Early season open water

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Or freezing my tail off at the Chatfield gravel pond! Despite some gloomy clouds and cold temps, Megan and I braved the 53 degree water at the pond to get a good open water swim in last Saturday. The air was colder then the water, so there were not that many other swimmers. I decided that the quick immersion was the way to go. Megan said there was a bit of a squeak when I came up for air. She had a few choice words upon getting in the water herself. But once we got in and everything went numb it was fun swim. We worked on some basics like sighting and some race stuff like starts, surging and drafting. Everything was good. The water was the cleanest and clearest I have seen. Then it came time to get out. Torture! Since the air was so much colder then the water there was no warming up at all. Trying to get a wetsuit off with numb hands and no body glide was quite the challenge. And changing for our run was even harder. I had to tie Megan's shoes for her and I am not sure my fingers were working much better. I just had the elastic laces in my shoes. Even so, retreating to the car with the heat cranked and seats nice and toasty seemed like a good idea. The motivation to get for the run was lacking. I even had to break out the spare warm clothes from my car. Finally we hit the road. I kept seeing single track trails darting into the woods. So after a few miles I took the lead and off we went for some exploring. Ahh, the things that happen when an Xterra and a roadie train together! Hopefully the next swim will be a little warmer.

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