Wednesday - Lake Wilcox Swim

I headed over to Lake Wilcox at 5:00am this morning for a swim. A bunch of the gang were going to come at one point, but everyone slowly dropped out. Bryan slept in. Although it’s not the safest way to swim, I have to admit I really like swimming the length of that lake and back, starting off in the dark by myself.

The moon must have been full just a few days ago. It was pretty full and bright in the sky. I swam ‘head-up’ for a while. That water felt really cold on my face. I sighted off the moon for a while, then at first light, about half way down the lake, I sighted off a couple of lights at the other end of the lake. I think that was the first time I’ve swam the lake without the buoys being in the water. I stopped a few times on the way down the lake getting myself warmed up and breathing properly. I was fine at about the half way point. It sure seemed to take forever to get to a point where I could stand at the far end. With all the stops along the way, I’d taken about 32 minutes.

When I turned at the far end, I counted strokes, and concentrated on sighting. About 1350 strokes and 22 minutes later, I was back at the canoe club dock. The temperate was still only 10 degrees, so I dried off my hands and face and drove home in my wet suit. I’d worn my diving booties for eh swim. Partly to keep my feet warm, but mostly so that I didn’t have to feel the slimy bottom of the lake getting in and out and at the other end. I should have taken them off before driving home. The water in them got real cold, real fast!

I’m glad I’ve done that swim. I’d forgotten about sighting and getting the rhythm going for that. Here’s hoping it all stays with me for Muskoka this weekend.