6 Miles.......SWIMMING!

I did it. I completed my 6-mile swim in Lake Memphremagog which is in Newport, VT; right on the border of Canada. This is where I swam the 3-mile lake swim last year. It is an amazing event that keeps growing and growing. Find out more info at www.kingdomswim.org.

I was so lucky that Phil White, race organizer, is awesome and allowed me and another guy to come up and swim in the afternoon. All of the other swimmers started in the AM and I was unable to make it b/c of work. So Steve (my new swimming buddy) and I started out for our 6-mile swim under very dark clouds. Somehow we encountered no rain or storms throughout the whole swim although it was pouring in all the towns surrounding us.

I decided to swim w/o my wetsuit attempting to be a "real" open water swimmer. Steve chose to use his wetsuit and it worked out perfectly putting us at a really even pace throughout the whole swim. Phil was in little motorboat to feed us and help us if we were in any trouble. He really kept his distance so we didn't have gas or wake in our way. The great thing about this swim is that it is really open water. The buoys are super far apart so there are times where you are just swimming hoping to be going in the right direction.

We fed every 30-minutes which seemed to work out perfectly. I originally was thinking every 45-min; which is probably when I actually need to fuel; but 30-minutes helped with not losing your mind and getting to see another human being! The h20 was a little choppy and the temp was fine (70 degrees at shore). I was never warm, but I was never cold to the put where I felt like I had to get out of the h20. My body was awesome until about mile 5 when my left shoulder was starting to shoot pain down my arm and I really didn't want to pull it through h20 anymore. I did a few backstrokes to help switch it up but what I really need to do is STOP SLEEPING ON THIS ARM. I have noticed in the last 1-2 years or so that my shoulder is just aching in the AM. I have slept on this arm for 28 years and it is so hard to try to change it. But I am working on it slowly. I really, really want to do the 10-miler but am seriously using my wetsuit b/c I know I will not be able to put in a lot of these swims on my own. I do have an Ironman to train for! I also know that this could quite possible hurt ALOT! I have a full month to train and decide on my plan.

In tri-life I am just plugging away getting my training in. I am starting to feel better on the bike as my excess weight is coming off. The run is still the same: Slow. But that is my fault for hibernating all winter. Flights and hotel are booked and I am really starting to get pumped b/c IM will be here sooner than you know it. Hope everyone is well out there in training land.