In case you don’t know Finis, they are one of the top sellers of all things swimming! (a competitor to Speedo, Tyr, etc).  They have tons of great products, just click on the link to the right and check out all they have to offer!

And the sponsorship part is that we get 25% of everything, all year long!… and 50% of everything for 3 months per year… March, June & August!!!  Awesome!

Cheers,

Rob

If you don’t know “TED… ideas worth spreading”, you should.  It is an amazing site, with speeches from experts in virtually every field in the world, making brief but excellent speeches.  And Diana doesn’t dissapoint either!

Cheers,

Rob

So at this point I’m the only one doing the Tampa Bay Marathon Swim (38k) solo on April 21… which I’m nervously excited for!  However, I just found out that Ted “The Pennsylania Kid” Gregory has got a harem of 5 ladies to join him in a 6-person relay too!  Good work Ted! 

Alex

The LOST Travellers are also invading Key West!!!  We now have 12 swimmers (and lots of “athletic supporters”) going down to swim the 20k FKCC Swim Around Key West on June 16!!!

There are 6 of us registered as “solo” and one 2-man team, and one 4-man team (which consists of the LOST International Team: 2 swimmers from Belgium, one from Texas and one from Pennsylvania!). 

Darren

(check out the “LOST Travel Team” tab above)

Further, my sources say that there is another 2 man team in the making… a certain triathlete who will be using the swim to help him qualify for Ironman Kona… and another triathlon star who has been sidelined from running since Ironman Canada last fall and is therefore in great swimming shape!  (Brett and David… oops, I guess I let that slip!).

On a related note… I’m going to get some LOST Travel Team t-shirts made for all these LOST adventurers… so is anybody good at photoshop that can help me design it?  The last logo I designed was the LOST logo, but it seems that my photoshop software has gone missing!  Also, I’ve got a couple places I’ve used, but if anyone has ideas on a good place to have them done, let me know.

Hell, with t-shirts in the mix now, I’m sure we’ll see a real flurry of people signing up!  (John & Jenn!)

Lynn

Ted

Brett

Art

David

Me!

Bud

 

 

 

Cheers,

 

Rob

So if you are a swimmer, be it a sprinter, marathoner, triathlete, pool or open water swimmer, we all have one thing in common… the search for the perfect stroke. 

Like a golfer searching for the perfect swing, it’s a pretty elusive and debatable thing.  But there is a website out of Perth, Australia that has become quite well reknown for their instructional videos on swim strokes.  If you go to their website they even have a great annimation of the perfect stroke!  (http://swimsmooth.com/)

But now they’ve gone one step better than that… they’ve tracked down Jono Van Hazel… who has probably the “perfect” stroke!  And they’ve captured it in the video below. 

If you’ve ever wondered if you were supposed to enter the water finger tips first or thumb first?  How wide your pull should be?  What your head position and breathing should look like?  The shape of the pull?  The depth and speed of the kick?  It’s all there!

You know the only thing better than looking at this video, is getting someone to video you… and then compare it to this one… you’d be surprised!

A big thanks to SwimSmooth.com, they are a great website out of Perth, Australia and have tons of videos and tips and reviews on all kinds of things… one of the best swim sites out there!  Have a look: http://swimsmooth.com/

PS.  I put it in the “videos” tab too… so you can find it later… in case it doesn’t all sink in on your first viewing!

Cheers,

Rob

After our successful New Year’s swim of 100 x 100 on 100, I’ve had all kinds of interest from people wanting to join the group for these long swims… which is great!  We are up to about 25 people on the list!

One of my goals with LOST swimming is, of course, to increase interest and participation in open water swimming in general… but also in Marathon Swimming!

And the real test for a marathon swimmer is naturally a major marathon swim!  So these are the marathon swims lined up for this summer… so far!  It’s not too late to join us!!! 

(I understand there are a few relays still in the works too!… see the “LOST Travel Team” tab for more info).

Tampa Bay Marathon Swim, April 21, 38 km

1. Rob Kent

FKCC Swim Around Key West, June 16, 20 km

1. Rob K.
2. Jane C.
3. Bud S.
4. Marilyn K.
5. Lynn R.
6. Art C.
7. Darren O. (2 man relay)
8. Alex M. (2 man relay)

Manhattan Island Marathon Swim, June 23, 47 km

1. Steve Faulkner

Lake Ontario Crossing, August, 42 – 51 km

1. Rob Kent
2. Madhu Nagaraja
3. Kim Lumsdon
4. Colleen Sheilds
5. Francois Hamel

Ederle Swim, August 18, 2012,  28 km

1. Steve Faulkner

Pretty cool…

Cheers,

Rob

100 x 100′s on 100… that’s how!  The second LOST swim is in the books now too!

As in 100 x 100 meters on 100 seconds (1:40)!  I am starting the next phase of my training for my Lake O Crossing (and Swim Around Key West and Tampa Bay Marathon Swim)… and thought I’d see if anyone wanted to join me… great turn out! 

Misery may love company, but Marthon Swimmers love it even more!  A good smattering of Masters Clubs represented too… Burlington Masters, Oakville Masters and Etobicoke Masters!  Anna, Jenn, Michael, Bud, Al and myself made them all… but honorable mention goes to Madhu, Rob, Mette, Joanne and Colleen… who all did some portion of it!  Great swim everyone!  Who’s up for another one next weekend???

PS. My friend, Simon Griffiths, who runs H2Open magazine, an open water swimming magazine in the UK, was even good enough to quote us on our 100 x 100′s!  http://www.h2openmagazine.com/pool-swimming/how-to-swim-100-100s.html

100 x 100's on 100! Jan 2, 2012... Anna, Rob, Michael, Al, Jenn, Bud, Madhu, Rob!

A great day for the first annual LOST Polar Bear Dip!!!  And the first LOST swim for 2012 is in the books!

The air was 4C/40F… and so was the water!  I’m not sure how many people we had out… a good group of “dippers”… and a good group of “wimps” too! 

If you weren’t there, you can see exactly what it was like in the video… but you can’t feel it!  For that you’ll have to wait until next year… and join us!

and some pics (thanks Rick, Colleen and Kevin!)…

lots of smiles... before the dip!

 

I count 25 dippers... and there were a few not in the pic! Great turn out everyone!

 

almost ready! (ps. that says LOST... not LOSER... hey, it's warm!)

4C or 40F... and a sinister smile! (Comrade Michael in the black hat, verifying the temp for the Kremlin!)

 

David in the robe he stole from the Royal York... Al in his robe from his days on the Olympic Polar Bear team... and Darren... "robes?... we don't need no stinking robes!"

The Polar Bear Panic!

 

Get in...

... and get out!!!

 

you can measure the temp... by the facial expressions!

As a fan of Guinness beer… and swimming… I just had to post this.  Is there a better way, or reason, to work up a thirst?

Cheers,

Rob

So what’s next on the LOST event schedule?  The New Year’s Day Polar Bear Dip, of course!!! 

Now I’m sure most of you are all gung ho and ready to go… but if you need some inspiration, check out the story below and the video from last year!

We also have a change in plans this year!!!… we are going to do our own LOST Polar Bear Dip!!!

While the Polar Bear Dip we did last year in Coronation Park is a very worthy cause, I consulted several LOST swimmers about doing our own dip… and it was unanimously agreed… we are going to do our own Polar Bear Dip!

We will meet at the usual place, the LOST beach, at Navy Street Pier… at 11:30 on New Year’s Day… and jump in at 12:00 exactly!  So don’t be late!  Feel free to bring along family and friends… either as dippers, picture takers or laughers!

No registration, no fees, just a whole bunch of people jumping into big ol’ cold Lake O!  A great way to kick off the LOST swimming season!

PS.  in case it wasn’t obvious… NO WETSUITS! 

See you there!

Cheers,

Rob

*Ontario Polar Bears In Danger of Disappearing* (Star – “Ontario polar bears doomed,” A21)

According to Ian Stirling, a biologist and professor at the University of Alberta, polar bears will disappear from the shores of the Hudson Bay in Ontario and Manitoba within the next 20 to 30 years. Stirling said that the loss of Arctic ice in the region due to warmer weather will be the primary danger to the area’s population of 1,600 polar bears. Stirling said that the ice has been disappearing at a rate of 10 per cent per decade since 1979, outpacing the predictions of most scientific models. Stirling warned that the loss of habitat and a shorter ice season will lead to more polar bears searching for alternate food sources, often in areas of human settlement.

R1: Dagmar, Rob, Adam R2: Stacey, Fiona, Lynn, Dave, Ben

Here are the results from the Burlington Masters crew that participated in the North York Pentathlon!

Essentially, you swim 50 fly, 50 back, 50 breast, 50 free and 100 IM… and add up all the times… and that is your overall ranking!  Kind of a cool concept and a fun meet… just 50′s, so it’s quite forgiving!

Of course, I wanted to spice it up a bit, so made a “pool”… everyone kicked $10 into the kitty… and then had to predict their 5 times… the person who then swam closest to their estimated time won the kitty!  And this year we had a very deserving, talented and, dare I say, modest young chap win the $80 buckeroos!  (me! haha).

They don’t have the official results out on the North York Gators website yet, so “Rob’s version” will have to do… but you can trust my record keeping skills… really… no, seriously.  No, that’s not why I won the kitty, either!

North York Pentathlon results, 2011

Official results: http://www.swimgators.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=373:pentathlon-results&catid=15:notices&Itemid=26

Cheers,

The Pipes: Dagmar, Fiona, Lynn & Stacey!

Rob

… so here is the latest entries into the Tampa Bay Marathon Swim and the FKCC Swim Around Key West… don’t forget to enter soon, before it fills up… because it will!

LOST Travellers as of Dec 19, 2011

Cheers,

Rob

LOST Travellers as of Dec 12, 2011

FKCC Swim Around Key West

I just sent in my applications for the Tampa Bay Marathon Swim (solo) and the Swim Around Key West (solo)!!! 

So if you were waiting for someone to go first… it’s now safe to send your entry in too!  I’m committed! 

If you check the tab above “LOST Travel Team” you can click on the link that shows you who has an interest… and soon, who else has entered!  (so let me know when you’ve sent yours in).

I really hope we can get a bunch of people to come down, these events are always more fun as a group!  So far it looks like the SAKW has the most appeal (time of year, distance, location, etc)… lots of people interested in the solo and in the relay… I think most people who are doing the relay are doing the 2 man. 

Tampa Bay Marathon Swim

Having said all that… if you are going to do either of the races… get your entries in asap!  It would be a shame if you decided to go and they ran out of boats!

