I did a swim across the Mississippi River today with a couple of friends. The part that we crossed was on a 7/10 of a mile channel with controlled boat traffic and of course we had someone in a boat watching us for safety purposes.

I have to say that I am still a newbie at swimming and the thought of crossing the channel was VERY intimidating to me. I grew up close to the river but I never went out on it or anything like that. I didn't swim much in general growing up and until I started triathlons I had not been in a pool in 10 years.

Bottom line is that we ALL finished the swim (including me!) without a problem and it was a real confidence builder. The current did help a little bit because we could swim at an angle and so it helped move you along. I am not sure I will be swimming in the river again soon but it was a good experience and should help me in the future.

I guess there is no real point to this post beyond saying that I am excited about the swim and looking forward to my next water challenge!