Longest Swim Yet!

As predicted, the week started out fairly rough after a 6 day break from training. My first bike of the week was rocky and same with the first swim, but by Wednesday I was back into the swing of things.

Today was another Epic Day for me, except this time it was in the water! I went up to Devil's Lake (near Baraboo, WI) with my swim class and the Madison MultiSport Team to swim across the lake and back. I never expected this was something I could or would want to do at this Lake. I've been coming here since I was a kid and never imagined I would swim across the lake.

At 7am we met up at Barriques in Middleton and headed up to Devil's Lake. I rode up with my swim coach - Dave. Dave is excellent. He's such a great motivator and has been one of the keys to my swimming success. Dave really has done a phenomenal job of taking a non-swimmer and turning me into a swimmer.

Once up at Devil's Lake, I got into my wetsuit and applied LOTS of Body Glide to my neck. I always get a bad burn from the suit if I don't do this. I even asked Dave to carry the Body Glide, just in case...

Dave and Cindi set out in kayaks while the rest of us got in the water and started swimming for the boathouse on the North Shore. The boathouse is large, so it was really easy to sight. It always seemed to get closer and closer, but was still so far away. I felt strong swimming across the lake. I didn't stop except once or twice to sight the boathouse. It was a little choppy on the way out, but not too bad. I was pleased to swim in a nice straight line and arrive at the boathouse 37 minutes later with the boys. Eric, Joost, Chet and I arrived all within a minute or so of each other. It was 1.25 miles to the boathouse.

After a few minutes of rest, we continued back towards the south shore. This time we were sighting on a rocky spot on the bluffs. This was a bit more challenging, because once we got closer you couldn't see the bluff. I was having a hard time picking out the shelter on shore and ended up having to stop completely and re-orient myself. I ended up having to make a sharp left turn into shore. I was swimming slightly off course. I'm not sure how much extra I swam, but the 2.5 mile swim took me 1 hour 17 minutes. I felt great about that! And, I couldn't believe that I just swam (with the fishies and all) across Devil's Lake and back.

Despite being focused on the swim, it was a very peaceful experience. The sun was shining, the skies were blue, the lake was calm and clean. It was really refreshing!

After the swim, Chet and I set out for a bike ride around the area while the rest of the group went for a run. The bike was punishing. It was quite hilly and we had a few tough climbs. But, we also had a few fun descents as well!

Once back at the park, we got cleaned up and enjoyed some yummy treats that the Madison Multisport group brought up to the lake. Brownies, cherries, tuna salad, chips, watermelon (Thanks Amanda!), etc...

Ironman is now less than 2 months away. I'm struggling a little bit right now to stay motivated. I don't feel as though I'm doing enough volume, but I trust in my coach and know that he's moving me along well. My running has been fairly absent for the last few weeks and I need to get that in gear.

My next race is on August 4th in Michigan. I look forward to racing again and think that will be a good barometer on my preparation for Ironman.

Thanks for reading and keeping up with my IM journey. I look forward to posting the day after the big race and being able to say: I am an Ironman....or Ironwoman :)