Basic info and website:

1) Tampa Bay Marathon Swim

• 38.4 km
• April 21, 2012
• average water temp: 75F / 25C
• price: solo – $1500, 3 person relay – $1500, 6 person relay – $1800
• boat and crew provide in entry fee
• http://www.distancematters.com/

2) FKCC Swim Around Key West

• 20k  (some tide assist)
• June 16, 2012
• cost: solo – $90, 2 relay – $150, 3 relay – $230, 4 relay – $310, 5 relay – $400, 6 relay – $460.
• must provide your own kayaker (though a limited number of kayakers are available, but feel free to bring a kayaker along!)
• http://www.fkccswimaroundkeywest.com/

Cheers,

Rob

Hi all,

So here is a new major marathon swim!  (see info below).  Last year was the first year and a bit of a trial run… and it went over well, so here it is again!  I’ve got a bit on my plate already this year with Tampa Bay Marathon Swim, Swim Around Key West and Lake Ontario… but if you are feeling ambitious, this looks like a legendary one too!  Maybe next year!

PS.  Better start firming up plans for SAKW and TBMS, we’re going to have to get entries in soon, before they run out of boats!  Looks like there is a lot of interest in SAKW especially, both relay and solo!  I’m sending mine in this week!  Have a look under the new “LOST Travel Team” tab above to see who’s going and more details on the races!

Cheers,

Rob

December 2011

Special Announcement: In Search of Memphre September 8, 2012

Northeast Kingdom Open Water Swimming Association (NEKOWSA) is now accepting applications to participate in its 25 mile, international swim the length of Lake Memphremagog between Newport, Vermont and Magog Quebec on September 8th, 2012. 
 
Up to 20 swimmers will be accepted into this amateur, invitation only swim in 2012.  Cost of the swim is $1,500, which will include a motor boat to accompany each swimmer.  Swimmers are required to provide two crew members (each over the age of 18).  The qualifications of each swimmer will be reviewed by a vetting committee headed by Ned Denison of Cork, Ireland – an experienced marathon swimmer/organizer.
 

no photoshop used... really... no, really...

The swim is named In Search of Memphre.  It was organized in 2011 with the purpose to offer a significant, cold water, freshwater swim in North America, to promote a more open border with our friends in Canada, to search for our legendary and elusive lake creature Memphre, and to raise money for our local community’s sports, fitness and recreation center and its special programs for people suffering from chronic conditions such as Diabetes, Obesity, Heart Disease, MS, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and cancer. 
 
In 2011, Nine individual soloists undertook the swim in the face of fierce headwinds. Four completed the swim with the following times:
 
Liz Fry, Westport, CT                                    13 hrs 25 min
Charlotte Brynn, Stowe, VT                            14 hrs 40 min
Greg O’Connor, Natick, MA                            17 hrs 38 min
Elaine Kornbau Howley, Waltham, MA            17 hrs 58 min
 
In selecting our swimmers, we value not only substantial marathon swimming experience, but also good spirit and commitment to community.
 
For more information, contact Phil White by e-mail at swim@orleansrecreation.org or by phone at (802)334-2421 or check out our web site at www.insearchofmemphre.com
 
In Search of Memphre’s Organizing Committee:
 
Phil White, Derby, VT
Ned Denison, Cork, Ireland
Elaine Kronbau Howley, Waltham, MA
Leslie Thomas, San Fransisco, CA
Liz Fry, Westport, CT
Greg O’Connor, Natick, MA
Peter Stuart, Derby, VT
Charlotte Brynn, Stowe, VT
 
The swim is hosted by NEKOWSA, a swimming association which has as its purpose to promote and support open water swimming in the legendary lakes of the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont.  Other NEKOWSA swims include Kingdom Swim, Seymour Swim, and Willoughby Swim. www.kingdomswim.org NEKOWSA is an affiliation of Indoor Recreation Orleans County, a sports, fitness, and recreation facility located at 400 Quarry Road, PO Box 558, Derby, VT 05829. Tel:    (802)334-8511  www.irocvt.org

Don't worry the "real" moster is the 40 km lake!

Hi all,

I just got this email from our fellow LOSTie, Darla Tannahill (below).  Some of you might know her, some of you might not yet, she’s a great woman and has become regular LOST Swimmer.  She also attempted her first Ironman at the Florida Ironman on November 5th… it didn’t go well at all.  I’ll let you read her email.  I was dumb-founded and didn’t know what to say.  But I figured if she is laid-up in bed for a long time it would probably be nice to recieve some encouragement and well wishes from me and all her friends and aquaintences in LOST.  I certain appreciate the comraderie we have in LOST, even though we may not know every other swimmer that well, we do have this in common, and I’ll bet she’d appreciate a quick email to wish her well from you all. 

dtannahill@cogeco.ca

Darla on a bright sunny day of LOST Swimming... and looking forward to seeing her out next summer too!

Cheers,

Rob

Hi Rob

Thanks for the updates, they get me excited for the next season! I am so grateful to have found this group last year, I reconnected with some an old friend who was a member of the group, made some new ones and got my son and a colleague from work to join.

Some of the people I met gave me the courage and encouragement to attempt Florida Ironman on November 5th…. I was having the time of my life, living my dream, when at mile 109 of the bike course I was struck by a car.  I was transferred to Bay City Medical as a trauma patient. After several days there and a very painful flight, I am finally recovering at home.

The good news is I survived and will make every effort to help myself make a full recovery. The bad news is I suffered a broken pelvis, ribs, nose, have some fabulous bruising and road rash and stitches to the back of my head. My beautiful brand new bike was destroyed, as was my helmet – which saved my life – and all of my clothing.

Witness say I was thrown 20 feet from the point of impact, bounced off the top of my head and slid to a stop…thankfully I was knocked out, so I dont remember a thing…. until I came to the next day and realized I was out
of the race. Devastating.

The state troopers advised my husband that the driver came to the intersection, and once she saw the police, she thought they were trying to pull her over. Because she was in the US illegally and isnt a licensed driver, she panicked and accelerated trying to get away and T boned me. Ouch.

Anyway, the District Attorney’s office called here on Friday and the driver pled guilty to all the charges. So, here I sit…..celebrating graduating from a walker to crutches.

Hows that for a race report??!

Hope all is well with you.

Darla

 Hi all,

 I’ve put a bunch of new info on the website:

•  LOST “Marathon Swimming” Hall of Fame
•  Marathon Swim Training
•  Marathon Swimming Library (under the Marathon Swim Training tab)

 PS. I hope you are keeping the swims for 2012 in mind (under the “LOST Travel Team” tab)

•  Tampa Bay Marathon Swim (we’ll need to book these soon, as they can run out of support boats!)
•  Swim Around Key West (we’ll need to book these soon, as they can run out of support boats!)
•  and don’t forget the next LOST event… the POLAR BEAR DIP!!! (under the “Events and Races” tab)

 Cheers,

Rob

 My friend, Steve Munatones, who is one of the most knowledgable guys in ows and shares his knowledge of the sport with people via several websites and organizations, has posted the WOWSA Awards (the second best acronym, next to LOST Swimming!)… and you can vote on the winners!

There are pros and cons to the format, but the long and short of it is, it is pretty much a popularity contest… and who can get the largest number of their buddies to vote for them.  But, it is what it is… and there are lots of great swimmers and incredible accomplishments that make it hard to choose… here is who I will be voting for… not that I’m trying to influence anyone …

1) Woman of the Year… Penny Palfrey… most deserving because she set the record for the longest open water swim in history when she swam between the Cayman Islands!  (do a little search in the archives on the right hand side of this page, in June… and you can find out more about it).  She’s also a friend that i got to know in Dover and is a really nice person!

Penny Palfrey in Dover, in 2006, when she and I spent a lot of time in coffee shops waiting for clear weather to make our English Channel Crossings!

2) Man of the Year… Bruckner Chase… he is an amazing swimmer, he’s swum unique swims all over the world… all in the name of “Ocean Advocacy and Awareness”.  He’s also a great guy and someone that I got to know well in Dover back in 2006 too!

Bruckner Chase... at home...

3) Performance of the Year… Rebekah Boscariol… hey, any 17 year old who can swim the traditional route of Lake O in 15 hrs and 33 minutes has my vote!  Bekah swims against my daughter Maisey and I’ve met her at a few meets… she’s a great kid and has a lot of great ows years ahead of her!  I’m always for promoting Lake O swimming too and she’s a great ambassador for our Lake!

Rebekah looking pretty good after Crossing Lake O!

PS.  Honorable mention goes to Melanie Price who had the most valiant swim I’ve ever seen… she would have had my vote!

The now famous "touching of the rock!"... she made it!!!

Cheers,

Rob

 Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Some of you might have met Francois (Frank) near the end of the LOST season this year… he was the French guy who drove all the way down from the military base in Barrie to swim with us… he also happened to be a really good swimmer! 

Francois Hamel, swimming with LOST!

Well, he’s swimming Lake O next year too!  (that makes 5 of us … me, Francois, Colleen Sheilds, Kim Lumsdon, Madhu Nagaraja… so far!)

Anyway, I told Francois I’d be happy to post a link to his fund-raising site for his son who has Juvinille Diabetes.  Here is the link and a bit more info about Francois…

52KM SWIM FOR JUVENILE DIABETES

Good day,

My name is Francois Hamel.  I’m in the Military as an Aviation Instructor since 22 years.  During the past 6 years during my free time I’m a long distance swimmer.  Since then, I have completed successfully many long distance Marathons such as Lake St-Jean crossing (32 km 3 times), Descente of the Saguenay River (42 km 2 times and 24 km one time), Long Lake crossing in Yellowknife (18 km) and many others shorter races distances as 3, 5 and 10 km.  Since moving to Ontario (2009), my new swim goal and dream for the summer of 2012 is the Ontario Lake crossing (52 km).  I have decided to dedicate my swim and raise money for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation because my 12 years old son was diagnosed 2 1/2 years ago.  I realize how important it is to make improvements in Juvenile Diabetes and all money raised will go towards research advancement for adults and children who live day after day with Type 1 Diabetes.  I would like to help them by asking you to support my goal of raising $10,000.  I am very proud to swim Ontario Lake  for families affected with Juvenile Diabetes!  Thank you very much for your support.

Date of Event: August 3 – 5, 2012 ( Primary Swim Dates) or August 10 – 12, 2012 (Back-up Swim Date)

Time of Event: 21:00 pm from Niagara On-The-Lake (starts) to Marilyn Bell Park in Toronto (finishes)

Arrival: Should be between 15:00 pm and 17:00 pm at Marilyn Bell Park on the following date (Sat or Sun)

Forecast swim time is between 18 and 20 hours

Francois supporting Juvinile Diabetes2 time Lake O Crossing swimmers Marilyn Korzekwa and Kim Lumsdon... with Francois!

Hi all,

This is the latest sale for Xterra… which is great… but if you check our pricing on the right hand side of this page our pricing as “sponsored athletes” is even better!  They reduced that pricing too!!!  Let me know if you want to order anything and I can pass the code on to you!  We sold 45 wetsuits last year!!!

As I’ve mentioned, I’m planning on doing a Lake Ontario Crossing next year, 42.2 km from Port Dalhousie to Oakville (the LOST Route)… but I’d like to spice up the training a bit… with some other swims too!

There are a couple of races that I think would be fun and useful in training for my Lake O Crossing… but I also think they would be great races to get a bunch of LOST swimmers to do as well… a whole new adventure!!!  Not unlike the fun trip that 14 athletes + family and friends did at Ironman Canada in August!

