted to get caught up in their lines or anything.

With some upcoming days off and different events, I have to work my schedule around a little bit each week, but I’m hoping to get more bike time in before my triathlon and to keep my running progressing as hoped.

The gym workouts have been going alright. I had to stop doing exercises that worked my legs because it was increasing my running injuries. I now stick mostly to upper body workouts – bench press, curls, tricep pulldowns, crunches, shoulder shrugs, and a few others. I also try to do pull ups at home when I can, as I know that will be what kills me in Tough Mudder, but I just don’t have the strength or endurance to maintain long sessions. My goal for Tough Mudder is to complete it and not get injured. The last time I ran Tough Mudder, I completed it, but I dislocated my shoulder, leading to surgery.

So that’s where I’m at right now. I have a week and a half until Tough Mudder, then another week until the Triathlon, then a two week break and the Marathon on December 1st. The nervous energy is starting to creep up.

New De Leon Springs State Park GoPro Video

I went to De Leon Springs again last weekend for a swim and found that almost no one was there. After swimming for a bit, I found that without people there, the water was a little less murky and areas that were usually flooded with people were now empty, so I was able to get decent video. So here’s a new video for De Leon Springs State Park that’s much better than the last one!