With both the surface temperature and the in-swim reading coming in at 37.8F, we finally broke through the 40F floor out at the lake! While some would see this as a negative – i.e. we are now relegated to swimming in the 32F – 38F “winter layer” until around mid to late March – I respectfully rebut this assertion. To my way of thinking, this narrow temperature range makes it easier to plan one’s swim (and gear selection) with the only rogue factors being the outside air temperature and weather conditions…
Like last weekend, I went with my full neoprene setup. I had pondered going in with less gear, but a night of continually interrupted sleep thanks to Hurricane Joseph really impacted my ability to effectively thermoregulate. So choosing comfort over calamity, I got in the lake shortly after sunrise and managed to get in my usual 1/2 mile without a hitch.
Fortunately for us, the forecast for precipitation did not materialize, and we had a pleasant showing of the sun while we were out at the lake. There was a slight breeze that nipped away at us post-swim, but I didn’t have any afterdrop to contend with after I got out of the water. Plus I was lucky enough to snatch rock star parking close to the pedestrian tunnel – always an unexpected bonus!