Open (Water) Season

It's not exactly what you'd call "swimming weather" yet here in Ohio, but this week I decided it was good enough to get out and get ready for this weekend's triathlon.  I had heard really good things about COTT, the local triathlon club, and so I headed down to their Monday open water swim.  Meredith even came along for a piece of the action; she did a short run from the "beach".

The lake where the open water swims take place is large enough to have a 1.2 mile triangle that most of the people were swimming that day.  I was scheduled for 2000 meters in the pool, so that was perfect!  The water was chilly at the start, but manageable.  And it got chillier as I swam into the shade of the cliff...that I wasn't really supposed to be next to.  Right turn.  Swim for a while.  Left turn.  Okay, sighting needs work.  Good to know.

On the long stretch on the back side of the triangle, I noticed the water get rapidly shallower.  I looked up above the water, and there was another cliff wall about two yards from my face.  Sighting DEFINITELY needs work.

For being the first time out this year, though, I felt really good.  One shoulder was a bit tired from the wetsuit sleeves, but overall it was a strong swim.  It wouldn't have been any trouble to do another loop, which was a great feeling!

Caution - May make wide left turns.

Coming in to shore!

Sun salutation, swim-style.