Angie Swims

  It's taken me a while to sit down and process the awesomeness that was our family trip to Waldo Lake this year. Since the first time I swam in Waldo, oh four years ago, it has fascinated me and terrified me.  My first swim in Waldo was a combination of over-enthusiasm and under preparation. My partner and I were on a camping and mountain biking trip to Oakridge with another couple, and I was going through a triathlon phase. (Thankfully, one not repeated since. Running kills me.) I had a hand-me-down tri wetsuit that I thought would be enough to keep me warm and lend me some confidence. Instead, the squeezing of the wetsuit, the mesmerizing blue of the lake, and my disregard for the altitude change were a terrible combination, and I had my first real freak out in open water. It doesn't help that I was swimming alone, also a first for me. I distinctly remember the swim's awe coupled with panic, but something captivated me, and I went back the next da

August 1st. I did the thing that I love most doing in Portland, swimming around Ross Island! I love this swim. It was my first ever 10k and every time I do it it's a memorable experience. This was my third trip around the island. Well, actually the first time I did it I went around the island one and a half times starting in Sellwood and finishing downtown...so I suppose it's been 3.5 times around? 🤷  Either way, it was an amaZing swim. There were eight (yes EIGHT) swimmers, two kayaks, one SUP, and a little row boat with an electric motor appropriately name "Chirp." We were a bit of a mess getting on the water, but it worked out, settling into roughly three pods once we got going. We swam around Sellwood Bridge to start and at the other end of the island swam around Ross Island Bridge, and ended the swim the same way we started. It ended up not quite being 10k so there was a little extra tagged in at the end to make up for it.  Once we got out there was