Mile 2-5 | The South Shore Grind

Ideal Beach → Vawter Park → Leeland → Buttermilk Point

At first, I felt amazing — almost too amazing. My arms felt light, my shoulders loose, and my heart wanted to surge down the south shore. But I forced myself to slow down, to focus on pace, to trust the hours of training.

The south shore stretched out forever, a flat long corridor of water. I continued on the mission one stroke at a time from the Ideal Beach area down Vawter Park. The houses on the hills crept higher and higher on the hillside the farther I went. Finally after a couple hours of swimming I came up on the Leeland area and the famous Sandbar. After rounding the Sandbar Rikki switched off with Ian and for next mile or so he was my kayak crew. I followed close to Ian in the kayak, while Rikki rested on the boat. Sharing that stretch with him was special. Ian and I have been friends for over 20 years and our entire friendship was built on this lake. He wasn't just crew — he was one those people who knew how much this meant to me.

And then as we continued on came the people. Families poured out, cheering, waving, snapping pictures. Kids pointed, strangers clapped like old friends. It was overwhelming in the best way.

But then the grind was still happening. Silently. Thick mats of weeds clung to my arms and face. My wetsuit rubbed my neck raw. My throat burned. Breathing got harder. The first wall came quietly — small pains stacking into something heavy. I watched as the crew swapped again and another friend was soon in the kayak. These moments reminded how far I had come and how far I still had to go. I came around the Buttermilk point area as Logan paddled up beside me. He was energetic and ready to guide me around the boat launch. But quietly I could feel the weight of 5 miles starting to slow me down. This section was the crux of the whole operation. I didn't like weeds but the next sections was pure weeds, and I knew it.

Read the next section of the swim from mile 5-8 along the east shore of Lake Wawasee here: https://www.jacemorgan.com/post/the-east-shore-landmarks-mile-5-8

Jace

Mile 2-5 Takeaway: The first wall whispers. It distracts you with small pains until they pile into something bigger. The only way past is to answer back: stroke, breathe, repeat.