In stark contrast to last week’s meetup, yesterday’s swim was more akin to something we’d normally experience in mid to late January…
I arrived a bit early and decided to park in the NAB lot since the air temp was a biting 18F (-7.7C). I joined the rest of the late Autumn crew already alighting around L1, and I quickly placed the thermometer in the lake, trying to expose my hands as little as possible to the icy air.
We were expecting the mercury to be below 40F (4.4C), but much to our astonishment, it came in at a rather scorching 42.4F (5.7C)! We waiting until well after the sunrise before we started to suit up since it was as astonishing as ever, as you can see below.
I went with the same setup as last week – neoprene gloves, booties, shorts, and hood – and was actually quite comfortable once I got into the lake. In fact, my hands, which had become painfully numb after being exposed to the nippy air, actually warmed up whilst in swim!
Given my limited accoutrements, I only did 1/4 a mile this time. And when I exited the lake back into the frigid air, I grabbed all my stuff and made a mad dash to the mercifully close parking lot where I threw all my stuff into the back seat of my car and blasted the heat in anticipation of the inevitable afterdrop.
It took about 10 minutes before the shivering ceased, but it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as some of the ones I’ve experienced in the past. I think the quick transition from the swim to the warm car really made a difference.
So the $15 spent in the NAB lot turned out to be an excellent investment!
L1 at Daybreak
Sunrise
Pre-swim sunrise video!