Can't be shown up by a 1 and a half year old

                                                                                                     6-16-11

   Today Josh was bringing out the paddle board he has on loan to try out at Bountiful Pond.  My parents and grandma and I met Josh and his wife and kids at 6 with no intention of getting in and swimming due to the change in weather an hour before.  And that was just with the weather in mind.  We didn't find out until we got there that the water temp was 53! All that melting snow was really having an effect.

   Josh, Sabrina, my dad, Josh's buddy that came from Sandy, and myself all tried the board and had a blast.  I'd really like to rent one on a day that the weather is better and spend a few hours on the water.

   I got on for a second go at it and headed toward the canal where the water was emptying into the pond.  Josh had just tried and got past the walkway that goes across but the current was too strong and was at a stand still after that.

  Unfortunately I was too far left where the strength of the current was at its worst and flipped over.  Never had a chance.  Falling in right at the mouth where the new water was coming in was quite a shock but I was able to recover pretty quick and toss my arms over the board and kick back to shore.

   15 minutes or so before my little nephew had taken a dive in the water, so not wanting to be out done by a one-and-a-half year old and having just fallen in myself I decided I might as well go swimming.

   I got in and did a few yards while Josh and my dad put the paddle board back on Josh's car.  The water around the ramp was actually pretty warm and going out into the open it didn't feel too bad.  When I got out I asked Josh if he was gonna get in.  He is always up for anything so he got ready and I got back in with him.  Again the water getting in felt good but this time it seemed to be a little more chilly when we got out in the open.

   I didn't bring my GPS because I wasn't planning on swimming so I'm not sure how far I went total but I would guess between 35-50 yards.  I had a great time tonight and after doing a couple short cold water swims I remembered how fun it is and a part of me misses that.

Great Salt Lake Open Water Swim Marathon

                                                                                                   6-11-11

   Josh and Gordon put on an awesome race this afternoon that was a huge success.  I had the opportunity to volunteer as kayak support/photo taker and had a great time.

   There were several out of state swimmers that came just to participate which I thought was pretty cool.  I consider my a swimmer although I may not be the strongest so my favorite part was just the chance to spend yesterday and today chatting and hanging out with all these amazing swimmers.

   Everyone that checked in and started finished both distances.  There were 11 for the 8 mile swim and 25 for the mile.  The only bad thing of the day on my part was spacing putting sunscreen on my ears so they are like crispy bacon...although not nearly as tasty I'm sure.

   Again my hats off to all of the awesome swimmers accepting the challenge and being so strong.  Also to all the help by the harbor master and volunteers and other sponsors that played big rolls in helping Josh and Gordon getting this swim back up and hopefully going for years to come.   Lets make some new legends!  Good job everybody!

Great Salt Lake Open Water Marathon Swim Course Test

                                                                                                 6-4-11

   It's been so long let's see if I can remember what a post is.  I was happy when Josh asked me to head out to GSL tonight and do a double check on the 1 mile distance for the race that Josh and Gordon are putting on Saturday the 11th.

   As usual the water felt chilly walking in from the boat ramp but immediately felt great after a couple strokes.  Since I haven't been swimming for a few weeks my shoulders and arms got sore pretty early but pushed past it after a couple hundred yards and felt good the rest of the way.

   It's always interesting to try and notice the differences in each swim.  Tonight I didn't notice swimming through any cold or warm spots, just a constant temp the whole mile.  I have also been able in the past to do a good job of keeping the salt out of my mouth except for being blind-sided by a wave once in a while.  After this swim I didn't have any salt taste in my mouth and just a faint taste when I licked my lips.  And besides the last swim this swim I didn't have any chaffing under my armpits---which I definitely won't complain about.

   As I got closer to Black Rock I was able to notice a few cars when I sighted every few strokes and there were people standing around the edge but I couldn't tell what they were doing.  When I reached shallow water and began to walk the last few yards to shore I noticed that the people standing around the site was a group of young girls and they were clapping.  After I caught up to Josh the group started to chat with us.  Turns out they were a Girl Scout group and had seen us swimming and watched us come in.  It always makes us laugh that people are so shocked to see us out there.  A couple girls came down the bank and were pretty interested with the bright hats we had with us, and Josh explained that they were a latex swim cap that make it easy for boats and other people to see us.  One of the girls even asked me for a high five which I gotta admit made me feel pretty special.