Tampa Bay Marathon Swim

The two swims that I am going to do next year are the Swim Around Key West (SAKW) and the Tampa Bay Marathon Swim (TBMS)!!!  These are perfect races to get a bunch of people to go to, as they both can be done as a “solo” or as a “relay”!!!

So if you are up to it they are great solo swims… and if you aren’t quite up to a 20k (SAKW) or 37k (TBMS) solo swim, you can do it as a relay!… and the number of people on the relay is flexible!

I am sure that everyone is the same as me, in that there are all kinds of variable involved in being able to do either or both of these races… other than being able to cover the distance!  Travel budget, kids school, other committments and dates of the races are all things to take into account.  There are actually 2 SAKW races, but for me the Florida Keys Community College SAKW (FKCC SAKW… not to be confused with the regular SAKW!) is the one that works best with my schedule, so I will likely do that one… and Tampa Bay.

FKCC Swim Around Key West

On the other hand, there are lots of things that work really well with these races too!  Relay or solo, beautiful courses, warm water, a great place to take the family and other supporters, cheap airfare (out of Buffalo or Niagara Falls airports)… and it would be great fun to do as a group!!!  I can see it now “The LOST Travellers!  Maybe we can get shirts done up and the whole bit!

Anyway, the details are below, and as you can see both races are still a ways off… which will give you plenty of time to get organized… and train! 

Let me know if you have an interest (you don’t have to sign up just yet!) and we can put everyone together via email to exchange information, etc.  I’m happy to coordinate, but I don’t have time to organize everyone’s itinerary, etc. 

Gary, Jane, Lisa, Bud, Colleen, Kim, Steve, Lynn, Colleen, Jenn, John, Lee, Tyler, Fred, Stacey, Francois, Madhu, Mel, Bill, Shaun, Ben, Jason, Alex, Darren, Tim, Peter, David, Nick, Art, Ted, Juan, Paul, Scott, Curtis, Mike, Gerry, Bud… just to name a few… I’m callin’ you out!  It’ll be great… trust me!!!  (in fact, pretty much all of you could do it… because remember you can do it as a relay!)

Basic info and website:

1) Tampa Bay Marathon Swim

• 38.4 km
• April 21, 2012
• average water temp: 75F / 25C
• price: solo – $1500, 3 person relay – $1500, 6 person relay – $1800
• boat and crew provide in entry fee
• http://www.distancematters.com/

2) FKCC Swim Around Key West

• 20k  (some tide assist)
• June 16, 2012
• cost: solo – $90, 2 relay – $150, 3 relay – $230, 4 relay – $310, 5 relay – $400, 6 relay – $460.
• must provide your own kayaker (though a limited number of kayakers are available, but feel free to bring a kayaker along!)
• http://www.fkccswimaroundkeywest.com/

I hope you can join me… who knows, maybe this will become an annual thing!

See the most current list of LOST Travellers going on these trips under the new “LOST TRAVEL TEAM” tab above.

Cheers,

Rob

Hi all,

So here is some great news from Ironman… you can get into Kona a new way now… 1) qualify (ya right)… 2) lottery (almost as bad of odds)… 3) Ironman CEO Challenge (if you are fast… a CEO… and your company will write off a big “marketing” expense)… or the newest way… 4)  by completing 12 Ironman triathlons!  (slim chance… but a chance, none the less!… just 7 more to go!)

An interesting article by Devashish Paul, that he posted on the TriRudy website… I like the idea and rationale… have a read!

Cheers,

Rob

Hi guys,

For those who have trained and raced for many years, and never had a chance to to go Kona, WTC announced a new loyalty program. In advance of the announcement, WTC CEO spent some time talking to me about how all of this came about. I tried to capture his mindset as well as possible in the following article that is on xtri.com

http://www.xtri.com/features/detail/284-itemId.511713402.html

WTC Legacy Athlete Program: Everyone Should have a Chance to Race in Kona at Least Once

by Devashish Paul

Prior to WTC’s recent announcement on changes to its lottery program and the introduction of the legacy program, Andrew Messick, the new CEO, took some time to discuss the topic with Xtri.com.

Kona is realistically the birthplace of triathlon as we know it today. Sure, there were other triathlon races before the Ironman, and in fact the Ironman was originally held on the island of Oahu before moving to Kona in the early 80′s. But the stories, legends and the legacy of Ironman as we know it were largely formulated over the past three decades or so, with the various battles on the lava fields on the big Island of Hawaii. The attraction of racing in Kona is hard to describe on anything but an emotional level. There is a magnetic connection between this island in the Pacific and age group and professional triathletes worldwide. Arguably even for many professionals, they stand no chance at Kona. They realistically are not there for prize money, but like most age groupers are there for the experience. Few athletes outside of the top 10 will ever break even on the trip to Kona. The trip then becomes more about the experience, a physical and spiritual journey and a chance to compete on the same tarmac as the very best in the sport. Very few rugby fans will raise the world cup like the All Blacks, few football fans will catch a game winning pass from Tom Brady in the Superbowl, nor put the ball past a Barcelona goaltender as Wayne Rooney had in the UEFA Champion’s league finals in Wembley stadium. We can’t even get a sniff of the Olympic 400 m IM finals with Phelps, race up Alpe d’Huez with Cadel Evans or compete on the same track as Usain Bolt. But every athlete who competes in triathlon has a chance to race the best in the sport in Kona.

One of the all time great rivalries - Mark Allen and Dave Scott!

Years ago, the lottery was established to give every man a chance to experience the sport. Left out in the middle were long time participants. Perhaps missing a few steps of speed to get a Kona roll-down, with the lottery being perceived as a losing proposition and for many a path that was not based on any form of merit.

In his first 100 days as WTC CEO Andrew Messick, like any good CEO, decided to look at all sides of his business. He recognizes that he’s not just in charge of any business but one where there is a significant emotional attachment between his customers and what his company offers. He’s not just the guy in charge of a business, but the custodian of a legacy and culture that has deep roots spread across the world. As part of his first 100 day plan, before really changing anything, Andrew, an age group athlete himself, toured around, went to various races, spoke with all of his athletes, both professional and age grouper and wanted to hear what needed fixing, and what was working. He wanted to “hear from the street” the areas where the WTC could improve its offering and make a stronger connection with its customers. He said, “they’re not just customers, they are what makes us.”
During this time, he got to attend the banquet at Ironman Frankfurt Germany, now in it’s 10th year.

Julie Moss... and "the crawl"... her race put Ironman on the map!

During this event, they brought to the stage every athlete who had done all 10 Ironmans in Frankfurt. That’s 10 Ironmans in 10 years in the same place for a decade. The enormity of this accomplishment was not lost on Andrew. It also occurred to him that these guys were not the very fastest at the event. To a person, they were not Kona contenders, rather, people who were physically, emotionally and financially vested in the sport. These guys lived and breathed the Ironman lifestyle. No doubt, they are the fixture at the local Wed morning ride, or the masters swim sessions. They are probably the guy pulling people to the monster training sessions in the Ironman buildup and telling the tales of past events. They are the ones guiding the newbie triathletes, helping them to learn the ropes and also helping them dream about crossing that first finish line. Most of these guys will never ever get a sniff of the Kona that the qualifiers get a chance to experience. They won’t dive in off the pier, they won’t drink Kona coffee off a catamaran on the Thursday morning swim. They won’t see Crowie and Macca hammering back from Hawi chasing Lieto and they won’t see Carfrae stalking Wellington out on the Queen K, hoping to pull back a victory. Yet, there they were, with all 10 Frankfurt finishes, up on the stage for their fellow athletes to cheer.

The Crawl, part II... it still gives me goosebumps! (I posted both videos under the "video" tab on this site... watch them!

Andrew understood what he saw, and knows that at every event worldwide, and in every triathlon community there are men and women like these 10x finishers at Frankfurt. People who put enough energy into triathlon that it is literally like a second job. Their efforts far outstrip a hobby. It is deeply integrated into their lives, those of their families and for some is an extended part of their personal identity.

These people need a chance to go to Kona. Even if it is just once. They need to feel the breeze off of the pier and be able to share the same road as where Mark and Dave did battle. A program needed to be put into place for athlete like this.

While the cynical amongst us, might view this is a means to suck people into doing WTC races rather than competitors, we can’t really change the mind of the cynical. In reality, the number of athletes that this new loyalty program applies to is small enough that it won’t really change revenue for WTC much. It will offer athletes who dream a chance to realize that dream.

the famous Kona swim start!

WTC took the existing lottery and took the 200 slots that it gets and put 100 into the their new “legacy athlete loyalty program.” It does not change the number of slots for qualifiers, nor professionals. Andrew is making a commitment that someone who does 12 WTC full length Ironmans will eventually get to Kona. When asked, “why 12, why not 5, or 10?”, Andrew replied, “We wanted to make it tough. In fact, we wanted to make it really tough. No one finishes 12 Ironmans by just signing up and showing up. This is a multi year commitment. For many, even with a few Ironmans per year, perhaps 5-10 years. You have to finish every one of these events and if you’ve already been to Kona as qualifier, or a previous lottery winner, you don’t get a shot through our new program. This is truly to give long time participants who are committed Ironman athletes who are not gifted enough to qualify, a chance to finally race in Kona. Right now our database is not sophisticated enough to go back enough years to have a comprehensive worldwide list of those who have done 12. If 12 is too much and we don’t fill 100 slots per year, we MAY lower it in the future, but we believe that 12 is a good starting point.”

Of course, the topic is about “getting to Kona” and the topic of slots at qualifier events came up as well. It seems that with the number of races that WTC is running, there are less and less slots at each event. Is there is a need to every WTC race to have Kona qualifier slots. In the past once could do a top 10 and get in a Kona slot in some of the larger highly competitive age groups. Today, with 50 or less slots in each event, one has to pretty well podium or win outright even in very deep fields. Why not have less events with Kona slots but have those events with more slots. A recent example was Ironman Lake placid where less that 25% of the field raced without wetsuit, meaning that they were there only for the race in Lake Placid and were not trying for Kona slots. Perhaps there is an opportunity to create some championship quality events where all the slots would be concentrated. To this topic Andrew said, “We understand the problem, we’re limited by racks on Kailua Pier and we have 5-6x the number of worldwide participants over 5-10 years ago. Bottom line is that the fields are deeper and faster and whether we spread the slots or put them in regional championship events, we feel that it won’t really won’t make a huge difference on who get to qualify for Kona.” This is the WTC’s position today, based on their event structure and format that is in play.

The bottom line is that the new Kona Legacy Athlete program really is about rewarding those who have committed to the sport in a massive way, making it part of their lives with a commitment that is often not seen in other walks of life. Andrew recognizes this as a special commitment and wants to create a path to Kona that makes the reality of racing in Kona a possibility for those who just might not have quite the same genetic gifts as the top Kona qualifiers, but have make the sport an integrated part of their lives.

