Lake Swimming May Not Be For Me

My goal of swimming 100 laps in a year seemed small on January 1, 2025. I was going to the pool weekly with my family and banging out close to a lap per session at the beginning and end of playtime with my kids. It wasn't a big lift and I thought I'd be doing that weekly pretty much for the whole year.

But something happened in March. Our swim schedule changed and I was thrown for a loop. Then the pool I usually swim in started construction. Things were bad for the New Year's resolution. Days became weeks. Weeks became months. And here I am in the middle of August 15.5 laps down.

Being at Camp Barstool this week provided a good opportunity to knock out some laps in the swim lane that was built out in the lake. I figured I'd probably swim every other day and knock out 15-30 laps per session to put me in a good spot to finish the year. 

When I woke up Tuesday morning it was a dreary 62 degrees and the camp was recovering from a long night of rain. It was freezing. We're sleeping in cabins with no insulation and we're pretty much at the mercy of the temperature. It's not bad for a couple days, but doesn't exactly make for warm lake waters to swim in.

I said I would start swimming on Wednesday and that news didn't go over too well. So they sent me to the lake. The water was pretty cold, but I did get used to it fairly quickly. But one thing I didn't account for, was a very gross floor. The lake had sand about 4-5 feet deep, but it was mixed with a type of grease for the docks that make for an unsavory feeling on my piggy toes. It felt icky. Very gross. I didn't like it one bit. 

It didn't help that the water was close to no visibility, even with goggles. And the only thing I did see was on one lap I saw what I believe to be a large turtle. Very unsavory all around. So in conclusion, I'm not sure lake swimming is for me. Even though I did knock out a career-high four laps. 

But my New Year's Resolution is very much in jeopardy.

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