Something I've been getting into with some of my free time (which I realized I have again) is endurance running; since for the longest time, I have an excellent surplus of power, but crap endurance to keep it (in other words, I can sprint like nobody else, but I have crap for stamina). To remedy it, I found an
endurance running chart that helps me balance it out a bit more. Basically, walking and jogging at intervals, and extending them as the weeks progress, topping off at about half an hour of walking/jogging. Having a nice long stretch of beach at least helps me for an uninterrupted session of doing so; although, it's a hell of a challenge to run through softer sand patches.
While the water's nice and cold, I can at least stop and stand around for a bit as my feet cool off after all the impact. Seeing as the weather's improved again, I might get back to it again. I've been getting more out of my running. If I can afford to take some yoga classes again, I can probably keep everything in gear during some of the downtime. When the water warms back up again, I can probably just dive into the water and let my whole body relax after all that, and maybe work on another swimming technique (primarily one where I don't need to use my legs for a fair bit), or fight currents to keep the strength up, while working on the endurance. A good quarter-mile of waist/chest-deep current resisting (or charging through it, more like) is also a good way to work on the lower half, mostly for endurance. Not easy when you have waves hitting you from the side though.
I've noticed that thanks to all that, anytime hurricane season comes along, storm surges are actually pretty fun to ride through, even getting mashed against the beach wall, or dodging them under the boardwalks. I don't fully recall how large a wave has to be to knock me onto the ground. But I know that despite having a relatively smaller frame than most people, I'm a tank. Getting out of the churning waters, however, is where the real fun is.
EDIT:
That reminds me, I gotta get back to surfing again.