About the Author: Devashish Paul is a master triathlete based in Ottawa Canada, and a 20x Ironman finisher and 10x Ironman Lake Placid finisher. He actually qualified for Kona in his 12th Ironman in 2006, 15 years after his first shot at the distance.

Devashish  Paul
devashish.paul@gmail.com

So here are the inductees to the Int’l Marathon Swimming Hall of fame… all very worthy and interesting people with amazing and varied accomplishments.  My claim to fame is that I know a few of them… I’ve gotten to know Ned Denison pretty well over the years and he was there with encouraging words after my English Channel swim went south… and he was there to give me some tips and encouragement when I had a bit more success in the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim.  

And speaking of MIMS, Joanne and I were lucky enough to enjoy a beer and a few stories and laughs with inductee Drury Gallagher after my race.  Have a read of his accomplishments, pretty amazing. 

Also, although I never got to swim Dave Parcell’s Swim Across the Sound, before he passed away in the Tampa Bay Marathon Swim, he and I had discussed his race and a few other swims.  He seemed like a great guy.

Lots of worthy and amazing athletes and great, very giving, people… worthy of being honored!

Cheers,

Rob

PS. to find out more, check out http://www.internationalmarathonswimminghalloffame.com/

Class of 2012 Announced

The International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame is proud to announce the following honorees of its Class of 2012.  The honorees will be honored at the 2011 Global Open Water Swimming Conference.

Irish Long Distance Swimming Association

Certificates of Merit

Here’s a great race report from a LOST Traveller!  Atta keep the season alive, Gary!  Sounds like a great race… mabye we’ll join you next year!

Cheers,

Rob

Looks great!!!

Hi Rob,

 While rivers and lakes have cooled off  back here in Ontario, down in Tennessee they’re still outdoors swimming and swimming the Suck near Chattanooga in particular. After enjoying a swim vacation, my latest excuse to travel down there, I was back in southeast Tennessee last weekend to participate in the 2^nd Annual Swim the Suck. (See this year’s video produced and set to set to music by Ben Friberg at www.swimthesuck10mile.com ). The event was again organized by someone you’re familiar with Rob, Karah Nazor Friberg, the first Tennessean to swim the English Channel back in 2008.

Swim the Suck, 16k race in Chattanooga, Tennesee!

Saturday was sunny and the water was a comfortable in the low seventies but the current was much slower than we experienced last year. The Tennessee River is dammed from head to toe with controlled flow and on this day the upstream Chickamauga damn (almost as much fun to pronounce as Chattanooga) was kicking out 12000-18000/cubic feet per second (cfs) of water compared to last year’s more helpful flow of nearly 35000/cfs. This contributed some difference in my time 3:58 compared to last year’s 3:09.  The winning time of 3:35 by Victoria Rian of Indianapolis compared to last year’s winning time of 3:04.  On this day my conditioning was off a bit, I sensed some cramping and stomach stuff, the water was a bit wavy yadda yadda.  Still I was relieved to be reassigned a very good local pilot and kayaker Carl Sheffield who safely and smartly navigated me downstream and tended to my 3 feedings (Gatorade, gels & water).

 This year’s event started a couple miles further downstream than previous so the entire length was within the Tennessee River Gorge, a narrow, gorgeous (& surprisingly clean) stretch of water steeply sloped with trees just starting to change colour and rock walls climbing steeply to peaks up to 1700 ft. above us.  My new aid this year, prescription goggles allowed me to enjoy the scenery in more detail as we swam along.

C.O.W.S. almost as most as cool of a name as L.O.S.T.!!!

In case you’re wondering about the Suck in the name Swim the Suck, it refers to a tributary along the route, Suck Creek which in the days before they damned he Tennessee River would sometimes erupt into rapids and whirlpools at the point the two rivers met and suck in passing river traffic.  While I avoided this fate I also couldn’t answer the challenge when a couple swimmers passed me in the last mile, usually the stronger part of my long swims. Nonetheless I still scored some beautiful hand crafted Appalachian pottery for my efforts, 9th overall ( a field of 40 started), 3rd place amongst men. It was the women who rocked the Tennessee River on Saturday though claiming the top 3 finishes plus 6 of the top 10 finishes.

Afterwards, though thankfully prior to the post-swim keg party, I managed to orally exhaust the liquid contents of my stomach.  Oddly enough when I got back in the water again Monday and Tuesday this week, I felt recovered even ready to race a better 10 miles after having learned a few things a couple days earlier. Go figure eh. After participating in 7 open water swim events over the past 6 months -including the fast growing LOST Race – I’m ready to transition to more wintery stuff like skiing.  Still part of me already misses the weekly LOST swim in Oakville and the coffee at Second Cup that followed. See ya’ll in the big lake next year.

 -Gary

So the Cherry Street gang was at it again last weekend!  Good work everyone!!!

Cheers,

Rob

Oct 11, 2011... and still swimming at Cherry Street!!!

Seven braved the most inviting conditions at Cherry Beach this fall. This is likely the latest in the season a group has swum, EVER, at Cherry Beach. The weather was remarkable for an October morning; sunny, warm and no wind. The water was 64/18 and calm – like glass. The Group swam from point to point – about 2 km. Both Paul and Juan managed their swim without wetsuits, which seemed a challenge to those of us in wetsuits – Congrats boys. All in all, a lovely way to spend Thanksgiving.

 Kelvin

how nice is that! Especially for October!!!

So Wednesday night was Brett’s birthday… and we did our Wednesday night (6:30 from the Running Room, if you want to join us!) run that we have been doing for a long time… I’m almost at 15 years and Alex and Peter are almost as long!  Well, we started a tradition about 14 1/2 years ago that we go out for a beer after… and we’ve kept the gang together longer than the bars have lasted (we out lasted the Three Judges and Prime Time and are now at the Kings Arms!).  So it was the perfect venue to celebrate Brett’s Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Brett !

So you are probably wondering how I’m going to tie this into a blog about open water swimming and triathlon?  Well, the bulk of this group were among the 14 that just did Ironman Canada a month ago… and Brett went from an Iron-boy to an Ironman!  (right Lambrina!).  He finished his first Ironman… and only started triathlons about a year ago… and was a pretty weak swimmer. 

Well, as fate would have it… the guy has bit of talent… okay, and he trains pretty hard too!  And he did a did a 10:36 for his first Ironman!… and he only missed making the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii by about 7 spots!!!  (not bad for an old guy… 49!)  So being the quiet, unassuming guy he is… he entered Ironman Wisconsin next year… only moments before it sold out… with the intention/possibility/hope of qualifying for Kona next year!!!

So that is how I was planning on tying in a bunch of guys drinking beer in the pub to Ironman World Championships!  (Pretty good, eh?!)  Also, I figured I should write a blog about him so he might remember me and the other “little people” when he is climbing up on the podium next year!!!

So HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BRETT!!!… AND GOOD LUCK AT IRONMAN WISCONSIN!!!

Ironically… the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii are this weekend!

Cheers,

Rob

Hi all,

So Kelvin, who swam the last few LOST swims with us and is leading the group on Cherry St, is taking a group to Margarita Island in Venezuela again this year!  Check out the info below if you would like to join him!

Cheers,

Rob

Margarita Island training camp, Jan 2011

Registration is now Open!

 Join us for an Athletic Vacation on Margarita Island, Venezuela in Jan 2012:

• MSC Swim Camps:
  • Jan 3-10 ­ Coaches Nancy Black (Aurora, ON) & Paul Bounding (Winnipeg, Manitoba) – 24 Spots Left
  • Jan 10-17 ­ Coaches Paul Boulding (Winnipeg, Manitoba) & Clint Stevens (Red Deer, Alberta) – 32 Spots Left
  • Tri/Ironman Training Camp:
    • Jan 3-10 & Jan 10-17 ­ Coach Aubrey Bryce (Whitby, ON).
    • MSC Open Water Swim Camp:
      • Jan 10-17 ­ Coach Kelvin Landolt (Toronto, ON)

 All 7-day/14-day all-inclusive packages are staying at the Laguna Mar Resort ­ view rate quotes online.

Flight/Accommodation Booking Deposit Deadline ­ Oct 14, 2011

More detail for all camps ­ www.oannesathletics.com

Air/Travel Packages - Toronto & Montreal Flights

New Travel Agent – Call Richard Toledo at Rainbow High Vacations ­ 1 800 387 1240 Ext 223

New Athletic Vacations in 2012:

• Margarita Swim Camp – March Break 2012
• Hawaii Swim Adventure Spec Trip ­ June 2012
• Hawaii Swim Adventure Nov 2012

More detail for all camps ­ www.oannesathletics.com

 Thanks,

Kelvin Landolt

Oannes Athletics / Oannes Swims

So the 3 new champions of Lake Ontario were presented with their Crossing certificates on Saturday! 

Three new Lake O Crossing Champions for 2011! Rebekah Boscariol, Christine Arsenault and Melanie Price!

The recognition of the 3 newest members of the Lake O Crossing club happened in Niagara-on-the-Lake on the weekend.  Solo Swims Ontario (SSO) re-dedicated the plaque of successful Lake Ontario Crossings for swims along the traditional route from NOTL to Toronto.  At a recent SSO meeting that I attended, we discussed the plaque and the fact that it only recognized the swims from NOTL to Toronto, but neglected other equally worthy swims, including several that have been held at the other end of the Lake, near Kingston… and the new LOST Route that Melanie has established from Port Dalhousie to Oakville (a route I plan on taking next summer too!). 

Colleen Sheilds and John Scott christen the new plaque with water from Lake O!

Given that we plan on having more LOST swimmers cross via the new LOST Route and that Vicki Keith has lots of swimmers doing crossings at the east end of the Lake too, SSO has generously agreed to remedy this situation by erecting a plaque at the east end of the Lake to recognize those Lake O Crossings… and we will have a plaque in Oakville to recognize the Crossings on the LOST Route!!!  And Melanie has just become the first swimmer on the plaque!!! 

We are still working on the details of the plaque in Oakville, but hopefully we can get it up by next summer… to inspire you all!

Rebekah Boscariol, Christine Arsenault and Melanie Price completed the 60th, 60st and 62nd successful swims across Lake Ontario.  And given that there is a small handful of swimmers who have crossed Lake O more than once, these three swimmers have become the 49th, 50th and 51st to complete a Lake O Crossing!

Lake O Crossing Alumni, 2011 - back: John Munro, Christine Arsenault, Shaun Chisholm, John Scott, Gregg Taylor Jr. Middle - Miguel Vadillo, Vicki Keith, Colleen Shields, Kim Lumsdon, Kim Middleton, Marilyn Korzekwa, Cindy Nicholas. Front - Susanne Welbanks (Robinson), Shelagh Freedman, Rebekah Boscariol, Melanie Price.

Our biggest CONGRATULATIONS to Bekah, Christine and Mel!

A special round of applause from all the LOSTies to Melanie… for being the first LOSTie to cross the Lake… and for establishing the LOST Route!

(you can find more on everyone’s swims in previous blogs… scroll down or check the archives on the right or search their names.)

