Another amazing event by Epic Races, Swim to the Moon is one of my favorite open water swimming events. It’s right in southeast MI, home of the great lakes! It is a rare chance to swim across Halfmoon lake, which usually has a lot of boat traffic. Lake swimming has become a norm for me since living in MI; you get so much more distance as compared to a 25 yard pool, and you can pretty much go anytime. (Fuller Park Pool is the only 50m lap pool in the Ann Arbor area open in the summer). Check out this post for the lakes in MI I think is good for open water swimming.
The race started early in the morning, 6.30AM for the 10k and 7.30AM for the 5k. We considered camping out by the Crooked Lake Campground, (There is a DNR yurt somewhere in that area), but we ended up staying at home and driving over in the morning. I did the 5k, starting at North Star Reach Campground, where the 10k swimmers turn around at. A bus chartered us from the packet pick-up to the start point. I caught one of the last buses, but the bus drivers waited for the last of the participants, so you should be ok if you get there before 7… (Please check the athletic guide because timings might change and I can’t 100% remember as I write this post!)
5K RACE START
A sense of nervousness and anticipation filled the air as we waited for the first of the 10k swimmers to turn into the horizon. The lake was absolutely beautiful. The morning air was crisp and fresh in the low seventies ℉, and there was a misty cool fog rising from the glistening lake against the sunrise. The lake looked beguiling and inviting, no crazy winds or currents. I was worried about how cold the water would be, and I stood there with my sweatpants and jacket as long as I could, afraid of getting cold. Eva, the head of Epic Races gave a motivational speech and cheer; the race got cancelled last year because of COVID, and everyone was very excited to be back in action. I put my things in the provided bag, tied it up securely and brought it over to the bag-drop — the back of a truck. Everything was well organized, there were cups of water and geytorade available that were also for the 10k swimmers. I fastened my swim buoy around my waist and put on my cap and goggles, it was about time! The 10k swimmers started coming in and they started to kick off the 5k swimmers, in a single file line one at a time. A volunteer manually took note of our start times as it was our turn to start the swim, using our “bib” numbers clearly written on our arms (at the packet pick-up). I didn’t really warm up as with the other participants who tested the water first; mostly because I resisted the idea of cold water, and I was surprised to find that the water felt warmer than the temperature on land. I naturally got into my freestyle motion, marking the big buoy ahead between my 5-stroke breaths and swimming towards it. I’ve been swimming almost 3-4k weekly all summer so I felt pretty confident about this, my plan was to maintain a consistent stroke count per minute and relax into the swim.
I eventually got my swimming breath warmed up, and kept up a good rhythm. However, the start was nonetheless slightly chaotic with the number of participants and 10k swimmers turning around. The buoys were not perfectly marked, the path was almost an inverse L-shape and it felt like there were multiple markers to swim to. In swimming, it’s important to keep your head down, yet with open water swimming one still has to look ahead and sight. The main issue was that all swimmers were meant to swim to the right of the buoys, with the buoys on the left. However, it was hard for swimmers to note the correct side when the buoy was in front and not right beside you, i.e you could be on the left side of the buoy swimming straight towards it and thinking you’re keeping it on your left. Thus, a lot of 10k and 5k swimmers collided in a mish-mash, which I confirmed with my volunteer friends later that it was tricky directing the swimmers at Patterson Lake (the 10k turnaround and 5k start). I ended up colliding twice with two 10k swimmers and someone was trying to swim over me, it was, quite messy and did disrupt my flow for a bit. Finally after clearing the 10k crowd, spotting my next buoy target and figuring out my bearings, I headed onward towards the narrow channel to Watson Lake. I navigated past a bunch of 5k swimmers, going in between, beside, and all around them to pass. (It’s hard to figure out which wave to start in.. Maybe the earlier is better).
The channel under the bridge to Watson Lake was fun, the current was flowing in our direction and accelerated our swim forward. Definitely harder for the 10k swimmers. I kept paddling forward, marker after marker, enjoying the flow and telling myself that the first rest stop was probably near. Soon enough, we saw a little dinghy boat in the distance. There wasn’t much of a bank to stand on, swimmers just hung off the side of the boat, got passed a drink or two of water, and continued downstream. I don’t remember any gels being offered, maybe just the usual heed drink / geytorade. I felt ok at this point and carried on in my meditative swim. I paced myself and kept my swim at my comfortable long distance pace. I need to work on figuring out my different swimming speeds.. The second rest station was a little better, there was a shallow bank to stand on, and I stood for a good minute drinking whatever was in the cup. I don’t think I was even that tired at that point, I think it was more of a mental exhaustion of being in the water and not being able to see anything clearly rather than a physical exhaustion. Sometimes I wonder if my body just fills up the distance I tell it to do. Anyhow, after the rest station, I decided to take a slow easy recovery breaststroke towards the next buoy before continuing my freestyle. At this point, there were two other girls swimming together at a nice pace and I decided to follow them. They pretty set up the pace for me the rest of the race, I did have to pass a few other swimmers but nothing as crowded as the start. Soon enough, we reached Halfmoon lake and the finish line was in the distance. It felt so amazing and rewarding, my first 5k swim!
Epic races have the best post-race food, there were peanut butter burritos, egg and cheese burritos, mac and cheese, and ice-cream. Coffee however had to be purchased at a food truck nearby. I met a German guy named Dan who got me a cup of iced coffee and told me about his favorite swimming event in San Francisco where they had to jump off a boat and swim towards the bay. We chatted more about crazy swims around the world, and my body quivered with excitement as I gushed with the thought of doing more open water swimming, around the Mackinaw Island maybe? Joseph and his Dad and sister finished their 2k and we sat some more and enjoyed good conversation. I am definitely addicted. I can’t wait for my next swim event, do stay tuned!
I ended up getting a little engraved stone coaster for being 5th in my F25-29 age group. My official recorded time was 2:08:54 and moving time was 1:57:05 on Strava. Overall I think I took it relatively easy and I’ll be striving for a time under 1:30:00 for a 5k in the future. Thanks for reading this post; this swim was so beautiful and so much fun, what can I say, I <3 MI Lakes that’s for sure!