After far too many freezing cold, rough, choppy and scary Open Water Swims in Lake Windermere, this week I have been blessed with sunshine and calm waters!
I have had 2 fantastic swims this week, which is great for my confidence as they are my last 2 swims before The Great North Swim on Saturday!
Last night I went with the Tri Club, swimming from Cockshott Point. With it being a nice evening we had a good turn out and even the less hardy swimmers made an appearance! There were 15 of us, all very mixed ability swimmers so we split into 2 groups. A 1 mile group and a 2 mile group! I didn't have to consider which group to go with - I am most definitely not ready for 2 miles in Open Water - YET!
On previous swims we have kept close to the shore, but last night we actually crossed the lake to Belle Isle, then swam to the end point of the island before returning! The 2 milers came with us to that point and then they continued around the island! I was slightly nervous swimming across the lake for the first time! I had images of ferries and boats heading for me, but having that image in my head certainly made me swim faster! We shouldn't have a problem as we are all highly visible with florescent hats and fluorescent orange tow floats, but the possibility of meeting careless and inconsiderate lake users is always there!
Despite it being a nice evening the lake was still cold at around 13C but we managed just under the mile and I really enjoyed it! You can view our swim here!
Tonight I went to Windermere again but this time I swam from Millerground with a friend. Again the lake was calm and it actually felt considerably warmer than last night! Surely a days worth of sun couldn't have heated it up that rapidly!
The main problem with the sun shining is all the local teenagers think the lake is a great place to hang out and get drunk! This in itself is not a problem but the fact they litter the lake with cans and bottles is unacceptable behaviour!
Anyhow I managed to swim to the half mile point without stopping, all in front crawl, and then after a couple minutes rest managed the entire half mile back! Altogether I did a mile in 36 minutes!
I will be pleased if I can do a similar time on Saturday!
Fingers crossed the sun keeps shining until then, although rain is forecast! I'm hoping for once they are wrong!
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