Cheers,

Rob

In the true spirit of LOST Swimming and pushing the envelope, Kelvin, Michele, Juan, Paul and Ben hit the beach on Sunday at Cherry Street beach!  Woo hoo, way to go gang! 

Cheers,

Rob

Swimming in October... Kelvin, Paul, Juan, Michele & Ben... woo hoo!

Here’s the note from Kelvin:

We met beach side at Cherry/Clarke Beach on Sunday 7:45 AM for a rainy day swim. We climbed up onto the beachside dock of the lifeguard house and looked out onto the calm waters of Cherry Beach. The morning was grey, with a hint of the morning sun coming through the clouds. Air was cool with a light sprinkle of rain, but with very little (if any) wind. We all knew from Kelvin’s report from Saturday, that the water was about 68/17 or so, but since the air was cool there was nothing much to do but strip down and slip on our wetsuits.

We all quickly slipped into the water off the dock and swam out about 25 meters into the lake. There we laughed, clearly understanding how ‘nuts’ this was, while sorting out the sights for the swim. Then we swam off East to a point about 600 meters away from the dock. Within a few minutes of swimming, the water got remarkably warmer. It was hard to tell if this was a body reaction or if it was in fact actually warmer. The water was very calm and totally clear. When we reached the eastern meeting point, each reported feeling how the water got warmer… but how could this be? After a few minutes of rest we set off back West, past the dock and another 500 meters (or so) to what is called the Eastern Gap – a channel of water between Toronto Island and the Industrial park. Again, swimming past the dock area, the water got remarkably cool and then warmed again near the Eastern Gap. We held up again at the Eastern Gap looking toward Toronto – the view of the city from this watery vantage point is stunning, even on a greyish day. We chatted for a few minutes while treading water about how odd it seemed that the water temperature could change so remarkably during the 1100 m. Off we swam on the last ‘leg’ of the swim – back East about 500m to the dock. All agreed the swim was a fun Sunday morning adventure and a good excuse to head on over for breakfast at the Cherry Street Restaurant – http://cherryst.ca/ .

Swim again next Sunday AM… maybe? Have Kelvin add you to the Saturday 6 pm ‘Email Update’ listing – klandolt@npconsultants.com

… so NYC Swim has got it right.  They are a group that started open water swimming in NYC… their motto is “Take back the Rivers!”  And they have been exceptionally successful at it.  They now host a whole plethora of great events!  The crown jewel of the bunch is the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim, which I was lucky enough to do last year, but all of their races are great events!

Last year, when thoughts of doing a Lake O Crossing were still percolating in Melanie’s head, she went down and did the Governor’s Island Swim.  More recently, in fact last weekend, 3 LOST swimmers went down and did the 10k Little Red Lighthouse Swim… and next weekend Steve Faulkner will be doing the daunting Ederle Swim!  Which is a 28 km swim from Sandy Hook, New Jersey to Manhattan Island!

The original swim was done by the great Gerturde Ederle in 1925.  She was also the first woman to swim the English Channel… in 1926… when she completed the swim in 14:30… a record that stood until 1950.

Little Red Lighthouse Swim, 2011

Back to the present, or at least last weekend… LOSTies Jane, Lisa and Steve all completed the Little Red Lighthouse Swim… a very tough 10k this year!  Jane just sent me an email and said that it was a difficult swim this year… very choppy and only the fast swimmers got the full tidal assist… but it was enough fun that she’s going back next year too!

Although the times don’t really mean much because of the current and tide, Jane, Lisa and Steve did really well in the placings!  There was 344 people entered… only 240 started because the conditions were so rough!  Having said that, Jane finished 214th, time of 2:40… Steve was 187th, time of 2:30… and Lisa was an amazing 29th overall, in a time of 1:32!!!

I think our 3 LOSTies are too modest for a parade like the one they gave Gertrude Ederle after she swam the English Channel!

Congrats to all 3 LOSTies for completing a tough 10k swim!!!… and best of luck to Steve this weekend in the Ederle Swim!!!  (note: you can track Steve on the NYCswim.org site, as he’ll have a GPS tracker visible!… should be fun!)  GO STEVE GO!!!

PS.  I liked Jane’s note… she and Lisa hadn’t met Steve at LOST swimming before but wanted to find him down there in the crowd somehow… so he wore his yellow LOST shirt!!!  So he was LOST… and FOUND!

Cheers,

Rob

… in case you were getting ows withdrawl after one week… there is still a chance to get one more in, and say you swam in October!

Kelvin, who many of you met at our last few swims, is going to be swimming at Cherry Beach on Sunday at 8 am…. weather permitting, of course.

Location: Pump 20 Cherry Street Toronto (on Google Maps).  Or drive to the foot of Cherry Street and park, they meet at the boat house at 7:45 am to be in the water at 8 am.

Drop Kelvin an email so he can send you a last minute email to confirm that they are going.  His email is: klandolt@npconsultants.com

Cheers,

Rob

So Diana Nyad gave it another try on the weekend… to swim from Cuba to Florida… and for the third time, she didn’t make it.

Hard to say she failed though.

She swam for 40 hours and 30 minutes… covering 92 of the 102 miles… not too shabby… for anyone… let alone a 62 year old woman!  In a world were the word “amazing” and “inspiring” are used far too often, she was truly amazing and inspiring!

It’s also pretty cool to see an open water swimmer making the news by pushing the boundaries of what it possible!

Cheers,

Rob

Diana Nyad... pushing the boundaries of human endurance!

(CNN) — With no way to counter toxic jellyfish that brought intense pain and partial paralysis during an attempted 103-mile ocean crossing from Cuba to Florida, endurance swimmer Diana Nyad said Monday that she will not make another attempt at the feat.

“I can’t beat those guys. They’re too much for me,” Nyad said.

Nyad, 62, swam 82 nautical miles of the 103-mile crossing before two stings from what her team identified as potentially lethal box jellyfish forced her out of the water Sunday morning.

In a frequently emotional news conference in which she removed her shirt to reveal sting marks, Nyad said she initially planned to muscle through the intense pain. But she said she eventually had to give up as the toxins began to cause partial paralysis and made it increasingly difficult for her to breathe.

Diana's boat configuration for Cuba to Florida

Nyad still had a wheeze Monday, said one of her doctors, Clifton Page of the University of Miami.

Toxins from the stings also affected members of her crew trying to help her.

“This was a life-threatening situation we were in,” Page said.

Nyad stopped the swim Sunday morning after 40 hours in the water.

“It’s not easy for me to let go of this dream, and I’m in distress about it,” she said.

She said it was “naive” of her not to anticipate problems from the jellyfish, which she said are proliferating throughout the world’s oceans because of climate change. Unlike sharks, which her team countered with divers and electronic devices, no good tools exist to fend off jellyfish, Nyad said.

She said she knows she could complete the crossing were it not for the creatures. She said the last two years of training were not wasted.

“It’s been a grand, elevating, life-confirming experience these last two years,” she said.

Nyad began her attempt Friday evening from Havana’s Hemingway Marina, expecting to spend about 60 hours in the water.

It was her third attempt to complete the swim.

Her first, in 1978, was brought to an end by strong currents and bad weather after almost 42 hours in the water.

She made a second try in August, but she was pulled from the water after 60 miles and almost 29 hours of swimming. She blamed a shoulder injury she suffered early in the journey and an 11-hour-long asthma attack.

She said people inspired by her efforts should continue to train their bodies, test their wills and dream big. And, said said, not being able finish the crossing against such odds was no sign of failure, for her or her team.

“There’s so much boldness in living life this way, and we did it all, and no one can take it away from us,” she said.

Darren, Colleen Sheilds (2 Lake O Crossings) , Rob

PS.  A bit of local lore that ties in with this story, I was talking with Colleen Shields recently and she said she used to swim with Diana, back in the day… and I just got this email from Kim Lumsden too…

Hi Rob
Just a little note on Diana Nyda… Diana stayed with myself and my dad when I was 14.  My dad (Cliff Lumsden) coached her when she swam the world professional curcuit.  He coached her on her Lake Ontario Crossing from Toronto to Port Dalhousie too.  Also around for her swim around Manhattan.  Diana was very close to my dad , she is a really good swimmer and nice person

Kim

Darren, Kim Lumsden (2 Lake O Crossings) , Rob

… well, looks like we’ll have to call it a season!  No swimming tomorrow.

It’s actually not all that bad, the water is 58F – 60F… and the air is supposed to be about 14C… and it’s supposed to be raining… and maybe lightning.  But when you put it all together it doesn’t sound all that appealing to me… or I’m just getting soft.  If it was even earlier in the season I’d probably be more keen, but I’m kinda running out of steam… and I’ve got a ton of things I need to do to finish the reno on the house that I’ve neglected all summer… oh, and sleep in for the first Saturday this summer! 

On the other hand, I have to say that we certainly did have a great season… beyond my wildest expectations!  Here’s a few interesting facts from LOST 2011:

1. first LOSTie to complete a Lake Ontario Crossing!  (Melanie Price)
2. first person ever to swim across Lake O and finish in Oakville!  Establishing the new LOST Route… that I’m sure we’ll have a few more LOSTies join her soon!  (we’re even working on getting a plaque!)
3. 85 swimmers in the LOST Race!  Largest swimming race ever held in Lake Ontario!
4. 52 people out for a single Saturday morning LOST Swim!  Largest LOST Swim ever!
5. 272 people on the LOST email list!
6. 140 paid members of LOST… which makes us one of the largest Masters Swim Teams in Ontario… and the country!
7. 16 LOSTies competed in Ironman Canada… and a few more that did other Ironman tri’s!  (several where weak swimmers a year ago and 2 were pretty much non-swimmers!  That’s truly amazing what can be accomplished in a year, with the right motivation and the right support!)
8. we swam from the first weekend of June until the third weekend of September… 16 swims!  Longest season ever!  Also a great summer for swimming, not one swim was cancelled from bad weather or conditions too rough… albeit some days the water was a little chillier than others!
9. and I know I talk about this one a lot… but let’s here it for Lake O!  We had perfect water all summer!!!  Not so much as an ear infection… show me another lake around that you can say that about!  The next time someone says something bad about Lake O, you can stand up for her!  A great place to swim.
10. and one that we shouldn’t take for granted and is always in the front of my mind… a perfect safety record!  Literally hundreds and hundreds of swims and not a single issue.  Thanks for swimming smart and listening to my boring Safety Talk each week!  (although someone, I think it was Fiona or Jenn, did need a band-aid for their toe once, but I’m not sure if that will tarnish our record much!)

And those are just the notable points I can think of, off the top of my head… a good year no matter how you cut it!

One of the guys mentioned to me earlier in the season that the LOST Race, and LOST in general, had the feeling of triathlon in the early years… that it still had that friendly, grass-roots feeling where everyone still knows everyone.  And we all go out for a coffee together after… that’s pretty cool.  I know we’ve grown in numbers, which has it’s pros and cons, and we have to pay for insurance now and never did in the early years (although, I’d argue the insurance is a good thing no matter how you cut it) and you lose a bit of that feel… but overall I think it’s worth the trade-off to bring that many new people into open water swimming! 

