oklahoma, where the wind comes sweeping down the plains..

so I made it safely to OKC last night. it was a fun drive. if you have ever driven directly into a 35 mph wind for 5 hours, you know what I mean. I arrived and spent last night w/ my sister and her family. my nephew kicked my butt in NCAA2007. I got up this morning at 5 am and ran almost 3 miles with my sister. we clipped along at a 9:30/mile pace. it was a little rainy and (surprise) windy. we ran faster than I normally run, but I managed to keep up. then it started really raining. and the wind blew more. there was open water swim in Lake Hefner (the lake we are swimming in saturday) scheduled from 7 until 9 am. so, ignoring the rain and wind, I headed up to the lake. the rain let up (some), but not the wind. I got to meet the race director and a few other participants while we stood next to the lake, watching someone walk out into the lake around 200 yards (it has been very dry in okc). everyone was super-friendly - typical of oklahomans. eventually, several other competitors and I decided to give the swim a try, in spite of the wind-blown white caps. I had trouble swimming in a straight line. I wasn't alone. I ended up swimming about 1/3 mile. all that is left to do is wait. rest. and wait some more.