Today at the lake, I finally got to do a real night swim with V, another swimmer I met via online FB groups. I’ve tried to organize a couple of Friday night swims on the FB page I started for women who swim in the lake….and they never get off the ground. But V also READ MORE
Tag: cold-water-swimming
Sometimes Just Walk
Today at the lake I met with C at the beach closest to my house. The water was flat, the air was cold, and the park was quite dark except for two bright floodlights on the wall of the park rec building. Neither one of us had been in the water recently, so we were READ MORE
New Beach, New Buddy
Today at the lake I visited a new beach and met a new swim buddy, E. I was excited to try out this beach because it’s nice and open, right at the end of an urban neighborhood (as opposed to in the middle of a park). It’s visible, there’s ambient light, and because it’s not READ MORE
Awkward Re-entry
Today at the lake it was challenging getting back into swimming after a long break. I haven’t been for a proper swim since October 30th. I felt fussy about my face getting cold. My wetsuit was leaking water through the neck. It was hard to swim. No, it was hard to breathe while swimming. Amazing READ MORE
That was one fine adventure
Today I was a total sea witch. I was a badass. I was fearless. I got my butt kicked by the waves and exposed by the wind. I swallowed water but didn’t drown. My snorkel didn’t work, but I dove into the waves, over the waves and across the waves. The whipping sound of the READ MORE
Crazy Waves Thrilla
Today at the lake…we played “jump the waves,” aka try not to die. We arrived to actual whitecaps and gale force winds. Two of my swim buddies, K and K, walked up, and I said, “I don’t care. I’m going in.” They said, “we’re going in.” Awesome. We tried to set up under one of READ MORE
100 Shades of Grey
Today at the lake, we swam in the rain, we saw two herons (or the same once twice) and an eagle, and guess what else? I found my swim buoy belt that I lost yesterday! It was lying in the parking lot, right where I dropped it. Yea. I had a long doctor’s appointment this READ MORE
Skin Like a Seal
Yesterday at the lake, a bald eagle flew above me, looking for food. I didn’t see it, but my swim buddy, K, did. I’m bummed I missed it, but really glad it didn’t attack me. I see a lot of bald eagles around the lake. So fancy. My new wetsuit is working out really well. READ MORE
Sea Witch Don’t Care
Today at the lake it was cold and windy, and I forgot my snorkel. One of my swim buddies, K, cancelled due to “white caps” on the lake. I could see them from my house, but I went anyway. “Cause that’s the kind of woman I am. I grew up in the midwest, and played READ MORE
A Perfect Moonlit Swim and An Eagle
Today at the lake I saw the Cascade mountain range on the other side of the lake, the water was completely calm and flat, and I got to have a repeat swim date with A, a woman I swam with a few weeks ago. I had the best cold swim to-date. We changed our venue READ MORE
Paint It Black: 30 Pull-Ups, 10 Ducks, 12 Min
Today at the lake it was dark, and the water was flat. My caretaker, M, took me to the beach with just 15 minute left until sundown. I love swimming at night; it’s just not ideal to be in the park alone once it gets dark. But we were two, and we felt safe. It READ MORE
3mm Makes All The Dif The Movie
First, I want to show you the water. You can’t always tell in photos how harsh it is. Video is better because it captures the sound, and even the sound is harsh. I usually film the water before I get in, but today I had to wait until I was out of the water and READ MORE
3mm Makes All the Dif
Today at the lake …the Lake Witch is f-ing back. Wow. What a difference a wetsuit makes. I got back in the water today, and tried to rock it. The new gear made all the difference. I was hoping for a calm, flat water day, but I knew before I left for the lake (I READ MORE
Spun Around
Today at the lake it got ugly. For the first time I am starting to doubt that I can keep doing this. The water was so cold. I felt like the back of my head and neck were going to freeze. I’m reading a book on the brain and PTSD, and just last night I READ MORE
Flat Water Better
Today I had my friend, M, bring me to the lake because I wanted to see and hear the water, then go for a walk in the paths and count bunnies. On the way to the park I told her that I might have to give up lake swimming until spring, and that I felt READ MORE
Getting Out is Worse
Today at the lake….I learned that getting out of the water after my swim is harder and way more unpleasant than getting in the water. Today I had two people with me, a swim buddy, and a guy who arrived at the same time. I suggested we all go in together so we wouldn’t back READ MORE
Alone
Today at the lake it was miserable. Cold, grey, and wet. I thought it was drizzling, but when I left my house I realized it was actually raining. I didn’t care. First I stopped by the closest beach, just down the road. There was nobody in the water, and two guys just hanging around. I READ MORE
Where am I?
Today at the lake it was dark and a bit ominous. I ran into two women from the swim club on their way out of the lake; they couldn’t have had less interested in talking to me. M thinks they were just preoccupied, but I feel like at least one of them just doesn’t want READ MORE