As my training season progresses, I’m realizing that I’ve got some really special opportunities to do some open water swimming in some unique places. While I have a background in swimming, other than triathlons and the odd training session I used to do at Walden Pond, I actually don’t have much open water experience. That doesn’t bother me in the least (wait, should it?), but nevertheless it is exciting to think that I’ll have so many great places to train this year:

• Cancun (April): See this post
• San Francisco (April): Brrr, only about 15′ worth, but a nice indoctrination into what mid-50’s swimming is all about
• Nashville (May): Do I dare jump in the Cumberland River while I’m there for my company’s annual conference?
• London (June): Hoping to go for a dip in The Serpentine during a work trip
• Italy (July): Family vacation to celebrate my in-laws’ 50th wedding anniversary; we’ll be on the coast near Sorrento, and while the water will be warmer than I need, I’m hoping to crank out at least one long swim
• Any of the many beaches in Scituate, MA where I live (June-Sep): The possibilities include the long, straight Hummarock Beach, Minot and Egypt Beaches, each of which are inviting and which strung together make for a 1.5 mile stretch, and of course Peggotty. Peggotty is a mere two miles away from our house as the crow flies, and forms a terrific crescent-shaped beach. As you hug the curve from one tip of the smile to the other it’s about a 15′ swim, round trip about 30′; perfect for stashing feeds at one end and practicing long swims. I’ll probably do my 6H test here, since it’s easy to bring the kids to the beach and make a day of it.

So, all in all, this duck will be lucky enough to experience some fun training spots, which hopefully will keep things interesting all the way to the big day in September.