I have to say that I think we still have that culture and that it is my intention to keep it that way.  Because ultimately we all could swim in Lake Ontario on our own or at the YMCA or Gulliver’s Lake… but although a lot of the fun is in the actual swimming… the real enjoyment comes from swimming as a group.  So thanks for joining me for a dip in the Lake every Saturday morning!

Finally, yes, the season is over, but you’ll still hear from me over the winter… when I’ve got something worth saying… and I’ll still post some interesting stories on the site (feel free to send me pics and or stories when you come across them and I’ll put them up.  Also take some pics of yourself with a LOST T-shirt or LOST swim cap in any exotic locale you visit over the winter and send it to me so I can put it up under the “Pics” tab!). 

I’ll be joining Burlington Masters Swim Club and I would recommend that if you have a swim club in your area it would be a good idea for you to do that too!  Check out the “Links” tab above if you are looking for a club.

I also have a few surprises up my sleeve for next year and over the winter too… so stay tuned!

PS.  I wanted to wait until after I got Ironman done and out of the way before I started focusing on the next thing… so here it is… I’ve decided that I’m going to follow in Melanie’s footprints… and attempt a Lake O Crossing next summer too!… and of course, take the LOST Route (although probably land at “our spot” as the pier should be finished by then!)

Cheers,

Rob

… to steal a line from Forrest Gump… “like my mama used to always say… Open water swimming is like a box of chocolates… you never know what you are going to get!”

Cheatin' ol' Mother Nature... getting another swim in!

Which, of course, is true!  Usually you get worse than you expect… but not today!  So I checked the water forecast… and it was showing the temp at around 56F… maybe colder.  But I figured that’s still swim-able… barely.  But for the last swim we can suck it up and do it… we swam in colder at the beginning of the year… so why not now?!

The question was… was anyone going to join me?  So I dropped Jillian off for her swim workout with OAK at Appleby at 7:15 and was sitting in the jeep at the foot of Navy St at 7:20.  Nobody was there.  7:30… still nobody.  7:35… Dawn showed up.  Phew, at least I’ll have one person to swim with.  Feels like a high-school party when you invite everyone and you’re afraid no one will show up for you party!  But, low and behold… people came.  A few more… and then a few more still… until we had 17 LOST swimmers!  Not bad considering the air temp was 10C / 50F.

So I checked the water.  It was pretty rough, so rather than wade in and check it, I just scooped up a bit in the thermometer and watched it drop from 63F… to 59F… then I dumped it out… I didn’t want to know if it was going to get colder than that! 

We were all standing around getting a little chilly… the rocks were chilly to stand on.  So I gave my little safety and re-emphasized the cold water preparedness.  A few people got in… but no screams… in fact, I heard Michele say her feet felt warmer in the water… but I assumed that was because they were cold from the rocks.  Anyway we all got in… and surprise… it was warm!  It ended up being 65F!!!  Bathtub water!

Based on my earlier assessment, because I thought it was going to be a little chilly, I said we’d just go 20 minutes out and 20 back… but we could have gone forever in this temp!  We ended up going about 45 – 50 minutes… and it was nice!  There were some pretty good swells out there… the waves were probably 1 – 2 feet from one trough to the next peak… but from one peak to the next peak was probably 25 feet… so a nice wave length.  Those are fun to swim in!  It’s the chop that sucks (small, waves that hit you from all directions)… this was nice!

A good little swim… and a nice coffee… with a good bunch of friends makes a nice way to start a Saturday!

So… we’ll see if we can squeeze another week out of this season… feels like we cheated the season!  I’ll let you know at the end of the week!  Hell, maybe this will be the year we swim until October… wouldn’t that be cool!

Cheers,

Rob

… we’ll play it by ear as usual, but looks like we are okay for at least one more dip tomorrow morning! 

The air temp looks like it will be fairly chilly early, around 10C or so, like it has been the last few days… and the water temp looks like it’s cooling off proportionately too… in the mid to high 50′s or so (55 – 58F).  Cool, but not terrible… besides if anything it’s be surprisingly warm recently!  (don’t ask me why I measure air temp in C and water temp in F?!)

I’m thinking this will likely be the last swim of the season though… mind you it could still hold at these temps for a while too… but we can decide that next week!

… and in case you were trying to decide whether or not to come out tomorrow… have a look at these smilin’ LOST swimmers from last week… that’s what it’s all about, baby!

See you tomorrow!

PS. Thanks for the pics Lynnie! 

Lynn and Stacey... big grins!

Bud and Geoff... lookin' like regular Super-hero's!

Dawn and Darla... squinting or sunglasses... but those are hard to swim with!

Maisey and Stacey... a coupla tough guys!

 

Michele and Gary... a real tough guy... going naked! (mind you, it was 70F!)

 

maybe it wasn't all that seaweed that was so smelly?!

 Cheers,

Rob

Sorry for the delay in posting this, but as many of you know that have done an Ironman or another major event like that, sometimes you need a little break after… both mentally and physically… but, I’m back!  (I also had technical difficulties, but Carl at Hyperweb fixed that up quick for us!)

So here’s the story… 14 of us set out to do Ironman Canada (in fact there were a few more that did the race, including 2 more LOSTies, Elaine (12:48), Curtis (12:49) and a few other friends like Nicole (12:40) from Burlington and my old buddy Jody (10:00:05) that used to work with at the bank, but came all the way back from Qatar to do the race!). 

The LOST Ironmen!!! (back: Alex, Bruce, Albert, Tim, John, Ron, Rob, Brian... front: Brett, David, Hugh, Cousin Al, Peter & Joanne)

But the core 14 of us joined up about a year ago.  In fact, it is kind of fitting that Julia was at the finish line sending out the blow by blow reports, because it was at her farm, one year earlier that we hatched this crazy idea!  And yes, alcohol was involved… more for some than others!  But for only the second time in the 29 year history of Ironman Canada there were enough spots available after the race day sign up that one could sign up on-line… so we did! 

The whole LOST gang... athletes and athletic supporters!

Originally there was about 18 or so of us, but attrition due to injuries and having a “normal” life forced out a few, like Hamish, John, Jenn, Bobby… but as they say, the hardest part about doing an Ironman is getting to the starting line, not the finish line!

David, Brian & Pete... nothing like doing an Iron-drive across the continent... before an Ironman! (click to enlarge)

Anyway, we all rolled into Penticton on various days, Peter, Brian and David even drove out… in about 40 hours of driving!  Good windshield time with buddies… but I was just happy to fly in with my 3 girls… Joanne (the only Ironchick in the group) and our daughters, Jillian and Maisey, who are getting pretty good at this, as this their 3rd Ironman that they have supported us for!

It was nice having the whole gang there… as I always say, for any of these big races there are really two equal components in my mind that make it a real life adventure… the people and the race.  I’ve done a race by myself, I flew to Las Vegas once to try and qualify for Boston… and didn’t make it… and the race was still a good race and all… but it really wasn’t much “fun” without people to share it with… even if it is sharing an unsuccessful race!  And, generally, I find the more the merrier!  So this was very merry!

The secret meal before any good Ironman! (click to enlarge, but you still won't be able to taste it!)

Anyway, Peter, Brian and David threw a ”welcome to Penticton” party 3 nights before the race at their bachelor pad in OK Falls.  Most of the 14 of us and all our “athletic supporters” had a great time… and just for fun I came up with a bit of bet, to make things interesting.

The idea was that you had to kick $10 into the kitty and guess your time… and the person who came in closest to their estimated time won the $140!  The winner is revealled below! 

Riding the run course... all psyched up and rarin' to go!

We all hung around town, did a few swims in the Lake, which was perfect and beautiful.  Most of us rode the 42k run course, which was a good ride to make sure your bike was in good order and to get the jitters out.  Several of us drove the bike course too… this was a very, very good idea.  Partially because it was so spectacular and really worth seeing (and because you’d only be looking at the pavement on race day)… but even more because it is a very good course to know where the climbs… and decents are!  And to know what’s coming ahead!  I’ve only ever done that at Ironman Lake Placid and here… and both times it was one of the best things I’ve done in preparation for the race!

And... they're off !!!...well, some of them!

Moving along… race day finally came.  For me, it couldn’t come soon enough… I watched the clock from bedtime, at 10:30… until 4:00 am, when I finally dozed off.  Then woke up at 4:30 to get ready for the race.  This really through me off mentally and probably a bit physically too… but what can you do.  Actually, I made the firm committment that I will never go to sleep before a race again without having a beer or two.  Seriously, I know that would have been enough to just help me get at least a bit of sleep.  My 5th Ironman and hundreds of races later… and I’m still learning.

The largest Ironman ever held... and this where you feel it... literally.

Skip ahead to the swim.  This, of course, is my favorite part of the race… and it didn’t disappoint.  I strategically moved myself to the far left to get the best line to the first buoy… and took off like a flash.  One of the few advantages you have as a good swimmer is that you can start at the front, sprint ahead… and not have to put up with all the crashing and banging… so that’s what I did.  The cool thing was, for the first 1 km or so, I was actually winning (or so)… there was only a few people to my left and they were way behind… and I could see way to the right and there was another column forming way over.  I’m not sure exactly who I am in the picture, but if you look at the helicopter photo of the start, I was leading the charge on the left hand side.  Hey, I’m allowed my moment in the sun… because it all goes down hill after the swim for me anyway! 

The swim start is always the most breath-taking part of an Ironman (pun intended!) (click to enlarge, that's me on the right, with the blue cap!)

The swim went well… I lead a few small packs for a while… drafted for a while… passed a few of the 47 pros that had a 15 minute headstart and came out of the water 103 overall and 5th in my age group of the largest Ironman ever! (2832 finishers, I believe).  I’d love to say it was because of my hard training, but truth is, I was really only doing an occassional swim with Coach Mette and the Oakville Masters and my Saturday morning LOST Swim… either way, 58 minutes is a PB for me.

Cousin Al climbing Yellow Lake... with his loyal fans! (click to enlarge)

Then came the bike.  Argh.  All those glowing things I had to say about the swim… well, I could say all the opposite things about my biking abilities.  And that is because I was only doing I bike a week.  Not enough.  And it showed up early.  My lack of sleep… and lack of ability… on the bike made the first bit a bit harder than it should have been.  David caught me first and was good enough to stop and say hi… briefly.  Then Alex caught me on the way up Richters Pass.  He was all chatty having a lovely old time… I was letting him do all the talking, as I was more concerned about keeping my lungs in my chest.  A few of the boys must have blown by me so quick that neither they nor I recognized each other.  We got to the out-and-back section at the 120 km “special needs” drop area and I saw Ron and Peter… they were both in control and saving it for the run… a good idea.  But they were still significantly faster and left me soon.  I saw Albert too.  He and I played cat and mouse all the way up the Yellow Lake Pass and back into Penticton and finished about the same time… we also picked up Nicole on the way into town.

