This post has been sitting in my "Drafts" box for weeks. Thought I would post it.
Last weekend I packed up my car, picked up my sister Calley and my friend Jo, and drove to Northern Michigan for USMS 10K Nationals. *Note- 10K is about 6.2 miles* Armed with a tent, a cooler full of food and the Garmin GPS system Jo borrowed off of her sister, we set up camp at Wilderness State Park on Friday night, right by the beach and within sight of the Upper Peninsula. Although we had been talking all week about the substantial black bear population in Northern Michigan and planning ways to avoid being eaten, what we found when we arrived at our campsite was Tent and RV city, with really no reason to be concerned about black bears. In fact, the only wildlife we encountered were a chipmunk and some sea gulls, although both Calley and Jo claimed to have seen a bald eagle. I was driving, and I missed it. The lack of seclusion was probably better off for everyone involved as evidenced by the undercooked foil packs and the hard-as-a-rock and blacker-than-coal biscuits. We must admit that on Saturday night, we drove over the Big Mac Bridge and ate at a delicious seafood restaurant, taking a break from the camping experience.
The location of the race was in Harbor Springs, Michigan and was an AWESOME venue. If you have never visited Harbor Springs, I highly recommend this charming little lakeside town. The water clarity is absolutely amazing! The course consisted of a 2-mile loop, done three times, that was mostly restricted to a sheltered harbor. However, the last 500 meters or so of the course were outside of the harbor and it made for (in my opinion) the best part of the swim. The course would go from smooth sailing to rough water (my guess is about 3-4 ft waves) in no time at all. Anyone who knows me knows that rough is my favorite kind of water! Yeah, it's hard, but there is nothing like a rough water swim that makes you feel like you've earned that bazillion-calorie meal afterwards. The water, a chilly-sounding 67 degrees, felt surprisingly good to me.
I finished the 10k in 2:28, first in my age group and second woman overall behind Erica Rose, a former world open water champion who came in at 2:22. I met Erica the weekend before up at Ohio Street beach in Chicago where we swam with a couple of my Morse training buddies Jeff Halbert and Will Simmons. (The two of them set off yesterday for Jolly old England to take on the channel, so I am wishing them all the luck and good weather, because that channel can be a heartless wench at times. I've added their blog in the links section.) Anyway, Erica is a pretty cool chick and hopefully next summer we will be training together for one or two major swims. I'll keep you updated on that later. *EDIT* Jeff Halbert and Will Simmons both successfully crossed the channel, along with two other Indy Swimfit swimmers. Check out their blog in my links sidebar.
Kudos goes to my sister Calley Cook, who completed the COLDEST and LONGEST swim of her life, and even seemed to enjoy it a little! I'm proud of her for doing the swim, especially sans wetsuit. Calley will begin attending University of Indianapolis this month where she will be studying Physical Therapy and swimming varsity. I can't help thinking that it may someday come in handy to have a Physical Therapist in the family. Kudos also goes to Jo Swartz, who was a mighty trooper wading out into the water to hand Calley and I water and Energy gel for our race. Although 67 degree water feels nice to race in, it certainly does not feel nice to stand idle in.
