First Lake Michigan Swim!

I've been meaning to sit down and write for awhile now. I started a blog about the Triathlon, but that's as far as it got... I guess I've been busy, though I thought I had simplified my life so I'm a bit confused about that. I have a way of falling into busy habits.

But I have to start somewhere!

Today was the first day Eric and I went swimming in the lake this summer. It was AWESOME. Swimming laps at a pool??? B-o-r-i-n-g! Swimming in open water??? Incredible.

I love the unpredictable-ness of water in it's natural state. Sometimes you turn your head to breathe and there is a wave there. Sometimes you ride up the crest of a wave and kind of slam down on the other side. I LOVE IT. There are cold pockets and warm pockets of water.

The lake was pretty calm today. There were waves, but they were gentle. The water temperature? CHICAGO SHORE...72CHICAGO CRIB...60 The visibility was incredible! We could see the ground the entire length of our swim. We swam 1 mile-ish from the Oak Street Beach. We saw minnows(!) which was fun. And I can see how swimming in open water would be so much more fun if there were pretty fish to look at.

I'm totally telling this story backwards...but I'm rusty. The other day I returned the wetsuit I had purchased prior to the Triathlon that had ended up being too large. Today I went to Fleet Feet and rented a Women's Medium-Small Ironman Triathlon. It felt perhaps a little snug in the crotch to neck measurement, but I think that is fine. IT IS SO MUCH FUN to swim in a wet suits (that fits). The added buoyancy is just...fun! And the coldness of the water? No big deal!

So:

Location: Oak Street Beach, Lake Michigan
Distance: 1 mile-ish
Time: No idea.
Water temp: CHICAGO SHORE...72CHICAGO CRIB...60 Not sure. I'm going to have to figure out the best sorce of information.
Visibility: We could see the bottom the whole time.
Wave action: Gentle waves. No big deal.
Buddy: Eric

Wildlife: Minnows

People: LOTS of people. LOTS of kids. At the beach. Only a couple other actually people swimming. Eric was disappointed by the lack of "hotties," I told him we could ride next time and go looking for them afterwards...maybe the "hotties" are up by the volleyball courts. There was a fire truck near the shore, some safety training going on, perhaps?

Post swim food: Take out from Garlic Chili Thai. I had the Lad Nar with tofu. FANTASTIC. They serve the fried noodles separately. Awesome. I'm ordering the same thing next time. No doubt. We ate on Eric's roof and my upper back got burned by the sun, but not too badly.

Perhaps tomorrow or Sunday I'll write a short blog about our first sprint day. It was awesome! And totally deserves a blog!!!! (it kicked Matt's ass, that's why).