!Don't Panic!

I went for my first open water swim on Monday with Elaine. We went to a lake up in Fremont, and although it was a beautiful, warm day, the water felt ice cold. It was probably somewhere in the 60s. It was my first time swimming in a lake in several years, and the first time doing more in a lake besides dog paddling while waiting for a ski boat to pick me up. In the very back of the roped off swimming area there is basically a huge swimming lane, mostly used by people training for triathlons. You can see buoys marking the far end of it in this picture, although the whole length of it isn't in the frame.


We went in the water slowly, trying to get acclimated to the cold. I had to remind myself to breathe slow, to not freak out. It seems nice and peaceful in the picture, but it was a little scary going out into the deep, cold water for the first time, not having the pool ledge to grab onto if needed. The water was opaque, so at first I kept closing my eyes when I went under, which didn't help. The water also felt a little heavier, in a strange way. But after swimming a lap and getting warmed up I found my rhythm and felt strong. It was a lot of fun to swim such long laps.



The same day, before we went swimming, I had my first ride on a road bike [thanks Elizabeth!] with Elaine and Judith, with actual CARS! I was a little wobbly at first, but it was fun to go fast! Well, I was actually slow, but it felt fast.