Long weekend

I had a long weekend.

When you hear that phrase typically it means someone is taking a day off work and making it a long weekend.

That was not the case for me. With three weeks left before 20 Bridges (swimming around Manhattan) I needed to do two long back to back swims. Effectively a broken 20 Bridges over two days. It would be physical as well as mental training.

My long weekend started with a 4 hour pool swim. I swam the Wayland Masters practice of 4,700 yards and stayed on for another 10,300 yards on my own. It was a bit grueling and lonely at times but the spectacularly beautiful day made time pass a touch more quickly. I am quite sure that staring at a black line for 450 flip turns was my longest pool swim ever.

It was off to Lake Cochituate aka Pam’s Pond for the first open water swim of the season. Pam’s place is a waterfront home with outdoor showers, a hot tub and a beach to serve as a gathering spot for other swimmers~a swimmers paradise. The goal was to swim for 4.5 hours. My first time kayak support crew member was Shannon! This was going to be a fun day.

We met my friend, fast Jen who would swim with me for two hours. Jen is incredibly speedy. Shannon had her work cut out for herself kayaking between the both of us. We did one full loop around the lake and a bit more before she had to leave.

We then met up with my other friend Elaine for a short and sweet swim before she had to get out. Every little swim with another person when you are swimming that long makes a difference. It’s was then just kayaker Shannon and I for another loop (counterclockwise just to shake it up) plus for the duration.

The water temp was 75 degrees, beautiful blue skies despite a bit of boredom and heavy pollen towards the end. All in all it was a great swim and good prep for 20 Bridges.