First OWS of the season!

I know, I know...you're probably thinking, "It's mid July and you're just now getting in some OWS?"  Well, the places to go here in CO don't really open till late May/early June and even then, the water can be FREEZING if the weather isn't great.  On top of that, moving out of/into places has really been eating up a lot of my weekend time.  BUT, now that we're finally into our new home I was able to go yesterday morning!  Woohoo!

I got all prepared by:
1.  Soaking my wetsuit the day before.  I don't know if any of you ever tried this, but trying to squeeze into a new wetsuit that hasn't been worn for a LONG time is asking for trouble.  Believe me...I know!

2.  Cutting my fingernails.  I don't want any accidental rips in my wetsuit b/c of my stupid nails!  I don't paint them anyways, so it's not a big deal for me to keep them short during my tri training.

3.  Grabbing my lube.  Wetsuit lube that is! :)  Trislide is awesome.  You just spray it on and you're good to go!

The place I swim at, Grant Ranch, is awesome!  It is a lake that belongs to a housing community so it is always clean, well maintained, and warmer than the other places around Denver.  Also, I have access to the locker rooms and showers, which is great for when I'm done swimming.  There are buoys set up for a 1/2M triangle and a 1M triangle, which is great for training.

Some swimmers getting ready to head out into the lake

So, I headed out and got to the lake at 7A when it opened.  There were a lot of other swimmers there, which is always nice when you're swimming in the open water.  I got my wetsuit on and headed to the lake.  I was expecting the water to be cold, but it was the perfect temperature!  Yay!!!

Originally, I had it set in my mind that I was only going to do the 1/2M loop because it was my first time doing an OWS AND the first time in my new wetsuit.  For the last 2 years, the first time I did an OWS I almost always panicked in some way.  But, on this day, I felt the calmest I have ever felt.  I WAS READY!

I started swimming and immediately found my groove.  I never panicked, not once!!!  I got to the middle triangle of the 1/2M loop and decided I was going to swim the whole 1M loop instead!  I know this sounds lame, but I was sooo excited for myself!  I was so happy and was literally swimming with a smile! :)

I made it back to shore feeling awesome!  And, although I only swam 1M, knowing that I didn't panic and didn't have to stop to compose myself, gave me a little flicker of hope that I WILL BE O-KAY for the 2.4M swim at IMAZ!  I cannot wait till I can get out there and swim again!!