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.
I'd think about flying to Chicago to do the race if this shirts were always that cool. I love it.
And I love that people can actually have a sense of humor about it!
It was indeed a great day for swimming. I had gotten in the afternoon before to acclimate to lake temp, and on Fri. afternoon, there was big chop and lots of debris. By Saturday morning, it was sunny and relatively calm. I enjoyed that swim thoroughly and will definitely do it again. For those not digging the cold water, I found that it helped me perserve energy. I train in a 82-84 degree pool, and am wiped out after 5K in that. In the Lake, I felt that a gel pack would have seen me twice more around the circuit.
It was more of a contact sport than I had anticipated, but everything I experienced seemed purely incidental.
BTW, I loved the shirt design. I didn't read anything political into it, and it far surpasses any other event shirt I have. I might actually wear this one. Put McCain in goggles, Nader in a speedo, either Clinton in a wet suit or Ron Paul naked in flippers with a similar design and I would have thought the same. Bring it on.
USMS has heard the concerns expressed about the t-shirts and awards used by the Big Shoulders event organizers. USMS and its Illinois Local Masters Swim Committee issued a sanction to the Big Shoulders race based upon how the competition would be conducted. Event merchandise and awards were not shown to USMS or the LMSC or included in the sanction determination prior to the race.
USMS and its LMSCs do not promote or engage in political or lobbying activities or endorse candidates for office. USMS regrets any unintended association between USMS and the event organizers' decision to use a candidate's image on t-shirts and awards and apologizes to those who were offended by this use.
In addition, this and related threads are being closed. A number of posts have strayed into political discourse and have been deleted (as per USMS policy). The next step would be to ban posters of serious or satiric political posts, however I believe at this point our best course of action is to close the threads and move on. Hopefully everyone has had their opportunity to comment. Please feel free to PM me if you strongly object.