Brett making the last big climb up Yellow Lake too... just get me to the downhill! (click to enlarge)

Now I won’t bore you with all the details, but I will say that the two mountain passes were the two toughest climbs I’ve ever done.  And having them in the same race didn’t make it any easier.  As they say, Richter Pass is actually a tougher climb, but Yellow feels just as hard… because it comes at the 150km mark.

I do have to say that the Powerade that they were serving in the race was the most foul thing I’ve ever had in a race.  I gather that because of the official email they sent out after the race where they apologized for the crappy medals and the lack of water on the bike course, a lot of people felt the same and switched over to water because of the Powerade.  (Kudos for them being that forthright about both issues though!).  But this did effect my race… I felt like crap and had to resort to water and salt tablets… which ended upsetting my stomach.  I had to stop eating and drinking for a while.  I knew this would lead to bonking, but I had no choice and once I felt better I was back on board without much trouble.  Chugging a hot can of Diet Coke in my special needs bag actually did the trick and I felt much better after that!

Climbing up Richters... yes, we were way down there only moments ago!... a few more moments for some of us! (click to enlarge)

Of all the people who passed me, I was fearing one person the most… Joanne.  She pretty much kicks my butt on the bike… yes, I’ve been “chicked” by her more times than not on the bike (mind you so have several of the guys in our group!). 

Then came the run.  Did I mention it was hot.  Stinkin’ hot.  Ya, it was really hot.  Apparently it was the hottest Ironman Canada in it’s 29 year history… and hottest day this summer.  I heard the high was anywhere from 35C to 39C… either way… it was hot.  And not a lick of shade anywhere on the whole course.

The run isn’t much to describe really… you try to run for one mile then replenish your liquids and stuff some kind of food down your throat… and repeat.  26 times.

David in the run... makin' the team colors look good! (click to enlarge)

I was able to pass quite a few people who were walking… the heat just took it out of you.  The only other time I’ve felt like this was when I did Marathon des Sables… it was 55C… a different kind of race entirely… but this was about all I could take.  I was able to hold it together enough to not have to walk between aid stations… but that was about it.  And my second half was something like 45 minutes slower than the first half… I probably bonked… but I just had nothing left.

Having said that, I must have had a tiny bit left… because when I finally got to the final out-and-back and saw a lot of our support gang which consisted of… Julia, Lambrina, Phyllis, Jackie, Trish, Michelle, Kenzie, Megan, Jeffery,Angela, Jazlyn, Ethan and especially for Joanne and I… Maisey and Jillian, it did breathe a bit of life into me… and finished with a bit of sprint (using that word loosely)… and with a big ol’ smile!

It was hot... although it was probably not as bad for Brett... he ran fast enough that he created his own wind! (click to enlarge)

I don’t mean to go on about my own race, but it is the one I know the best.  Having said that here are some comments about all our other LOSTies and their races:

1. Cousin Al Wiggins – 10:36:02, 164 overall… he was the fastest in our group.  Despite what he might say about his swimming, he’s actually pretty balanced between the 3 diciplines, s 1:09, b 5:37, r 3:42.  Having said that, he won our group because of his best event… the transitions!  He’s actually trying to get his nickname changed from “Cousin” to “Doctor”, because of his methodical approach to nutition… nice try ‘cuz. 
   

   Cousin Al's big finish! Way to go Al !!! (click to enlarge)

2. Brett Titus – 10:36:25, 167 overall… s 1:08, b 5:37, r 3:37… but 7 minutes slower than Al in the transitions!!! Next time get one of those strings for your sunglasses!Unfortunately for Brett, Cousin Al saw him coming in the last 500m… and Al wasn’t about to give it away at that point!  Oh, and did I mention he’s a rookie and just took up triathlon… a whole whack of talent there.
3.  David Brezer – 11:34, s 1:05, b 5:54, r 4:27… all he did was train harder than just about anybody, be well balanced between the 3 diciplines, have fast transitions and be tough as nails.  See how hard is that.  31/245 in his age group.  Nice race.
4. Peter von Euw – 12:05, s 1:26, b 6:10, r 4:17… Peter and I have done the most Ironman tri’s in the group, 5… but he keeps getting faster.  Not a PB, but this wasn’t a PB kinda day either!
5. Alex McMillin – 12:18, s 1:05, b 6:14, r 4:44… nice race… must have been all the long training hours he put in… oh wait, he was moving homes for the bulk of the summer!?  So how the hell did he pull of one of his best Ironman’s ever… well, I’ll let you in on a little secret… Alex is what we call a “gamer”… he has the unique ability to raise it to the next level on game day… come hell or high water!  Well done, my friend!
6. Ron Marek – 12:19, s 1:23, b 5:59, r 4:34 … yes… he’s one of our 3 rookies too!  Hard to believe a year ago he was taking his first swimming lesson… which entailed holding on to the edge of the pool and blowing bubbles!!!  On top of that, he also won Julia’s Princess Award… for the slowest transition… a total of 21:52!!!  But hey, at least he looked good out there! (but next time leave the blow dryer at home! )
7. Bruce Horsburgh – 12:51, s 1:35, b 6:39, r 4:21… the biggest sandbagger award… he estimated his time of 14:13… and did a 12:51!!!  I think we were all concerned about Bruce… his swimming is weak, as he too was a new swimmer and a tri and Ironman rookie… and he had 3 wipeouts this summer… and his bike was giving him all kinds of problems right up until race day.  As it turns out… we had nothing to worry about… he kicked ass.  Not bad for the grandpa of the group!  Atta boy, Bruce!
8. Hugh Ryder – 13:07, s 1:27, b 6:32, r 4:48… Huge and I estimated our times to be 3 minutes apart, with me being faster.  I’d crush him in the water, he’d gain on the bike, and I’d try to hold him off in the run… didn’t quite work out that way… although it was close… he caught me with about 10 km left in the run… and I was going backwards at that point!  Well done, Huge!
9. Albert Wimmers – 13:14, s 1:17, b 6:36, r 5:07… again, one of those well balanced guys… we were together with about 10 k left… then he left me in the dust and had a great finish.  Very nice race.
10. Rob Kent – 13:34 – s :58, b 7:00, r 5:24… Overall I was just happy not to get chick’d by Joanne… having an Ironman swim PB was nice too.
11. John Fortin – 13:44 – s 1:11, b 6:04, r 6:09… much like Alex, John had a lot on his plate this summer, with opening his new Yoga studio in Etobicoke (Power Yoga Canada, in case you were wondering), so his race was all about “race management”, very good swim and bike… and get through the run.  Well done.
12. Joanne Kent – 14:04 – s 1:12, b 6:47, r 5:47… she actually won the Prediction Award!  She predicted 14:00 and did 14:04!  A well balanced race too (okay, she died a bit on the run!).  She actually finished okay, after a tough run… but should have gone to the medical tent, but despite being an emergency room nurse, she convinced me she didn’t need too… even though she was later vomiting and fainting!  A pretty bad case of heat stroke, hypoglycemia and dehydration.  But hey, she won the kitty, so it wasn’t like it wasn’t worth it!
13. Tim Barnaby – DNF – his times weren’t posted, but he had a great swim (not sure, but one of the fastest in the group!)… got through the bike… and suffered on the run.  With about 5k left he pulled the plug.  He was swerving all over the road and not a well guy.  A tough call… but the right call.  No sweat, he’s a multiple Ironman anyway… just wasn’t happening that day.
14. Brian Smithson – DNF – Brian went into this race with his eyes wide open.  He knew if it was a hot day, he was toast (no pun intended).  Brian had the brains to pull the plug when he was still conscious… which he doesn’t always do… so instead he passed the “Brian Smithson Award” to Joanne.  Another tough call… but, again the right call.  Like Tim, he’s already an Ironman anyway, which softens the blow somewhat!

Okay, that’s all I have to say, except thanks to all our friends, family and supporters for joining us in a really tough, but gratifying adventure! 

Until next time…

Cheers,

Rob 

PS… and what the heck… here are some more pics that I couldn’t weave into the story… because everybody likes pictures… (and parfaits).          

PPS… if anyone wants to order any of this LOST tri-wear, you can place another order with David.  Just email him at: david.brezer@ontario.ca

(click to enlarge any pics)

Post race celebration at Ron and Angela's in Osoyoos. (Ron's not in the picture... he's getting stitched up!)

Peter… enjoying the “strippers”… I guess it does kinda sound funny when you say it like that.

Ron… big grins… obviously BEFORE the swim!

… same thing with Bruce!

okay, Joanne and I were a little giddy before the race too!

This could have been the fastest running I did all day… and the last time I smiled!!!

Pete and Ron… looking to hitch a ride… oddly, no takers?

Jill, Maisey and Joanne at Spotted Lake… at the top of Richters… I think the spots come from the lungs of the people that have ridden up it!

Jackie and Phyllis… some of our dedicated Ironman volunteers!

… as well as our dedicated fans! Thanks Julia, Phyllis, Lambrina… and everyone else! It wouldn’t have been the same without you!

Okay, Yellow Lake is a beautiful lake… I take back some of things I said about it while on the bike!

Overall… Jill gives it the thumbs up!!!

Joanne and I standing among all the previous winners plaques! Seems like a good place to end the adventure.

Hi all,

Here is something from the English Channel chat group that came up and that I found interesting.  A brief description of many of the various big swims out there.  Of course, I could have written a similar synopsis based on all the stories I’ve read and accounts I’ve studied… but this is a bit better… it comes from a guy who has actually swam them all!  And some of them more than once… like the English Channel.  Kevin Murphy is “the King of the Channel”… he’s swum it 35 times!

He’s obviously missing one big one… we’ll have to get him over here to swim Lake O!!!

PS.  of course, these were all done without wetsuits! 

Cheers,

Rob

Kevin Murphy... at the White Horse Tavern in Dover... where you sign the wall if you made it across the Channel! (I don't think he's signed it 35 times though!)

We all like to talk-up our own patch but from my practical experience and at risk of offending somebody:

1. English Channel – Strong tides which can be difficult to cross, unpredictable weather, short sharp waves, increasing swells in Force 5 or above, moderately cold, last five miles can take a long time. Swimmer is crossing, often at a diagonal, one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world which is why the coastguards demand a high degree of qualification from pilots
2. North Channel – Very strong tides, unpredictable weather, cold sea temperatures (10c/50f to 14c/56f), lots of very toxic jellyfish, can be very rough very quickly (these are seas that once stove in the stern of a ferry and sank it). Just off the County Down coast there are islands where the tide runs nine-hours in one direction, four hours the other.
3. Catalina Channel – Can be big swells, start in the dark which is intimidating for swimmers unused to the idea of large marine life with sharp teeth, offshore headwinds during the day which make life difficult for a slow swimmer.
4. Santa Barbara Channel – Brilliant weather when I did it but I’m sure it can be the same as Catalina.
   Round Manhattan – Very strong tides but they’re with the swimmer as long you get to the corners on time. Can be very turbulent in the Hudson. Thunderstorms are an issue – I had to get out when there was lightning about then get back in again when the storm had passed.
5. Round Jersey – Very very strong tides but with the swimmer as long as you get to the corners on time. Can be very rough. Very rocky and dangerous if a pilot doesn’t know the waters.
6. Lake Tahoe – Lack of buoyancy. Feels as if you are sinking all the time. Altitude issues.
7. Round the Isle of Wight – Very very strong tides, with the swimmer most of the time but there comes a point where you’re likely to go backwards for six hours. Can be very very turbulent off St Catherine’s Point
8. Chicago Shoreline – A long way and unexpected currents which appear to be wind driven.
9. Lake Balaton – Same as for Chicago shoreline.
10. Gibraltar Straits – Very very strong tides side-on to the swimmer and twice as fast west to east as they are east to west. Rough seas and a very rocky strongly tidal, with whirlpools, landing on the North African coast.

