This morning I had planned an early swim with Katie, who is doing a 1,200m open water swim near Kessock / Inverness. It was due to be quite a nice morning weather wise and we were going out to do maybe 1.5 to 2km.

We got there about 9am and it hadn’t been too nice in Glasgow, but seemed to brighten up a bit as we were swimming.

I managed to leave my Garmin at the car, so I had to run back for it, but we were in the water for just after 9am.

A nice gentle entry in to Loch Lomond, then we swam for a few 250m intervals, getting Katie used to swimming in open water and aiming to stay close to the shore.

Turtle thermometer said the water was 17’C, but it’s batteries need replaced and someone else said Loch Lomond was 14C which felt about right. It wasn’t too cold anyway. I had my orange and black orca wetsuit on, and a normal swim cap, with neoprene socks on (mostly for the slightly rocky entry and exit).

It’s a nice wee spot between Duck Bay and Luss. With a little walk into where I start, it’s a good wee sheltered inlet that I first went to with Vanessa and later with Judith and Nina. You usually have to do out and backs from it, but that’s ok.

I gave Katie the option to do 3x250m then a 500m and 250m back, but when we got to 750m she said she was good to do 1km out and 1km back so that’s what we did. Once we got to the turn back point, we increased the non stop swimming distance to 500m and then regathered, and finished off with another 500m.

The photo above was us after it… maybe not too different to when we went in – ha. A quick dry off and change and it was all over.

(The yellow string is my waterproof dutifulness camera whose battery also seems to need replaced, so I’ll get onto that.)

Afterwards I got home and had a shower then went for a nice walk in Queen’s Park with Fit Girl before going to Millbrae Hill and had a tasty special of beetroot and spring onion fritters, and a chocolate milkshake.

Then I couldn’t resist a wee one scoop ice cream (with a flake) from the Langside Cafe. (One scoop trying not to be greedy – see?! 😉 )

Good fun for a Sunday morning / afternoon in June. Katie for great preparation for the 1.2km swim, and she’ll work on building up the non stop distances in the pool and open water before the big day at the end of June.

That reminds me, I must enter / have just entered the Go Swim Loch Lomond swim – fancy it? I’m gonna go for the 5km swim… but there’s a wide range of distances, from 250m to 10km and a skins entry on 1.5km I think too. https://go-swim.uk