Okay, I know I've been bad with updating! A lot has happened since the last post, but I really have no excuse.
Anyway, this weekend we went out to Hardisty, AB for my cousin's wedding reception (which was a blast-- great to go back and see everyone, especially since I haven't really been in touch in the last few years). While we were there, I figured it would be a good opportunity to practice lake swimming, since my next tri will be my first lake race.
Saturday was a pretty full day, with breakfast at one place, then a mid-afternoon barbeque at another, then the party at the town hall. N wanted to get a run in, and Dad is always up for a run, so we decided to go for a lap around the lake at 8am. About 4.5km, it was a good loop, and N did really well, keeping up a pretty good pace. She's graduated from run 10mins/ walk 1min to full-out running for 30-40 minutes, and is getting faster all the time. She seems to be really enjoying running, and has even been getting me out there on days when I'm feeling lazy.
After showering and going for breakfast, the weather was still pretty nice, so before I could chicken out, I geared up and headed down to the beach. Wading in, the water was a bit of a shock, but really not too cold on my bare legs. I almost thought better of it, but I dove in, sprinting over the weeds and into deeper water.
Very disorienting! I learned to swim in this lake, but never with googles, and not being able to see anything but shadows was bizzare. It took me a while to find the right rhythm and pace, but all in all, it felt pretty good. I decided to practice sighting, aiming for the white buoys at the public beach. I don't know if it was from tying to look up every few strokes, the (relatively) cold water, or my pace, but by the time I reached the buoys, I felt a little dizzy.
I took a bit of a break on the beach, then decided I'd better swim back. I could have walked, but I knew I wouldn't be very satisfied with myself if I did that! So I just took it easy on the way back. N was sitting on the shore in the sun, yelling "faster, faster!" every time I stopped or slowed down. How nice of her.
The lake is much higher than it was when I was a kid, but that's a good thing, because it was starting to get extremely low. I think it was the town council (or maybe the ag society?) that started pumping water out of the river and into the lake a few years ago. The water goes to a holding pond first, to let all stuff that gets churned up in the river to settle out. It seems to be working quite well.
Tonight, we go to MEC to get some bike shorts. No more sore bum! Yay!
Run: 4.5km
Swim: 500- 1000m? (I really have no idea!)
