Meta tags:

Headings (most frequently used words):

2017, 2016, the, thursday, blog, april, and, to, swimming, friday, january, monday, august, of, water, 20, 19, tuesday, november, october, 10, 22, sunday, july, 24, friends, sponsors, social, networks, pages, archive, search, this, roll, favorite, online, places, labels, is, moving, different, site, kicking, clunk, foot, pondering, lane, etiquette, coping, but, just, barely, year, activism, losing, aftermath, cold, self, treating, hypothermia, moon, race, report, importance, bilateral, breathing, in, open, back, black, line,

Text of the page (most frequently used words):
the (365), and (240), was (107), that (89), water (81), swimming (66), this (63), swim (61), but (61), with (56), for (55), cold (41), about (38), have (38), had (38), when (37), one (37), share (36), kick (34), not (33), more (32), lake (31), from (30), you (29), what (29), back (27), myself (27), into (27), just (26), get (26), all (25), are (24), time (24), open (23), they (23), because (23), two (22), can (22), were (22), out (22), like (21), started (21), right (20), been (20), will (20), #breathing (19), ago (19), even (19), know (19), race (18), body (18), before (18), there (18), first (18), how (17), after (17), also (17), swimmer (17), kicking (16), feet (16), year (16), last (16), here (16), running (15), pool (15), pull (15), than (15), then (15), only (15), second (14), erie (14), years (14), think (14), good (14), little (13), long (13), may (13), posted (13), while (13), thing (13), don (13), now (13), minutes (13), got (13), people (13), would (13), them (13), next (13), ironman (12), blog (12), feel (12), 2016 (12), 2017 (12), left (12), way (12), could (12), hard (12), without (12), very (12), through (12), take (12), well (12), some (12), made (12), didn (12), still (11), did (11), april (11), facebook (11), something (11), breathe (11), which (11), swimmers (11), training (10), new (10), labels (10), october (10), january (10), lane (10), different (10), pinterest (10), blogthis (10), email (10), unknown (10), getting (10), buoy (10), keep (10), better (10), things (10), actually (10), morning (10), swam (10), over (10), temperature (10), foot (9), 10k (9), july (9), august (9), december (9), comments (9), believe (9), high (9), enough (9), their (9), told (9), start (9), really (9), make (9), much (9), who (9), group (9), finally (9), channel (9), stopped (9), video (8), ocean (8), bilateral (8), september (8), november (8), mile (8), home (8), off (8), sport (8), stroke (8), going (8), legs (8), again (8), need (8), warm (8), sure (8), these (8), say (8), great (8), those (8), close (8), speed (7), half (7), cleveland (7), air (7), our (7), your (7), march (7), june (7), took (7), few (7), doing (7), state (7), turn (7), needed (7), lot (7), line (7), many (7), swims (7), conditions (7), bad (7), never (7), degrees (7), why (7), said (7), most (7), team (6), stretching (6), love (6), learning (6), hypothermia (6), goals (6), environment (6), drawing (6), beach (6), guy (6), see (6), february (6), other (6), finish (6), probably (6), come (6), being (6), wide (6), side (6), drag (6), past (6), found (6), put (6), perfect (6), able (6), showers (6), toward (6), has (6), decided (6), until (6), always (6), chop (6), ever (6), makes (6), day (6), around (6), three (6), wasn (6), trying (6), course (6), want (6), monday (6), seriously (6), must (6), lanes (6), world (5), strength (5), heat (5), disaster (5), commitment (5), clunk (5), image (5), art (5), analysis (5), age (5), run (5), distance (5), days (5), won (5), arm (5), under (5), head (5), obvious (5), naturally (5), faster (5), might (5), crazy (5), remember (5), degree (5), noticed (5), games (5), his (5), colder (5), stuck (5), stop (5), important (5), waves (5), overall (5), hell (5), fingers (5), sun (5), feeling (5), weeds (5), her (5), down (5), having (5), felt (5), car (5), called (5), circle (5), championship (4), work (4), technique (4), racing (4), nutrition (4), motivation (4), losing (4), life (4), friends (4), drills (4), athlete (4), space (4), too (4), series (4), months (4), week (4), lesson (4), brain (4), several (4), natural (4), show (4), month (4), best (4), point (4), 50s (4), difference (4), amount (4), whole (4), since (4), competitive (4), underwater (4), pulled (4), less (4), reminded (4), post (4), season (4), thought (4), should (4), learned (4), easier (4), direction (4), during (4), its (4), lakes (4), nothing (4), wave (4), shoreline (4), changes (4), problem (4), hours (4), miles (4), everything (4), below (4), near (4), jim (4), stayed (4), halfmoon (4), patterson (4), where (4), issues (4), 60s (4), meant (4), everyone (4), use (4), buoys (4), longer (4), based (4), woman (4), another (4), times (4), once (4), together (4), almost (4), big (4), strong (4), though (4), look (4), moon (4), waited (4), shivering (4), both (4), indians (4), fan (4), game (4), school (4), done (4), taking (4), thursday (4), runner (4), sharing (4), pools (4), knees (4), drop (3), watch (3), brakes (3), social (3), sketch (3), shoes (3), rant (3), progress (3), panic (3), midwest (3), mental (3), marathon (3), london (3), live (3), hydration (3), sandy (3), heart (3), family (3), elbow (3), list (3), bike (3), attitude (3), anxiety (3), activism (3), acclimation (3), favorite (3), walk (3), orange (3), short (3), forgotten (3), advice (3), part (3), moving (3), site (3), story (3), posts (3), hopefully (3), further (3), although (3), bit (3), position (3), working (3), change (3), away (3), talk (3), meantime (3), learn (3), quickly (3), sets (3), quite (3), find (3), become (3), help (3), thus (3), thinking (3), looked (3), calm (3), doesn (3), mid (3), reasons (3), rhythm (3), watched (3), knows (3), every (3), fight (3), low (3), shore (3), event (3), michigan (3), fact (3), goes (3), bag (3), saw (3), wait (3), numb (3), stay (3), maybe (3), completely (3), far (3), tired (3), determined (3), avoid (3), ground (3), markers (3), couple (3), attempt (3), mind (3), backstroke (3), reached (3), directly (3), issue (3), give (3), fast (3), kept (3), board (3), trouble (3), alone (3), disoriented (3), handle (3), reading (3), practice (3), focus (3), drive (3), fully (3), fine (3), already (3), making (3), went (3), changed (3), let (3), forcing (3), used (3), win (3), read (3), realize (3), face (3), call (3), images (3), struggling (3), photo (3), shoulders (3), ask (3), expected (3), drill (3), narrow (3), literally (3), motion (3), hip (3), flexible (3), zen (2), cards (2), winning (2), wind (2), weather (2), turin (2), triathlon (2), travel (2), track (2), gym (2), thanksgiving (2), texas (2), teaching (2), idea (2), shirts (2), stress (2), south (2), haven (2), sleep (2), skills (2), printmaking (2), printing (2), power (2), polar (2), physical (2), music (2), valve (2), mark (2), local (2), kona (2), hawaii (2), coeur (2), alene (2), health (2), club (2), gps (2), glastonbury (2), fundraising (2), fun (2), festival (2), fear (2), disappointment (2), detroit (2), data (2), country (2), conservation (2), blogging (2), awards (2), adaptation (2), straight (2), magazine (2), outdoor (2), society (2), apart (2), online (2), rock (2), fat (2), man (2), women (2), improve (2), website (2), masters (2), adapt (2), increasing (2), 2011 (2), pondering (2), etiquette (2), passage (2), trauma (2), crowdrise (2), abuse (2), note (2), self (2), failed (2), begun (2), fix (2), easy (2), study (2), does (2), indeed (2), handed (2), instead (2), each (2), feels (2), massive (2), least (2), propulsion (2), weeks (2), end (2), arms (2), annoying (2), streamlined (2), effort (2), convinced (2), means (2), weak (2), nearly (2), grabbed (2), recently (2), realized (2), using (2), area (2), plan (2), sub (2), slowly (2), temperatures (2), dropped (2), experience (2), ability (2), quicker (2), yeah (2), certainly (2), hand (2), endurance (2), sunday (2), written (2), upon (2), regular (2), liability (2), however (2), takes (2), beginning (2), moments (2), set (2), became (2), yesterday (2), workout (2), flip (2), turns (2), lines (2), drove (2), jumped (2), choppy (2), races (2), reason (2), pattern (2), patterns (2), any (2), especially (2), parallel (2), itself (2), north (2), article (2), facing (2), couldn (2), dismal (2), rough (2), extended (2), looks (2), ohio (2), importance (2), friday (2), place (2), somewhere (2), chose (2), likely (2), unlike (2), starting (2), channels (2), small (2), special (2), needs (2), clock (2), barely (2), eyes (2), wanted (2), leading (2), clothes (2), wear (2), standing (2), weight (2), order (2), care (2), five (2), melee (2), spot (2), dim (2), light (2), happy (2), along (2), alongside (2), others (2), shallow (2), against (2), slightly (2), force (2), wake (2), bridge (2), marker (2), huge (2), grabbing (2), onto (2), notice (2), works (2), clean (2), free (2), pointing (2), telling (2), spotting (2), girl (2), front (2), bottle (2), carbo (2), original (2), type (2), him (2), influence (2), clear (2), worked (2), ahead (2), ended (2), smack (2), middle (2), coming (2), enjoying (2), enjoy (2), sky (2), weird (2), step (2), minute (2), finished (2), third (2), epic (2), committed (2), fall (2), talking (2), resources (2), hot (2), lack (2), hands (2), tell (2), speaking (2), toes (2), keeping (2), worse (2), matter (2), turned (2), immediately (2), saturday (2), lasted (2), band (2), cause (2), try (2), height (2), environmental (2), playoff (2), twice (2), acclimating (2), obviously (2), person (2), battle (2), injuries (2), sorry (2), came (2), often (2), players (2), sports (2), football (2), ruin (2), teams (2), college (2), haunt (2), athletes (2), whether (2), mean (2), passionate (2), energy (2), future (2), oceans (2), google (2), waste (2), biggest (2), considered (2), neither (2), interested (2), coping (2), triathlete (2), yep (2), tight (2), lately (2), realistic (2), jeanne (2), thejeanneius (2), jan (2), pst (2), draw (2), crosshatching (2), sketchbook (2), penandink (2), blackandwhite (2), albatross (2), today (2), yrs (2), magnet (2), taken (2), usually (2), someone (2), option (2), choose (2), lifeguards (2), unless (2), excuses (2), offered (2), yes (2), lady (2), she (2), yelled (2), difficult (2), wants (2), asked (2), spent (2), nice (2), skill (2), worrying (2), entirely (2), fins (2), creating (2), develop (2), developed (2), term (2), awesome, inc, theme, powered, blogger, zoo, zero, xmas, winter, wetsuit, weights, vermont, venn, diagram, vacation, trip, treadmill, travis, trainer, trail, total, toronto, timex, shins, tattoo, taper, sylvania, supplements, steelhead, spring, splits, speedwork, sonny, sunsets, media, sluggishness, sole, sculpture, scott, saddle, royal, oak, theater, risks, review, rev3, rest, relaxation, rehab, recovery, quintana, roo, prp, prizes, plunge, play, doh, plateau, pittsburgh, therapy, photography, philadelphia, perspective, personality, disorder, pen, paper, panasonic, pain, nostalgia, york, hampshire, england, mooseman, mitral, mistakes, miracles, milwaukee, mexico, menopause, marketing, dignam, maine, lollygagging, letterpress, lessons, lemurs, kurt, kinetic, job, jaw, italy, irony, utah, george, louisville, placid, ipod, intaglio, inspiration, ink, injury, infinite, jest, improvement, illness, hyponatremia, hurricane, rate, greeting, geek, frustration, friendship, fleet, flat, tire, fitness, fatigue, equipment, electronic, electrolytes, election, edmonton, drypoint, driving, drawcast, drafting, dodgeball, doctors, dnf, disney, diet, determination, depression, demons, demetri, martin, dehydration, decisions, david, foster, wallace, daily, cycling, cross, crash, contest, concert, computrainer, competition, comedy, columbus, collagraph, coldplay, coaching, clearwater, chicago, challenge, catharsis, cartoon, camera, bucket, brother, brick, block, biking, asthma, allergies, aging, addiction, copper, plate, press, dope, math, craig, damrauer, smashing, bears, international, videos, laughing, squid, dornob, wild, dead, drinking, banksy, creative, juice, places, momma, pea, punk, tri, 482, limp, fly, fmr, evolve, hornett, swimsup, nutmeg, popover, rolls, skip, dessert, gunhild, swanson, finishing, western, states, 100, transitionfour, book, recommendation, heaven, unnecessary, quotation, marks, business, recreational, vehicles, enjoyment, entire, household, spamosphere, blew, youtube, viral, ariarne, titmus, katie, ledecky, 400m, freestyle, final, tips, spinbit, internet, gambling, establishment, formal, webecoist, benefits, implementing, xvif, organization, rob, aquatics, design, adaptive, technologes, accessible, designs, weburbanist, stupider, pearls, swine, guide, loneswimmer, brayden, jarrett, bear, length, observer, notes, gords, log, roll, search, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, archive, rite, provo, survival, pages, networks, sponsors, subscribe, atom, older, revelation, weekend, decompress, 