Open Water Swimming Was Closed

As you must know by now (since I post constantly about it), I am swimming across Lake Michigan this summer, primarily via laps in our small backyard pool.

Out of sheer boredom, I have been trying to schedule some open water swimming. But Saturday, my attempt to actually swim across the actual Lake Michigan was actually rebuffed as Lake Michigan was actually closed! Actually! I took our youngest daughter to stay with our oldest daughter on Saturday for a sister-bonding sleepover, and we stopped at beautiful Montrose Beach in Chicago on the way for a quick swim.

Montrose is a beautiful urban beach, complete with sand dunes. But on Saturday, it was closed because of a brisk wind from the northeast creating some dangerous riptides. I still wanted to give it a try. Where were the “my body, my choice” anti-vaxxers when I needed them to back me up?

Anyway, we walked and relaxed a bit on the beach instead of swimming. I had already gotten some laps in my pool, and after a half mile on Sunday (that’s 175 laps!), I find myself here in Lake Michigan.

At over 16 miles in, I should have no problem finishing my swim across Lake Michigan without ever swimming in the lake. And if I was an Olympic swimmer like American Katie Ledecky, I could get over half of the rest of the way home just by swimming my events in the Olympics.

My swim across Lake Michigan is turning out to be not all that much of a challenge and definitely not amazing. But you know what is? Those Olympic athletes are truly amazing.

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And you know what else is truly amazing? I wrote a book. It would be amazing if you could spend less than a buck to buy it. Well, you’re in luck. You can! Click this link to buy it on Amazon. Amazing!