Get In No Matter What

Feb 16, 2024

Wind: from SE 6.1 m/sec (14 mph). Air Temperature: 9.1 °C (48 °F) Water Temperature: 7.55 °C (46 °F)

Today at the lake it was sunny and blustery. The water was really choppy, but I was desperate to get in the lake after not exercising for five days. 

I’m not sure if I’m doing something wrong or if my gear is wearing down, but I was leaking everywhere today. The water was crazy cold, and it was flooding in through the neck and seeping in through the back zipper. I had to start and stop about seven times before I could keep my face in the water. 

It was distracting to feel cold around my neck, but I stuck with it ‘cause that’s the kind of woman I am. The wind made waves in the water that were tossing me around. I could see from the bottom of the lake that I was progressing, moving forward, but it seemed like I was only moving a cm at a time. 

There was a young family on the beach, and I was happy about that in case I got into trouble. I was really worried because I float pretty well in the wetsuit, but it’s always nice to have people nearby. 

I could see the snowcapped mountains in the distance, and I wished that I had a better camera to get some snaps. I headed south, knowing I didn’t have the stamina to swim very far. I ended up turning around and heading to the cement dock. I did two laps around it, then swam around a bit in the swim area. 

I could see the underwater buoy where they attached the swim area ropes flopping all over the place from the waves. The milfoil is tan-colored now and sort of wispy. If I hadn’t been so focused on not drowning I might have gotten a little bit wigged out. It’s freaky swimming over tangles of seaweed, having no idea what’s inside it. I’ve never seen that many creatures, just a few fish, but I still expect some honking lake monster to pop out. 

I saw a tin can and a bottle, and it made me mad. Why do people litter? Assholes. 

The sun was bright and sending some nice beams into the water, so I took the opportunity to swim into a beam tunnel and greet my peeps, “T, R, A, E, H.” I did it a few times, then on the north side of the cement dock I did it again, then added a few more peeps, “SC, SP, TW.” 

I find it hard to think about all my lost friends, but in the water it feels open and friendly and not sad. Like they are all just fine where they are, and I can cope just fine. Not sure what that says about me that I can function better emotionally when I’m trying to swim in the waves, but there it is. I will take relief and ease where I find it. 

I tried to do another lap around the dock, but I was getting really tired. I spent this entire week in bed with crazy fatigue and sleep issues. Even in just four or five days I feel like I’ve lost a lot of fitness. 

The water was clear, but there were brown web-like things floating around that looked like clumps of hair from the shower drain. Gross. I think they were little broken-off branches from the milfoil. Still, it’s gross. Every few strokes I exhale through my nose so nothing too creepy gets comfy there. 

By the time I got out of the water that family was gone. I was super grateful the showers were working. The wind was so cold. I got all my gear off, rinsed it, then tried to get dried off and dressed as fast as I could. The wind made it so cold. 

On the way home I stopped for groceries. Pirate Booty on sale for $1.49. Yahoo. Now I have a fridge full of mostly healthy food. A few treats for snacking. And I burned 400 calories swimming. Tomorrow is Saturday. I am so tired it’s gonna be a challenge to stay awake til bedtime. 

But I’m glad I made myself go for a swim. Always. Forever.