180, heatwave, marked, advisory, medication, therefore, recover, mentally, sync, yet, studying, detachment, internal, pieces, evidence, dominant, stronger, rotate, keeps, revealed, cycle, awkward, momentary, lapse, possibly, causing, tiny, sides, experimenting, workouts, concentrate, extremely, yard, within, noted, struggle, baffled, pseudo, scientific, hunch, scientist, whoa, revelations, ridiculously, forearm, smaller, respect, goal, determine, spend, english, compadres, periods, bodies, acclimated, own, withstand, previous, director, corey, davis, recommendations, extend, survived, equation, conduction, convection, transfer, class, engineering, task, whipping, mode, proper, survive, thrive, benefit, black, spending, return, gravitated, served, triathlons, pursuing, single, sided, approach, comes, circles, excellent, round, accepted, slower, forced, conquered, encouragement, automatically, becomes, chore, automatic, none, real, significance, bilaterally, perfectly, stressful, walls, boundaries, careful, wish, checked, tow, wonder, changing, whip, shallowest, raced, cancelled, drowned, follows, rules, rhyme, importantly, books, henry, beston, describes, unique, atlantic, coast, cape, cod, anyone, including, waters, catch, impossible, settle, sort, drastically, beaches, sheer, cliffs, hundred, yards, creates, sorts, conflicting, swells, such, luck, discover, beneficial, swallowed, contrary, tried, break, engulf, breathed, swell, managed, exhausted, addition, happen, rule, thumb, white, caps, described, outermost, house, nowcast, comment, suspect, loved, name, distances, chain, ann, arbor, university, finds, region, usa, personal, version, surrounded, fans, overnight, east, across, connecting, private, property, starts, same, required, exit, partake, items, stashed, nights, battling, incidentally, pre, jitters, dealing, problems, alarm, rang, deal, exceeded, bring, accounted, shuffled, arch, gun, mumbling, count, raincoat, men, assured, progressively, quick, singing, star, spangled, banner, inter, illuminating, beautiful, allowed, appreciate, settled, pace, steadily, tangled, aground, punching, unfortunately, occupied, deeper, sending, bank, beaching, slamming, wooden, uprights, cleared, smooth, ins, equally, treacherous, included, diameter, metal, pipe, desperate, forward, leapt, deck, yelling, kids, themselves, hey, moment, weed, wrapped, neck, bearings, bright, stand, paddler, blowing, whistle, perpendicular, directed, kayakers, burned, retinas, anything, collision, opposite, flag, kayaker, directions, boat, carrying, apparently, blown, news, predicted, volunteer, containing, gave, slip, mixed, pro, calories, drank, ran, chase, clobbering, tractor, beam, gravitational, behind, lull, exiting, wrestle, lifeguard, paddle, whatsoever, check, falling, blue, flipped, pushed, wobble, fell, embarrassingly, caught, shame, speak, wise, 33rd, female, loving, ready, kicks, plot, garmin, beer, glasses, trophies, skratchlabs, early, number, report, appropriately, teach, gained, blogs, certain, ten, later, sauna, skin, internally, chilled, began, ate, blame, simple, hunger, judging, experiences, foggy, shaking, food, hungry, sucked, gels, ages, sat, fog, husband, stringing, words, sounded, mcdonalds, parking, seem, possible, hypothermic, focused, assumed, downhill, hurry, shade, struggled, unscrew, key, stuff, difficulty, full, blast, wet, swimsuit, bummed, thermos, apple, cinnamon, skratch, pack, choppier, difficultly, push, sweatshirt, momentarily, remained, forth, sight, effects, passed, control, pinky, finger, harder, jump, punched, chest, noticeable, waded, waist, seconds, snuffed, sense, relax, embrace, unfazed, seemed, resulting, scary, vid, surf, tough, particular, stage, calmer, surprising, comfortable, swallowing, potentially, contaminated, fighting, commented, admired, dedication, laughed, bath, soon, warmer, according, glerl, date, figure, noaa, research, laboratory, atypically, wore, shorts, gotribe, screaming, wincing, jumping, helped, process, fifth, ring, vomiting, continuously, root, canal, usual, shower, hotter, scalding, dilemma, 1vigor, lone, treating, cubs, ticket, holder, attended, odds, lose, history, greatest, sevens, devastating, heartbreaking, frustrating, heartbroken, kind, greatness, mistake, absolutely, airplanes, homes, families, parts, paychecks, forget, except, witnessed, heard, case, professionals, collecting, paycheck, empathize, grew, athletic, disappointments, losses, dinners, seasons, cried, blow, haunts, senior, lost, tenth, wondered, treated, liked, feelings, truly, pushing, limits, performances, define, worthy, judge, professional, championships, heroes, human, potential, kid, inside, charitable, contributions, actions, recognize, ourselves, proud, aftermath, reality, specifically, president, climate, science, critical, protect, planet, renewable, struggles, polluting, waterways, destroying, animals, artist, powerless, resist, illustrate, happened, consciousness, night, result, direct, graphic, created, perhaps, disturbing, following, diptychs, etched, linocuts, inspire, mindful, talent, thereof, presence, earth, conquering, jolla, cove, succumbed, overheated, longest, conquer, hurdle, wrote, experiments, tip, iceberg, eventually, unfolds, entered, city, vowed, fundraiser, supports, grateful, support, widget, column, shark, finning, bycatch, coral, bleaching, tuesday, decide, regulary, whatever, vent, political, economic, uncertainty, focusing, paid, entry, maryland, resounding, success, delve, realm, pie, tentatively, ice, currently, setback, challenges, runs, bikes, occasionally, gain, muscle, longingly, staring, closet, afraid, putting, weighed, pounds, large, unwieldy, oversized, upper, sleeves, freak, freaky, looking, imagined, surprisingly, accept, former, positive, messages, bother, rise, above, mirror, passion, achieve, reaching, petty, warms, wim, hof, justin, rosales, 09am, hang, crosshatch, crosshatchdrawing, doodle, pendrawing, surrealism, surreal, abstract, penart, 37am, basics, inkdrawing, bird, seabird, becoming, iceman, player, chesapeake, bay, either, status, somehow, injected, discourteous, angry, exchanges, fellow, wouldn, courteous, hurt, comers, extra, signs, indicating, community, nor, regulars, asking, tend, refused, reluctant, hilarious, lolly, gag, floating, four, dumbfounded, ignored, schedule, dude, act, suggested, simply, brilliant, brookline, boston, upset, complaining, chalk, living, affluent, neighborhood, jerk, empathetic, understand, subject, closest, gets, asset, dismissed, criticism, million, bottom, else, perfecting, specific, coach, john, klarman, previously, orders, magnitude, triathletes, recovering, loves, destroy, fold, developing, useful, seems, streamline, snorkel, allows, attend, translating, sprinting, adding, nowhere, hardest, furthest, decreases, wider, widest, suggestion, rubber, create, propeller, cool, current, dumb, inflexible, narrower, watching, instantly, runners, appearance, employ, enormous, knee, bending, tends, accentuate, reinforce, upright, mostly, ditched, streamlining, researching, involves, sit, split, photos, top, miniscule, touch, screwed, throwing, towel, sink, rigid, timothy, noakes, career, coddling, giving, form, tech, lots, cushioning, yield, siree, laugh, lore, educate, backward, knew, symmetrical, pretty, stalls, breath, bizarre, tendency, leg, stiff, trips, uneven, sidewalks, shot, primary, distinguish, styles, supplies, percent, propulsive, vague, reference, purpose, float, conscious, hindrance, added, slowed, airplane, window, pop, wings, land, screw, muscles, myth, save, breaststroker, sprinter, flutter, beat, anymore, surprise, main, leave, copied, content, location, http, disastermagnet, jeanneius, com,

Text of the page (random words):
with the disappointment of another failed championship they get their huge paychecks and forget about it right except based on everything i ve witnessed and read and heard i don t think that s really the case with this team they are much more than working professionals collecting a paycheck they re a team and i empathize with them because i ve been a competitive athlete my whole life i grew up in a competitive athletic family and i know what sports disappointments are all about i know that football losses ruin thanksgiving dinners i know that injuries ruin track seasons i ve cried over many of these things not only for myself but for my high school teams and my college teams and i know the heart of an athlete i know what our cleveland indians players are feeling right now and i know that they will take this with them into next season and it will haunt them it will haunt them because of how close it was i think a blow out would have been easier to handle i know this because i too came this close to a championship and it still haunts me to this day when i was a senior in high school on the swim team i lost a state championship by one tenth of a second i always wondered what my life would be like had i won would people have treated me different would i have liked myself better i will never know but i do know that my feelings for the cleveland indians have not changed and it makes me realize that as athletes we do what we do because we love it we come back the next year and try again it took a long time for me to get