Gordon and I were invited to stay with Karen Rogers at her house near Lake Tahoe. We had planned on going there Saturday to swim with her in the lake because she and Jamie talked so much about how great the lake is on Wednesday. Unfortunately, she was not feeling well at all from whatever was in the water and the bumps and itch had come back with vengeance. She just wanted to rest after having to go to the hospital for a shot. Gordon and I decided to go anyway and just camp at Lake Tahoe.
We took off after breakfast and some goodbye's. It was tough leaving after spending so many great days with people I absolutely loved hanging out and sharing swim stories with.
We got to Tahoe and checked out the water. Temp read 54 degrees. I'll admit I was nervous about the temp. The coldest water around where I live is 65 and even though I was able to swim in 54 awhile ago with little problems, my body has adapted to water a bit warmer so this would be a change.
I got in and didn't find it too difficult. My breathing took some time to adjust and I knew I was going to be cold. I had forgotten to take my swim cap with me and I SEVERELY regretted this decision. My head hurt really bad from the cold and was causing me to focus more on that than my swimming. I got everything under control after awhile and was able to swim. As long as I was swimming, I was fine. I was cold and generally uncomfortable but I was okay. When Gordon and I stopped to chat or take pics, I felt myself immediately freezing up. The last time we stopped, I my teeth started to rattle and I started to shake pretty bad. I had to sprint for awhile to get warm again.
After I knew I had done over a mile, I headed in. Gords went for a bit more and I swam in until I could sit on the bottom and I was completely covered up to my neck in water. I forced myself to sit there for another 10 minutes and just deal with the cold. I was MISERABLE but I knew I needed it and if I got into any danger, I could just stand up or yell at the people sitting on the beach 10 feet away that were looking at me like I was an idiot.
When we were both done, some older women came up to us and were genuinely impressed that we were swimming in the water. They asked what we were training for and then wished us the best of luck. It was nice.
I know I did over 1 mile but I'm just going to mark one mile for today.
When we got to Reno, I realized after putting my info into USMS Go The Distance site that I've passed the 200 mile mark today! I'm also in the top 10 for my age group for distance this year. It was pretty exciting for me. I was also only 2 miles short for my weekly quota of 20 miles. Considering the quality of swims I have done this week, I don't feel bad about theoretically coming up short on quantity.
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