Soaring

Beach: Klode

Water temp: 60

Waves: small rollers

Current: north to south

Water Clarity:  crystal clear

Next swim: Monday 4:30 PM Klode

It's only three degrees warmer than yesterday, but somehow it felt a whole lot more comfortable. 

Capt'n and me had a very nice swim out to "rockpile" and back, and then we decided to head straight out to see if we could still see bottom in deep water.  No problemo.  

There's nothing much to see on the bottom, mostly rippled sand, occasionally scattered rocks, but it's mesmerizing to be suspended ten or fifteen feet above bottom and watch it glide silently by.  It never gets boring.   I wonder if eagles feel the same as they soar through the sky.

The lake as a whole seems to be warming up much more quickly than last year, I don't know why, but I sure hope the trend continues. A few degrees more and we'll be jettisoning our wetsuits.  

Summer Has Arrived

Beach: Klode

Water temp: 57

Waves: very small

Current: light current from the north

Water clarity:  Crystal Clear (surprisingly, I would have thought yesterday's intense storms would have stirred it up)

Next swim:  I'm thinking Klode at noon on Sunday, but I need to verify that with the Capt'n, assuming he survived the HHH

I was on my own today, as Capt'n is doing the Horribly Hilly Hundreds.  It's the first really hot humid day, so I'll bet right about now he's hallucinating about a nice refreshing dip in the lake.

Another day like Thursday, difficult to get started, I had to stand and get my face out of the water two or three times before I acclimated.  But after a couple minutes it was much better.  I did a nice easy half hour swim, just enjoying the scenery on the bottom as it drifted by.

The forecast looks very favorable for the next few days.  Warm, sunny, with onshore winds, which usually blow in warmer surface water.  And hopefully some waves, we haven't seen any big ones yet.  

Certified Crazy to 57 degrees

Beach: Klode

Water temp: 57

Waves: light chop

Current: from the south

Water Clarity: good

Capt'n was supposed to blog Thursday's swim, but apparently he forgot his password (and I'm supposed to be the one approaching senility).  

There's no doubt that 57 is really cold, the worst part is getting your exposed face in the water.  But surprisingly, if you can endure the first couple minutes it gets a lot easier.  You just have to be careful not to let your body get too chilled, because as we've learned the hard way, the real suffering starts when you get out of the water.  Knowing this, we limited our swim to a refreshing 20 minutes or so.

We intended to swim again Friday, but we outsmarted ourselves (not too difficult, as perceptive readers have already perceived).  We met at Klode at 6AM and the water was 56 degrees, doable certainly, but we figured it would be warmer and more fun to go later in the day, but the weatherman was right for a change and all-day thunderstorms wrecked the rest of the day as far as swimming goes. 

Redemption

Beach: Klode

Water temp: 60 (but pockets of much warmer water)

Waves: Very small rollers

Current:  the web says from the south, but it felt the opposite

Water Clairity:  stirred up and murky near shore from yesterday's storm, but very clear 100 meters out, bottom visible 

Next swim: Thursday 6AM Klode

Today we more than made up for our wimpiness of yesterday.  We had a great swim out to the rock pile and back, about a mile.  We were almost too warm in our wetsuits, it almost felt like we didn't need them, at least in the warmer pockets.

We're way ahead of last year, the water wasn't this warm for another three weeks or more.  The season is off to a great start!

Hey, Schroeder masters:  there is no Thursday morning practice at the pool, come and join us in the big pool.   

Wimps!

It was raw, cold, and rainy at Klode tonight, and the water temp was 57, right on the edge of how much suffering we can endure.  So....... I hate to say this ............ I'm choking on the words ......... but we WIMPED OUT.  

Oh well, we have a whole season ahead of us, and tomorrow afternoon looks much better.  We're going to try again 4:30 Wednesday at Klode.    

2009 Lake Michigan Swim Season Officially Open

Beach: Pirates Cove (Bay View Beach)

Water Temp: 59 (as measured by my new water thermometer)

Waves: Calm

Current: None

Water: Murky

Next Swim: Tuesday 7PM at Klode Beach in Whitefish Bay

I'm happy to report on our first lake swim of the year.  Cap'n and I met at Pirates Cove after work, thinking that the water would be warmer behind the breakwall.   

I had forgotten (or blocked out) the shock of that initial plunge into cold water.  But after a couple minutes, we were plenty cozy in our wetsuits and multiple caps (Cap'n had neoprene booties and gloves too!).  We could have swum for as long as we wanted, but we were pressed for time, so we only did 15 minutes.  Still, it was great to be in the drink again.

But now we're anxious to get out in the open lake, to rock and roll in the waves again, and get away from all the boats coming in and out of South Shore Marina.  So we're going to give Klode a shot tomorrow at 7PM.  

Please join us!   

Lake Michigan Dreaming

It's the middle of April.  The daffodils are blazing, my cross country skis are put away, and my wax bench has been replaced by my bike stand.  It can't be long before we're swimming in the lake again, can it?   

I can't believe how many people have asked if we're in the lake yet.  Dude!  Lake temp is only 40 degrees!  It's a big lake, it will take a while to warm up.  Late June, maybe. 

Meanwhile, I'm playing ping pong with myself (swimming laps) in the pool.  Fun enough, but not the same as the cool embrace of our lovely Lady of the Lake.

Incredibly, the Captain, who NEVER used to swim in a pool, is now actually swimming with me and the rest of the Schroeder masters.  Some say it's just because of the many attractive lady masters, but I'm SURE that can't be it (can it?).  Whatever the reason, the practice and coaching is doing him good - he's getting darn fast, I won't be able to keep up with him.

Speaking of ladies, while we're waiting for the Lady to stop giving us the cold shoulder, I've been planning ahead, patching the wetsuit, and I actually bought a water thermometer so we can give scientific reports, rather than subjective impressions (e.g. It wasn't too bad today, my hands and toes took almost ten minutes to go completely numb).

And dreaming.  Yes, I actually do dream about swimming.  I can't wait!