Big Shoulders, September 10

The water is getting colder. We have not had the chance to swim in cold water since July, usually thats a good thing but it would be nice to get a bit acclimated before the race. But this week we had big winds from the North with large waves every single day. At least it kept the water reasonably warm. So this year we really lucked out, the pattern broke Big Shoulders day and the winds died down. The predicted rain went to Wisconsin. So we had a dry windless day with reasonable air temperature in the low 70's and only mild swells and chop. The water was 67 which at first felt cool to me since we have been swimming in 74 degree water but midway through the race the sun came out from behind the low clouds and it was actually delightful! I was actually warm when the race was over.

Even though there was a record turnout of close to 1000 swimmers everything went smoothly. There was a lot of congestion around the second turn of the first lap for some reason, but otherwise only the occasional collision. And we got BBQ beef sandwiches when we finished! So no complaints at all this year. Great race!