My swim training is where I've been lacking. I've completed only two swim sessions at the Steve Lundquist Aquatic Center this season. I've enjoyed having access to the pool since all my other options are out. The community pool is covered for the winter and it won't be open until after the Gulf Coast Triathlon in May. My second and preferred option, Lake Spivey, has had the water level lowered for dredging. Once every six or seven years, or so, the lake is drained about eight feet to allow waterfront property owners, homeowner associations, and the civic association that manages the lake to do repairs to seawalls, docks, and dredge the accumulated silt.
My usual 1-mile lake swim course starts at one of the Reversed Mooring Strips (RMS) on Emerald Drive and ends near the dam on Blackhall Road. My 1.4-mile swim ends at the RMS. I add the two segments together for a 2.4-mile total swim distance. The scene from the RMS looks like this when the lake is full.
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| The view from the RMS toward the dam |
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| The RMS area with the lake at full pool |
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| The starting point of the 1.4-mile swim to the RMS |
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| The RMS with the lake drained |
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| The view toward the 1.4-mile swim start with the lake drained |
Both swim courses hug the south shore of the lake to avoid any boat traffic which typically travels counter-clockwise around the lake.
The lake should be full pool again by the summer. Open Water Swim (OWS) sessions starting in the summer should provide plenty of time to train for Ironman Florida in November. Now, if I could just get someone to kick me in the head while I swim I think I'd be set!
Please note: Lake Spivey is a private 650-acre lake in Clayton and Henry Counties. Use of the lake is limited to members of the civic association and their guests.
