Warmest Water of the Season

Next Swim:  6:30 AM Tuesday Klode.  The water temp was 74 today, and it was crystal clear.  Swimming couldn't be better.  Please join us.

I'm sorry there haven't been any blog updates the last few days, but there was just so much happening and so little time.  

The big thing, of course, was Big Shoulders (oh yeah, there was some little thing in Madison too).

Big Shoulders, is the 5K open water national championship, held at Ohio Street Beach in downtown Chicago.  800 swimmers participated in either the 5K or 2.5 K swim.  Conditions were perfect, the water was clear, calm, and warm (73).  My daughter Melanie did very well, taking 5th in her age group with a time of 1:15:01.  

A complete report of the race is on their website: http://www.bigshoulders.org/

Best Swimming of the Season

Wed evening:

Water temp: 72!

Waves: small chop

Water Clarity: cloudy

Crew:  Cap'n got hung up, Patriarch did a solo swim

Thursday morning:  

Water temp: 70

Waves: small rollers

Water Clarity:  good to excellent

Crew:  Cap'n and Patriarch

Next swims:  No scheduled swims until Monday, except of course for Big Shoulders Saturday and Ironman Sunday.  Good luck to all!

Note:  I might do a short swim Friday morning, just to stay loose, but I'm not sure when.

Wednesday evening Cap'n got hung up so I did a delightful solo swim in very warm water.  It was so nice that I had a very difficult time forcing myself to quit.

Thursday morning conditions were just about perfect, so Cap'n and me made an impromptu decision to do a Big Bay non-wetsuit swim.  This is one of our favorite swims, but we haven't one done this yet this season, and it's already mid-September, we couldn't be sure that we'd get another opportunity. 

We left some towels and my car at Klode and took Capn's car to Big Bay.  The half mile north of Big Bay is littered with the remnants of a glorious past, with several now-sunken piers, and broken down terraces and breakwalls on shore.  Jack Pandl's restaurant has pictures of the large beach resort that used to stand here.  It too bad it's gone, and it's too bad most people that live near here never use the lake for anything.  It seems like such a waste.  

We were in no hurry, we just focused on full smooth strokes.  We cruised along ,checking off familiar landmarks as we passed:  sunken pier, post in the water, small beach, flatrock, new staircase, old staircase, sewer pipe, south south beach, reaching Klode all too soon.

Just Another Day in Paradise

Beach: Klode

Water temp: 69

Waves:  small chop

Water Clarity:  cloudy, stirred up

Crew:  Tom, Gabriel, Cap'n, Patriarch

Next swims:  Today (Wed) 4:30PM Klode, Tomorrow 9AM Klode (note change in time)

Special Note:  The water temp at Ohio Street Beach, site of Saturday's Big Shoulders was reported to be a balmy 70 yesterday.  

Ho Hum.  Just another perfect day in a string of perfect days.  Another gorgeous bright red sunrise over the lake.  The bad memories of a terrible August, three weeks straight of unusually cold water, washed away in the warm surf.  And the forecast for the big weekend (Big Shoulders, Ironman Wisconsin) looks promising.  

We had to hold ourselves back today, for once common sense ruled.  We have big events this weekend, and we need to rest a bit.  So we went a bit past "garage" and turned back.  We'll be back this afternoon though, at 4:30, to put another notch in our quest for 100 swims this season.   

Picture from the August 30th Swim Adventure

From Left to Right: Mike, Brad, The Patriarch, Capt'n, Gumdrop, Gabriel, Sandie

The Best Way to End the Day

Beach: Klode
Water Temp: 71
Waves: 1-2ft chop
Current: from the northeast
Water Clarity: Somewhat cloudy near shore, clear further out
Crew: The Patriarch, Gabriel, Lindsey, Robin, Capt'n
Next Swim: Wednesday 6AM Klode

At last...a no wetsuit double dip day!! Believe it or not I think this was our first one of the year. Better late than never, right? :)

Swimming north toward the rock wall was quite the adventure. The choppy / rolling 1-2 waves made it a challenge to maintain any resemblance of a rhythm. Still we persisted in our journey northward....first to the garage...then to the halfway point to the rockwall and finally to the south edge of the landslide before we decided to cash in and ride the current home. ...although the trip home wasn't all that easy as the angle of the waves still did their best to challenge your rhythm.

Upon returning to the beach we briefly met Senor Loco and a companion who were just embarking on their evening swim adventure. The Big Shoulders Swim is just a few days away....good luck to everyone participating!

The Best Way to Start the Day

Beach: Klode

Water Temp: 68

Waves:  One foot chop

Water Clarity:  Somewhat cloudy near shore, clear further out

Crew:  Gabriel, Cap'n, Patriarch

Next Swim: Today (Tue) 5PM Klode, conditions appear favorable for a Klode to Big Bay swim (a little more than a mile). Meet at Klode, bring towels and stuff that we can take to Big Bay, we'll leave a car for the ride back, or you can walk/jog back.

Tired, grumpy, and sore, we lurched down the path to the beach in the pre-dawn darkness.  But the plunge into 68 degree water without wetsuits quickly woke us up. We swam to the garage, with two extra swimmers flanking us: a ruby red rising sun to our right, and a pale setting moon to our left.  Our mood was considerably brighter on the walk back up the path.

Superb!

Beach: Klode
Water temp: 71
Waves: slight chop from the northeast
Water Clarity: good
Crew: The Patriarch, Gumdrop, Gabriel, Brad, Sandie, Lindsey, Eileen, Robin, Capt'n
Next Swim: Tuesday 6AM Klode

Days like today are what make swimming in Lake Michigan so addicting. It was an absolutely perfect day to be at the beach....and an even better day for a swim. The entire crew swam from Klode's southeast beach up to the rock wall and back...stopping on a few occasions to marvel at how pleasant the conditions were.

It's funny, locals on the beach still bring up how cold the water was just a couple weeks ago....all that now seems like a distant memory.