back to the sport i truly love but i swim now and i keep pushing my limits and it also makes me realize that we should never as i have done in the past let our sports performances define us or tell us whether we are worthy or not and i will not judge professional athletes on whether they win championships or not they can be heroes to us for so many more reasons for making us realize the human potential for taking us back to the kid inside us and for their charitable contributions and actions those are the important things they give us and those are the things we should recognize in ourselves posted by unknown at 2 40 pm no comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest labels athlete attitude losing motivation winning monday october 10 2016 cold water swimming i self treating hypothermia a few months ago i committed myself to learning how to swim in cold water this fall or to state it more appropriately to teach adapt my body and mind to handle cold water while swimming i gained advice from talking to people and reading blogs and online resources like these outdoor swimming society lone swimmer 1vigor site i decided to start my cold water acclimating process with cold showers if you know me you know that cold showers are my fifth ring of hell the only things worse are vomiting continuously or having a root canal in fact my usual shower temperature is slightly hotter than scalding obviously i had a big dilemma but a commitment is a commitment so i started cold and went colder until i could do it without screaming and then without wincing and finally without even thinking twice before jumping in it s hard to believe but i even started to enjoy cold showers especially after my pool swims it helped that the pool water was 83 degrees f but cold showers last about five minutes and i needed to be able to swim for hours in cold water so i waited and waited and atypically it took until october this year for fall weather to come to cleveland lake erie water temperatures have finally begun to drop seriously we wore shorts to the first two indians playoff games gotribe i went for my first sub 70 degree swim on saturday there was only one problem the lake was very rough according to the noaa s great lakes environmental research laboratory glerl the wave height was close to 4 feet i swim in a spot directly to the left of the date under lake erie wave height in the figure below i took some video to try and show how bad the chop was and the water temperature about 68 degrees f was warmer than the air temperature the water was surprising comfortable and i lasted 30 minutes before i got tired of swallowing potentially contaminated water and fighting the chop when i got out the wind and the mid 60s air temperature was enough to cause all my fingers to go completely numb in about 5 minutes there were people on the beach who commented that i was crazy and that they admired me for my dedication i laughed and quickly made my way to the car i drove home with the heat on high and took a 30 minute hot bath as soon as i got there my next attempt to swim in cold water was monday i waited until monday because i decided high surf and cold water were one too many tough conditions to handle at this particular stage of acclimation lake erie was much calmer on monday here s vid but it was a couple degrees colder at about 66 degrees f you can see the little band of 66 near where i swim on monday i lasted 45 minutes i started to note changes resulting from the cold water and some of them were just a bit scary first of all let me state the obvious getting in cold water is never easy the colder it is the harder it is to jump in all at once because as i learned in london last december it feels like you ve been punched in the chest the two degree temperature difference from saturday was noticeable i waded in to my waist slowly then jumped fully in and started swimming after about 30 seconds i snuffed out a sense of panic by forcing myself to relax and embrace the water it worked in no time i was enjoying my swim unfazed by the cold my body actually seemed to get used to it quite quickly what i learned from reading was that in cold water i must keep swimming and stop only momentarily since i was alone i remained close to shore by swimming back and forth in an area about 25 miles wide i only stopped to turn and sight i didn t start feeling the effects of cold water until 30 minutes had passed when i started to notice i was