4 miles
river road, north/south
57 degrees
humidity: 80%
In the 50s! What a beautiful morning. Sunny, calm, cool. My gait felt strange, awkward, for the first 1/2 mile. Was it the shoes? I wore Brooks instead of Sauconys. The humidity was high — lots of sweat, not dripping but pooling near my nose. Chanted in triples for the first mile.
10 Things
- rowers! heard 2 different coxswains
- after 5 or 6 months, they’re finally replacing the fallen fence panel above the northern end of longfellow flats
- the dirt they put in the crack north of the trestle has settled and the crack is back and as big as before — at one point will this be unfixable?
- good morning! / good morning! — exchanged greetings with a runner with a dog
- good morning! — Mr. Holiday wished me a good morning
- click click thought it was a roller skier, but it was a biker changing gears
- a circle of light below the sliding bench — have they cleared some branches for more of a view here?
- smell of cigarette smoke
- the dark dirt of a steep trail leading down to the river
- the loud slap of a runner’s shoes as he passed me, running fast, or at least much faster than me
I was watching the tour as I compiled the 10 Things list, but had to put my computer away when they reached the last climb — a tough HC. Pogacar went for it near the bottom and Vingegaard couldn’t follow. Wow!
to remember and return to
water and time / log entry for 11 july 2024
lines to memorize for today’s swim?
this disintegrating certainty this water
whatever it is whatever anything is
under these veils and veils of vision
which the light cuts but it remains
unbroken
(Nobody/ Alice Oswald)
while I’m swimming today: recite this bit and the others from Dart and Nobody:
swim: 4 loops
lake nokomis open swim
71 degrees
Open swim is back and I did 4 loops! A wonderful night, in and out of the water. The water was smooth and fast and not too warm or too cold or too crowded. Entering the lake, I watched as a motorized paddle board zoomed by, then another. What? As I swam toward and then past the orange buoy I heard a metallic buzz in the water. Was it because of these paddle boards? I am very grateful that motorized boats aren’t allowed on nokomis. If they were, would I be hearing this buzzing sound all of the time?
I was off course in the first loop; the sun made it very difficult to see the green buoys. But it wasn’t a big deal. On the second loop, I figured it out.
I marveled at the contrast between above and below the surface. Above was a smooth blue, below a glittering green. Checked out my bubbles. Felt the water darken when the sun went behind a cloud. Was attacked by a few stray vines.
Thought about how much I love the water and how confident I am in it, and then about how dangerous and scary and deadly it can be.
Recited Alice Oswald lines — not the new ones I just memorized, but the ones I’d already been reciting in my head.