To celebrate Easter, Gisela and I met for our "annual" first open water swim of the season. Jeff joined us for this second swim in four years and Uwe and Ruth watched, commented on our mental health and took pictures to document the occasion.

Before the swim, I coordinated a run with Ruth who dropped me off on her way to grocery shore and I ran from U Village up the Arboretum and along Lake Washington planning to meet everyone back at Madison Beach. I unfortunately did not plan my turn-around time correctly and had to get her to scoop me so I could make it to the start point at 11:00.

10 Mile Run @ 01:40:18
137a

It was fortunately a beautiful sunny day as we entered the water. Even though I got brand new booties and gloves from the Easter Bunny (AKA Jeff), I opted not to wear them because it would not go along with the spirit of this inagural swim -- one to set the standard for how much better (warmer) the subsequent swims of the season will be. Jeff and Gisela hit the water quickly while I lagged behind trying to convince myself to put my arms in the water. Ruth harassed me from shore, offering to get me a kickboard so I would not have to get my arms wet. I finally plunged in and swam out to the corner of the building. My hands, arms, feet and face were tingling like pins and needles and I was having a tough time with it so I decided to turn around before I got completely freaked. When I got closer to shore, I realized that Jeff and Gisela were still out there so I butched up and swam back out with them a for a bit longer before coming in. We all had a nice warm cup of coffee after to celebrate :)

400 Yard Open Water Swim @ 00:10:00