losing control of my left pinky finger but i wasn t shivering and i didn t feel cold i swam 15 minutes more then decided to pack it in when the water started getting choppier and i was having a little difficultly in both hands with keeping my fingers together my feet felt fine and i still wasn t shivering but i didn t want to push it while i was by myself i swam to shore and immediately put on a sweatshirt it was at this point things went downhill in a hurry the air temperature was in the low 60s and i was in the shade in a matter of minutes i struggled with numb fingers to unscrew the valve on my swim buoy i needed to get my car key shivering i grabbed all my stuff and started running to the car i stopped in the sun only to put my shoes on also with much difficulty when i got to the car i started it and turned the heat on full blast and changed out of my wet swimsuit i was seriously bummed to find i had left at home my thermos of warm apple cinnamon skratch hydration but i had stopped shivering and assumed i d be fine so i started the drive home but i wasn t fine something was not right i felt disoriented i felt like a i was in a fog i started to panic i called my husband jim but i could tell i was having trouble speaking and stringing words together he said i sounded weird and out of it i pulled into a mcdonalds parking lot it didn t seem possible i might be hypothermic because the feeling had already come back in my fingers and toes but i was having trouble keeping my eyes focused and my increasing anxiety was probably making it worse i called jim back because talking to him made me feel less foggy i noticed my hands were shaking he told me to get some food that maybe i was hungry i sucked down two carbo gels that had been in my bag for ages and then i sat and waited about ten minutes later i started to feel a little better the car had become a sauna and it made my skin feel hot but internally i was still a little chilled the important thing was that my brain began working again and i was finally able to focus enough to drive home i m still not sure what made me disoriented but i ate well before i swam so i can t fully blame it on simple hunger or lack of nutrition i think the cold had something to do with it and i m judging from my past experiences with hypothermia two things are certain i need a lot more practice in cold water and i need to take quicker and better care of myself post swim posted by unknown at 10 07 pm no comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest labels acclimation adaptation cold cold water lake erie swim swimming monday august 22 2016 swimming to the moon a race report number 52 not my age but close enough my last open water swim event this year was epic racing s swim to the moon an event that takes place somewhere near hell hell michigan that is i suspect the reason i chose this event was because i loved the name it s actually several swim distances one half mile up to 10k that take place in a chain of lakes near ann arbor jim with his two degrees from ohio state university in fact finds this region of the usa to be his personal version of hell as he is surrounded by michigan fans i chose the 10k because why not it was a lake swim so the water would likely be calm and warm unlike the ocean in my last one we stayed overnight about 30 minutes east of the starting line which was at halfmoon lake the 10k swims across halfmoon lake and through channels and small lakes connecting it to patterson lake where it turns around on private property and goes back there s also a 5k that starts at patterson lake and goes to the same finish line as the 10k at the turn 10k swimmers are required to exit the water and can partake of any nutrition or other items they stashed there in a special needs bag i got very little sleep in the two nights before the race because i ve been battling anxiety issues which incidentally have nothing to do with pre race jitters just dealing with health problems and family issues when the alarm clock rang race morning sunday i could barely open my eyes and the last thing i wanted to do was deal with a race that might take about three hours but i had made a commitment and i reminded myself how much i love swimming i would make the best of it that morning unlike the two weeks leading up to it saw a drop in temperature into the low 60s this meant that the water temperature at 76 degrees actually exceeded the air temperature it also meant i didn