Things weren’t looking too promising at 5:30am on Sunday. But fortunately our patience paid off!
I saw it as a good omen that I was able to secure rock star parking at the end of North Avenue – right near the pedestrian underpass. But I was a bit apprehensive as I could see flashes of lightning as I was pulling into the spot – not a good sign. So I made the quick trajet to L1 the scope out the scene.
Other than the t-storm activity, the lakefront was almost as good as it gets – we only had slight swells, and the lake temperature came in at a cooler but actually more favorable 63.8F. We checked the weather radar, and there was a storm system passing to the north of us with a trailing edge that was impacting us farther south. So we played the waiting game for about an hour until we no longer saw any new flashes.
When we finally started our swim, the swells had picked up a bit making entry a challenge. So we carefully navigated the slick concrete and opted to swim a bit closer to the side wall so we could get out quickly in the event the thunder and lightning reappeared.
Lucky for us, the storm had completely passed L1, so we were able to complete our swim unimpeded. I did 1/2 mile total – an out and back tot he 1/4 mile mark – and the water was quite comfortable even with the overcast skies. So if you decided to sleep in because of the storms, you missed out on a great swim!
