Elk Lake Olympics

There are few things as important for Central Oregon swimmers, well… maybe not all swimmers, during the summer as the Cascade Lake Swim Series at Elk Lake.

After a couple year hiatus due to excessive smokey skies from wildfires the event was to held this year. This event has been organized by Central Oregon Masters Aquatics (COMA) for at least 20 years. It is held at scenic Elk Lake about 30 minutes from the house just off the Cascade Lake Highway. The South beach area where the Juniper gang meets during the summer for open water swims is also the where the Swim Series starts/finishes.

The views from the south end of the lake towards the north are awesome with the bright blue skies and the reflection of the South Sister on the water and Mt. Bachelor to the east are great. The race has two distances for swimmers to choose from a 3000 meter and a 1500 meter swim.

Well… for the crowd I swim with it wasn’t really a choice as to what distance to choose to swim as the answer for us was both. Unlike the crowd I hang out with that always has some big triathlon to train for I have the Cascade Lake Series or should I say the Elk Lake Olympics!

My lane mates, in particular Andrew, Lillian and I talked a little trash between each other during practice the weeks before. Andrew and I like to talk a big game but we actually know that spunky Lillian who can talk trash like the best of them…has the stuff to back it up.

The day started with a brisk 3000, yes the water temp too. The women went off first and the men to follow in a mass start. I really like the mass start format. I started with Andrew and some of my buddies and a hundred meters in we all got separated. It was a two loop course of 1500 meters each. My strong remembrance was some wet suited guy slapping my feet every few minutes of the first lap. Quite irritating. On the second lap I remember zig zagging back and forth to shake the guy. it worked. In the end, Andrew got me by a couple minutes and well…Lillian got us both.

Honestly, I wasn’t so wild about 1500 but…in for a penny in for a pound. Thankfully it was only one lap this time. At the starting line I saw the wet suited guy that was on my tail on the 3000 and told him that it was my time for a free ride…he laughed as he knew rode my feet the whole way.

This time I got Andrew by only 10 seconds…but 10 seconds was all I needed. And Lillian…well…she didn’t race the 1500–thank goodness!!!

Outdoors with like minded friends, swimming in a beautiful setting-what more could be better?

The best part was at the end of the day we were all winners!!!! Andrew got me in the 3000m, I got him in the 1500m and we both won our age groups in the 3000m.