t bring warm enough clothes to wear that morning all i could think was oh great this time i ll get hypothermia before i even get in the water but there wasn t a lot of time to wait around and by 6 30 we were standing on the small sandy beach being accounted for as we were shuffled through the starting line arch to wait for the gun early morning start under the moon everyone was mumbling about the cold some people were actually getting in the water to keep warm my fingers started to get numb it took a little while to count everyone so long that i decided to put my raincoat back on to keep warm i was told by one group of men that i could use a little more weight in order to stay warm i assured them i m trying maybe swimming in progressively colder water next month will take care of that one way to keep warm after a quick singing of the star spangled banner we were finally off here s a video of the start in about five minutes i had completely forgotten about the cold and was now in the melee of arms and legs and people all trying to spot buoys in dim morning light that didn t last long the dim morning light or being stuck in the melee and before i made the turn into the first inter lake channel the sun was out and illuminating the far side of halfmoon lake it was quite beautiful i was no longer feeling tired but just happy to be swimming along at a speed that allowed me to appreciate the day just before we took that turn and based on my swim the day before i determined the distance to be about a mile i settled into a pace that had me swimming steadily alongside two others a man and a woman i would go into the first channel with this little group before the race a guy had told me the channels were shallow and you could walk through them what he really meant was you might have to walk through them i found myself completely tangled up in weeds and trying not to run aground i had to keep my underwater arm pull against my body just to avoid punching the ground below unfortunately the woman swimming next to me occupied the slightly deeper water and i couldn t force myself into her space without sending her into another bank of weeds i had to back off in order to get into her wake and avoid beaching myself or slamming into the wooden uprights of a foot bridge over the channel the two of us also had to stop a few times to find course marker buoys once we cleared the first channel as long as i stayed close to the course markers it was smooth swimming i had only one or two run ins with weeds until the second channel our little group stayed together through the second channel as well which was equally shallow and treacherous and included swimming through a huge diameter metal pipe that had another bridge over it i found myself actually grabbing onto the weeds a couple times in a desperate attempt to pull myself forward the first time i did it the image that leapt to mind was one of standing on the pool deck and yelling at my swim team kids for grabbing onto the lane lines during backstroke to pull themselves along they always think i don t notice that hey it works i will have to come clean when i see them again when we finally reached patterson lake the sun was well up i stopped for a moment to free myself from a weed that had wrapped itself around my neck my watch had us at 2 29 miles swimmers would now be on their way back i got my bearings and started swimming toward the next bright orange buoy only to have a stand up paddler blowing a whistle at me and pointing me in the perpendicular direction swimmers were being directed to swim directly into the sun what kayakers were telling us by the time i was able to see the next marker i had almost burned out my retinas and spotting anything was now an issue i almost had a head on collision with a swimmer going in the opposite direction finally i stopped the girl next to me stopped the guy next to me stopped we had to flag down a kayaker to give us directions it was then i saw the boat with a guy on the back carrying one of the big orange markers apparently the buoys had blown off course he dropped this one directly in front of me and just like that we were back on course when i made it to the beach turn around the first thing i saw was the time clock it said 1 19 something before the race i told jim that the 10k would probably take me close to three hours at best 2 45 this was very good news indeed i was half way through and under my predicted fast time a ...