Sunday’s swim was an almost exact carbon copy of the prior week. We had similar air and water temperatures as well as an almost identical wind profile. In fact, I thought about just copying and pasting last week’s report here out of sheer sloth – but no one respects a cheater!
While we got somewhat of a break with a 37F air temperature, we still had to contend with a 33.2F lake. Fortunately for us, the winds were coming from the west again, so the lake was fairly calm – at least on the surface.
The initial water entry was a bit of a jolt – I sure was missing that extra hour of sleep that we lost – but I adjusted pretty quickly since I’ve been acclimated to these water temperatures since late December. So other than a mild ice cream headache at the start, it was a pretty straightforward swim.
I chose a swim route going due west, following the line of the wall. I wasn’t feeling the numbness that I usually get in my fingertips, so I decided to go on a bit further. I was actually making pretty good time and covering a fair distance before realizing that I was being assisted by a rather insidious westbound current. So needless to say, the way back was much more of a workout!
In sum, I would estimate I got in just over 1/4 mile with the latter 1/8 being at least twice as strenuous as the first. Plus I was really feeling it in my arms and shoulders as I am not accustomed to swimming with a fullsuit. So I am definitely looking forward to ditching the “neoprene cage” once the lake warms up!
