Lake Challenge Day 15 - Head Underwater

I had to take a couple days off of swimming last week because of the heavy rain. I kept hoping it would stop for a little while so I could jump in the lake – but it just never let up. It let up for a little while on the weekend and out of guilt, I decided to take a quick swim to make up for the days I missed in the water (not exactly an even trade but it’s the best I could do).
Because of the downpour in the previous days, the water was certainly muddier than usual and lake levels had risen up to the normal levels of the summer season. There were also small sticks and leaves that would occasionally float by as I swam and the waters were less calm than usual.
The truth is that, if the lake had been tested that day, it may have shown higher e coli readings than normal. But even with slightly elevated levels of bacteria, the chance of contracting anything is minimal and the guilt of not swimming for four days got the best of me. So I swam.
Nothing eventful ended up happening on the swim (although some people at a nearby dock who were fishing stared and pointed at me) and I finished with the satisfaction that I had kept the challenge going.
This upcoming week is the last one in the challenge – and while a number of people have joined me in my morning swim, many more have expressed a desire to participate in a fitness event on land. To answer that call, our Fun and Fitness Walk will be happening on Monday and Tuesday of this week at 6:00 p.m. The first night (weather permitting) will be held at Linn Creek and the second will be at Public Beach 2 at the state park. It a just a night to get out and take a walk or jog, get your legs moving and enjoy the lake.

Lake Challenge Day 14

Another day, another heavy rainfall - went for a little run on the back roads of the lake.

It’s been a few days since I wrote about my morning swims, but that doesn’t mean I took a day off – things have been so busy (personally and professionally) that it was all I could do to get a swim in the morning.
So I’ll play a little catch up and write about the past three swims:

Friday
Friday was a nice warm morning. Jade and Kevin Sellers (kayaking) and Jim Glickert (in the water) joined me. We began the swim at Public Beach 2 at the state park in Osage Beach. Jim, who manages a Lake Ozark fitness web site named gojim.tv, hadn’t been in the water this year. But he gamely jumped in the water for the cause.
Like me, he’s a little rusty, but it’s always good to get that first swim in.
We went around the beach cove to the left and ended up toward the other ramp of the state park. As usual, the view from the water was fantastic and I enjoyed treading water for a while just looking around at my surroundings. In total, we spent around 40 minutes in the lake.

Monday
After a long and fun Mother’s Day weekend in St. Louis, I wasn’t looking forward to getting up for a morning swim. The rain in the morning certainly didn’t inspire me either. So I delayed the swim till the afternoon – when it had stopped raining, but had grown much colder and very windy outside.
Few things will motivate you to do what you said than by saying what you are going to do on the front page of a newspaper – unfortunately, I said I’d swim twenty days in the lake. Thus, I found myself running out into the water at Public Beach 2 in the late afternoon. I lasted about 20 minutes in the water and probably looked quite insane to anyone who was watching.

Tuesday
Another cold morning – this time I swam at Old Kinderhook. I’ve always tried to keep in good shape and hoped that I was setting a good example to my children in doing so. However, I’m not sure if I’m being a good role model or scarring my children by walking around every morning in a black skintight wet suit. I certainly can’t imagine (and never want to) see my folks in one. To their credit, they don’t seem to be phased by it – but they’ve seen me in running shorts and cycling tights – so maybe they’ve grown immune to seeing their dad in silly outfits. Poor kids.
I lasted about 25 minutes in a fairly cool lake – but felt invigorated and ready to start the day.

Lake Challenge Day 8 - In the Water

I swam in Linn Creek Cove this morning and I have to say I’m starting to really enjoy that cove. It was the second time I’ve swam there and each time has been “warmish.” And while I don’t think I’m getting any faster, I am completing the workout without feeling completely wiped out.
We had kayakers out with us again on Wednesday (Jade and Kevin Sellers and Tamara McClain). While the water is always pretty quiet on a weekday morning and there is little boat traffic, it’s always nice to have a kayaker around. That way you can concentrate completely on the swim.
Other than on a beach front for fun, I’ve never kayaked. But in talking to Kevin today, I found out that there are quite a few people who consider this their hobby. Kevin is on the lake 5 to 7 days a week. If you see him in person, you know that he’s in great shape. He contributes much of his fitness to his kayaking regimen.
Because I’ve never kayaked I never considered it in this way, but Kevin actually enjoys the wakes that the boats leave behind. It makes it more interesting for him. He likes the challenge and ride that he gets from the waves generated from boats driving by him but he also enjoys the serenity and scenery of the lake when there is no one out there but him.
Kevin and his wife Jade have been a great help during this challenge. Their enthusiasm for the lake and kayaking is contagious and you can’t help but get excited about being in the lake – even if it is freezing. Kevin and Jade also bring ia little inspiration through their dog Buster. They bring him along during each paddle/swim and you can’t help but smile when you look up after laboring through the water to see a little dog with a funny face on a kayak in the middle of the lake.