Other than the colder than expected air temperature, this morning’s L1 adventure was pretty much a carbon copy of last Saturday.
Four of us made it out to the lakefront and were greeted by sunny and calm conditions. The forecast called for 15mph wind gusts, but they were fortunately nowhere to be found. So we waited for the sun to reappear above a stubborn line of clouds and got geared up for our entry into the lake.
As with last week, I went with the short sleeve top along with neoprene shorts, boots, hood, and gloves. Plus I had a secret weapon with me that turned out to be a game changer.
A recurring issue has been cold water circulation in our gloves during the swim. This time I added some neoprene cross training wrist bands over the edge of the gloves and tightened the seal using the attached velcro straps. As it turned out, I had very little cold water circulation and was able to swim the entire 1/2 mile quite comfortably!
The real challenge was definitely the afterdrop. Because of the chillier air temperature, it came on much stronger and stuck around much longer than last week. So I ended up doing several sets of wind sprints to help expedite its passage.
Yet even with all these challenges, it was still a fantastic morning. And the swim – as always – was as amazing as ever.
I almost wish we could have a late Spring this year!
Sunrise
Ice Monsters pre-swim
Greyhounds!
i look like the nut in the second picture – Fred and Mary Ellen all decked out in full body coverage gear…and then there is me without the hood or sleeves. however, what people don’t see it the true pioneer of the group who happened to be taking the photos with far less gear that me – part of the reason he is our fearless leader!
see you all again saturday morning!
tim