Before the start - Lake Samish - 2009
This was my second year swimming the Lake Samish Open Water Swim. In August 2009 Bill and I drove to Bellingham at 6am on Saturday to swim the first annual Lake Samish swim. This was a fundraiser for the local fire department and ran the same day as the Lake Samish Triathlon. There were only 10-15 swimmers and we faced more than a little confusion over when we would be starting and the layout of the course (not enough buoys). This was the first time I had attempted a 3 mile swim and it was a terrific experience. The lake was warm (warmer than the air when we started) and very calm. I finished in 2:02:36.
Lake Samish - 2010
In response to the confusion faced by the swim start conflicting with the triathlon start, for 2010 the race organizers not only scheduled the swim on a separate day but also comped the registration fee for any swimmer who had completed the 2009 swim. This was more than enough to persuade Bill and me to register for the 3 miler again. Unfortunately, by the time race day came around Bill was out of the country and I didn’t really feel like swimming the full 5k. Fortunately a 1.5 mile race had been added (one lap around the lake instead of two) and so I stopped at the halfway point, finishing in 59:11.00, placing 5th overall (non-wetsuit women) and winning my age group.
The Lake Samish Swim has the best race swag that I’ve received: in 2009 participants were awarded a super-soft beach towel when they exited the water; in 2010 it was a hooded sweatshirt (warm and soft). I was very much hoping to swim Lake Samish again in 2011, however the race is not being held this year. It has been my favorite fresh water race the past two years, I am optimistic that it will go on in the future – especially since I have a personal goal of not only winning my age group but placing in the top 3 overall. If anyone from Total Health Events is reading, the Samish swim has fans who would love to swim it again!
On my way back from the 2010 race I found a good brunch spot in Mount Vernon – in 2009 we drove all the way back to Seattle for the post-race eating but the Calico Cupboard offers delicious breakfast much closer to Bellingham.
