Category: swimming

june 18/5 MILES

60 degrees
dew point 60
lake nokomis, twice

Yes, the dew point was the same as the temperature. I guess, because it was only 60 degrees this morning, this didn’t bother me quite as much. Scott and I ran the first loop of Lake Nokomis together, then I ran the second one by myself while he got ready for his 5K race. After I finished running, I swam 2400 yards in Lake Nokomis, or two loops (the big beach to the little beach and back to the big beach). What a great morning! The run was pretty good, although I was tired at the end. But the swim was excellent. The water wasn’t too choppy. I could see all the buoys. And my calf didn’t cramp up in my wetsuit.

During my run, I chanted “I am flying, I am free. I am where I want to be” a lot. It helped.

During my swim, I thought about the dark, murky water and how I couldn’t see at all underwater. I was struck by the contrast between that dark water and the sky, with its patches of blue, some clouds and the occasional airplane.

 

june 16/REST

I feel pretty good today, even though I ran 12 miles in the morning and then swam a loop (1200 yds) at Lake Nokomis in the evening yesterday. It was the first swim of the Open Swim season! I love swimming across Lake Nokomis. A loop, which is 600 yards to the little beach and 600 yards back to the big beach, usually takes me slightly less than 20 minutes. That time, alone in the water, half-submerged between lake and sky, is even more dreamy than running time. So many things to pay attention to and write about!

Open Swim Sensations

  • The textures of the waves.
  • The smooth sand that gets wedged between my toes and makes my feet very rough.
  • The shafts of light that, on especially sunny days, appear underwater, just in front of me, as I swim.
  • The big orange inflatable triangles that mark the route, sometimes looming large, other times disappearing in the undulating water.
  • Random encounters with fish, swimming below me, and other swimmers, swimming over me or into me or around me.
  • The slimy, scratchy vines that wrap themselves around my arm or face as I stroke through the water.
  • The mysterious sounds–the clanging and humming and buzzing–under the water mixed with the sounds of slapping and sloshing waves above.
  • The warm soreness that I feel all over my body, but especially in my shoulders, after a long swim.
  • The sand and dirt and lake sediment that gets trapped in my suit, causing me to feel itchy for hours after the swim.