I plan on doing the Big Shoulders Swim in Chicago next month for the first time. Will drive up from Cincinnati on the day before. If I go to the Ohio St. Beach the afternoon/evening before, is it likely that I will get in a warm-up swim?
If not, is there another place on the lake that would be good to get used to the lake? I have a reciprocating Y membership that will get me into the Lakewood Y, but I'd rather swim in the lake instead of a 20y pool.
Thanks for the help, and to all of you who have said that this OWS is addictive, you can say that again.
Surface temperatures this morning looked like mid 70's. Quite comfortable.
Here's a link to check out.
www.coastwatch.msu.edu/twomichigans.html
Double click on the southern region on the left map to iew surface temps around Chicago.
I have a related question, I am going to do the 5k this year, from google earth it appears the whole swim is inside an area that is protected by breakwaters, if so there must not be any real currents to deal with in that area. Does anyone know, most of my open water experience in in the ocean. I am trying to get a feel for the level difficulty compared to what I am used to.
"What will the water be like for Big Shoulders?"
Probably mild, but nobody knows. You might get a heads up the night before; however, Lake Michigan changes rapidly - has changed during my one-mile swims - and you may just have to take the chance that you won't be swimming that day, or will decide to exit the water early. I realize this is not too helpful, but that's pretty much the reality. There are some pictures from previous years on this thread. Note the abundance of pool suits:
forums.usms.org/showthread.php
The water temp has been in the low 70s, around 70-71. It feels warmer than a pool of that temp, possibly because the water may actually be warmer directly adjacent to city/land than where sensors are placed in the lake. The air temp in the early mornings has been in the 60s and is likely to be low to mid-60s on Sept. 6.
The course is swum on a triangle inside a harbor semi-protected by barriers. Nevertheless, it can be very wavy. Only the last leg comes along the highway wall where people normally swim.
www.bigshoulders.org
:cheerleader:
Hope you can make it!
I have a related question, I am going to do the 5k this year, from google earth it appears the whole swim is inside an area that is protected by breakwaters, if so there must not be any real currents to deal with in that area. Does anyone know, most of my open water experience in in the ocean. I am trying to get a feel for the level difficulty compared to what I am used to.
Yes, there are currents, although not the kind to push you off course, and sometimes ocean-size rollers to deal with, although usually not. Ocean swimming should stand you in good stead. There are many lifeguards and boats stationed around the course. I wouldn't worry. It's not an ocean experience but an unpredictable lake experience.
:wave:
VB
My daughter swam a couple years ago in same area, but just along the shore. and there is protection there. and no real current. I checked the link Old Navy gave and it looks to me as tho the temp of water is mid 60's, not mid 70's...am I wrong? If 60's I wont be swimming.
4:25 a.m. surface temps, Wednesday, 9-3
Southern Lake Michigan has a big range of 54 - 74 deg. F at the sensing buoys. What interested me was a big mass of cold, 34 deg. water just north of Chicago.
www.coastwatch.msu.edu/.../m5.html
The lake looked pretty calm today, so the 6 a.m. swimmers went out, only to turn back at quarter-mile mark because of troughs, horses' manes, and a current that picked up (where it usually does). We had to work to get back, and the breaststrokers did better than the crawlers.
This is not in the harbor where Big Shoulders is swum but close enough. You never know.
Weather is supposed to be mostly sunny with some cloudy patches on Saturday.
Regards, VB
American record holder in the 100 yard *** and semi-finalist in Beijing in the 100 meter ***.
Maybe he'll swim the entire 5K breaststroke!
The swimmer who does it all butterfly often swims in the pool when I have training. Someone asked him tonight whether he would swim it again this year, but I didn't catch the response.
:groovy:
We swim about 7 miles south of Ohio Street Beach (ambiguities about status mean I can't be more specific).
I expect the sun/shade factor does influence the surface temp sensors. I haven't heard anything on the news or from other lake swimmers about a temperature anomaly. Also, the vertical temp profiles on that site seem to show surface temps a bit higher than indicated on surface map. The water temps have been quite comfortable this year.
Indeed, it will be an adventure! As of 9-2 only 565 ppl had registered. I'm hoping there will be fewer running me over than last year. Bigger is not always better.
VB,
Where along the lakefront were you swimming? Also I've noticed with that particular web site the temperatures indicate much colder when cloudy conditions are indicated (heavy back shading) and then rebound when the clouds clear. Not sure how the sensors actually work but they are good for plotting trends.
Saturday could be an adventure, but that's why we swim open water!
