Ohio Open Water Long Course Championships

Last week, Pumpkin participated in his first open water swim. We could not have asked for better weather. The swim was held at East Fork Lake, just east of Cincinnati. The plan was for him to do this swim and then we'd head back to TN.

The park was beautiful. My sister and brother-in-law joined us to watch.

You can see the beach and the swim area in the background.

Here they are giving the prerace info to the 15&Over swimmers.

Waiting for the swim...

Calling roll...

They entered the water at the start and turned to the left. They swam out to a "start" line, treaded water and waited for the horn. It is a very different start compared to starting off a block.

He had to swim a 1k loop four times. I found him on the first lap. That is him to the right of the kayak. After that, we had no idea. There were so many white caps. It was hard to figure out who was who.

We spent most of the swim in the shade. Buddy was a trooper.

We did not see him finish, but he walked up all smiles. He came in 37th finishing the swim in just under an hour. We did not stick around for awards as he was just an exhibition swimmer. He proclaimed that he likes swimming in a pool better than a lake. He was a bit freaked out when something hit his hand or foot.

He filled up on Chipotle and was out for some of the ride home!

I was so proud of him! It was a great end to our visit in Ohio. And, it was an enjoyable time hanging out with my sister!