That’s probably enough for starters.
Kevin Murphy
(Hon. Sec. CS&PF)

So everyone, myself included, was wondering if there was going to be swimming today.  I said “yes”, but you knew I’d say that anyway… the website said it should be 62F today… but all of the LOST vets know that you wouldn’t bet much on the website on any given day… although I must say it has been pretty accurate most of this summer.

Check out the reno work they are doing on the pier behind... just for us! Should be good!

Anyway, the 21 of us that showed up for a nice morning dip were very pleasantly surprised… Jane took a reading… her thermometer said 62F / 17C… Francois said his said 68F… mine said 66F… we were all surprised!  We all agreed that we hoped Jane had kept the bill for her thermometer… so she could return it… it was much warmer than 62F… and as we swam, my watch said it was 69 – 70F!!!  Incredible for this time of year!  Especially since we have now swum 2 weeks longer than we swam last year.  Last year it rolled over 2 weeks ago and was 43F… and that ended the season real quick.

The other thing was that the water was crystal clear… a bright sunny day… and as Darren likes to say “you could have read a book on the bottom, it was so clear!”  (although Darren wasn’t there today, and I think the book would probably be too soggy to read anyway…).  Oh, and it was pretty wavey.  We had pretty good sized rollers coming at us on the way out… but we were surfing them coming back in!  You might not want them like that every day, but it was fun for a change.  And an important distiction… they were fairly big waves… but they weren’t chop.  Big difference.  Waves are nice and long and rolling.  While they are harder to swim in than flat water, they are predictable and you can get a rythm going.  Chop… well, chop sucks.  Chop is more like what we had last week at the Pier to Pier swim.  They are usually fairly small and hit you from every and any direction… and really beat you up… like swimming in a washing machine.  So I’ll take what we had today over chop, any day!

We also noticed there must have been huge waves hitting the shore in the last week… the shoreline was totally different.  First of all it was covered with the lovely, smelly green gunk… and the waves had pushed tons of the small rocks way, way up on the shore… the cool thing was that we now have a very nice sandy beach that was blown in too!!!… the only catch is that it is about 30 feet out and under about 10 feet of water.  Ask Lynn, she was trying to go down to the bottom to walk on the sand!  Oh well, maybe next storm it will end up on shore!

All in all, a great swim… at this point… it looks quite promising for next week too!  I’ll let you know later in the week!

Cheers,

Rob

The water appears to be in the low 60′s or so… we can squeeze at least one more swim out this season!  See you down there!

Cheers,

Rob

So we had a very good Pier to Pier Swim!  Big thanks to Greg Pace ( http://www.paceperformance.ca/ ) and the Tri Club of Burlington (TCOB,  http://www.triburlington.ca/theclub.html ) for hosting the swim!

Marching out to the Lift-Bridge Pier

You sure can tell the end of summer is nigh… things have changed… even from yesterday!  Yesterday it was over 30C… hot, hazy and humid… and just like that it changed overnight.  We awoke this morning to about 18C, wind and cool.  The good news is that Lake O has it’s own schedule… independant from the air temperature, so it was 70F for the LOST Swim on Saturday and about 67F for the P2P Swim this morning.

getting Greg’s instructions…

But the air temp and the water temp weren’t the story today… it was the chop!  We left the Burlington lift-bridge at about 8:30 and headed due north… for the 2.4 km to the Brant Street Pier… directly into a fairly strong wind… and fairly good chop!  As Ronald said to Melanie, who swam across Lake O only a few weeks ago, “It gives a tiny taste of what you swam through!”  (Melanie had about 6 hours of her 18 hours in water much, much rougher than that!).  It was a pretty tough swim though, for mortals, straight into the waves like that and as the last swimmer to finish said “I set my GPS watch for 2.4 km… and it beeped a long time ago!”  It’s 2.4 km… if you swim straight, that is!  The waves tossed people around a fair bit and made sighting straight into the waves pretty difficult.  But you just had to keep your eye on the Ribfest Tents to steer you in the right direction… a bit of a disappointment though… it wasn’t open by the time we got there!

And... they're off!!! I always think the start of swim races look pretty cool!

I believe Bill S. said there was 47 swimmers that started… 41 wetsuit and 6 naked (yes, I wimped out and wore a wetsuit… I wanted to see if I could keep up with Bud… I couldn’t!)… and as a testimony to the tough conditions, not all finished… but they were all picked up and brought in very safely, most jumped out and swam the last 100m or so in to the beach.  As a race director myself, although not for this swim, I have to tip my hat to a) the swimmers… for having the brains to call it quits if it’s not your day.  It’s no big deal.  I think about a half a dozen jumped into the zodiacs… always nice to see people using their heads and pulling the plug before there are any problems… and b) to the boaters who helped out!  Without Peter A. and Mel and Bill and a few other kayakers, a swim that was very uneventful and pleasant would have been a lot more difficult… so thanks to all.  Like I said this was a TCOB event, and although our LOST swimmers made up a large number of the swimmers, I wasn’t really involved… but as someone who is involved with open water swimming in Lake O, you still want to see that all swims are done properly and safely… an open water swim of any length isn’t like a running race, you can’t just walk it in… so thanks again to the swimmers for using their heads and to the boaters for volunteering to make it a fun swim!!!

The chop made it seem a lot longer than 2.4 km!

Now as for the times… well, truth be told it was a “swim”, not a “race”… but… for the hardcore, we still raced it.  And if you were keeping track… well, Bud Seawright won!!!  Quite handily.  Giving him the Southern Ontario Triple Crown for the year… The Welland 10k win, the 3.8k LOST Race win and the 2.4k P2P Swim win!!!  Well done Bud!!! 

I’m not sure what his time was, because as I said it wasn’t really an official race, but naturally I had to race myself… and therefore time myself, and I was 39:35… and Bud (and I believe 2 others were a few minutes ahead of me… lets just say they weren’t still breathing hard when I got there!).  I did have good company though, I pulled Juan (a former Colombian National swimmer) and Chris (?) across, only to have Chris jump by me with about 50 meters to go… thanks for pushing me guys!

Cool shot of the Lift-Bridge and the ominous clouds!

A few minutes after me came 3 swimmers… two women and one guy.  Now the guy (turns out it was Jeff) took the scenic route and swam straight for the Ribfest tents before he noticed there was no smell coming from the BBQ’s and then decided to head over to the finish after all… which left the two ladies to battle it out!  The two ladies turned out to be Jackie Smalec (who is headed off to the Half Ironman World Championship’s in Las Vegas next weekend… not to mention doing the Ironman World Championship’s in Kona, Hawaii later this fall!… good luck, by the way!) and Maisey Kent (the Oakville Aquatics Club swimmer and the fastest 1500m freestyler in the region and a National Age Group qualifier… oh, and my 16 year old daughter!)… well it was pretty tough out there… they were banging into each other… battling it out… right to the finish… not so much because they were being poor sports and trying to slow the other swimmer down… but because they both need to work a little on their sighting!!!  In the end, Maisey won the title as the fastest woman!!!  Congrats Maiz!

At least the water was nice and flat for the finish!

Mostly though it was just a lot of fun and a good tough swim… congrats to all, thanks for coming out for a nice dip and again thanks to Greg, TCOB and all the boaters!

PS.  I’ll keep everyone posted as to whether there will be a LOST Swim next Saturday… playing it day by day at this point in the season… we’ll ride the warm water as long as we can!

Cheers,

Rob

A great turn out... for a spectacular day! The poor sods in Dover would kill for a day like this!

Funny thing this morning… we got back from Ironman Canada a few days ago and missed last week’s swim… and for some reason I was thinking not many people would show up.  I had a bit of the post race let down this week… dove right into house renovations and happily thought about something other than training for Ironman for the first time in about a year. 

A few people asked if there was swimming today and it was kinda chilly last week, so I think they thought it might be over… but I checked the temp and it looked okay, so I said it was still a go.

I got down there this morning and there was only 3 people, so I thought maybe everyone was running out of steam for the season.  But then a few more showed up.  And a few more.  And by 8 bells is there was 39 people!  You guys amaze me… I’m always happily surprized by what an appetite there is for open water swimming in the area!  Probably doesn’t hurt that we have a great bunch to swim with and a really good place to swim either!

On top of all that, I walked down to the water to check the temp and waded in.  I was thinking it must have cooled off and be winding down… but just like everyone’s interest… the Lake wasn’t ready for us to be done yet either!  Instead of getting cooler, it got warmer… a lot warmer… 70F / 21C! 

So off we went, the water was flatter than flat.  You couldn’t find a lane at the Y with fewer ripples than what we had today!  Great for working on your stroke and just stretching it out.  We did 30 minutes out, and 30 minutes back.  Then about half of us went up for a nice cuppa coffee on a beautiful, warm, sunny morning.  That’s how you do it.

The perfect swim... so tell me, is swimming with the swans a bit of overkill?

See you at the Pier to Pier Swim on Monday (see post below or the TCOB website for more info) or next weekend… hopefully!

PS.  Good to see a few of the recent Ironmen out for a nice loosen up swim… me, Alex, Cousin Al, David, Curtis and Elaine!… but I’ll post more on IMC a bit later!

PPS.  Good luck to Alexei, who came for a quick dip… and then zipped to the airport to fly to Bejing… to do the Olympic Distance World Championships!!!  Making us LOSTies proud!… go get’em Alexei!!!  (make sure you get a pic with your LOST shirt or cap for us!)

Cheers,

Rob

Another great day in August... 30 swimmers, but a bit chilly at 58F!

Okay, so I’m a little slow on the draw!  Mel and Lynn took good care of everyone last week from what I understand.  Mel gave my usual safety speech and Lynn got some good pics!  But apparently they both forgot to turn the heat up like I usually do!  I leave them one little job! haha!

Apparently it was looking like the season was about to wrap up, the temp dropped considerably and dramatically from the mid 70′s to the high 50′s!  Still quite swim-able, but a little chillier than we’ve become accustomed to lately… it was 58F / 14C!

Even a few LOST Guests... they must be lost... Brian came all the way from the UK and Collis came from Texas! We're goin' GLOBAL!!!

Here’s what Mel had to say:

Hi Rob,
A decent turn-out even without our LOST leader…, 26, and 4 naked. Some
non-locals including David B from England and Collis from Texas! Also had
Francois/Frank who wants to cross Lake O next year. It was definitely
cooler, I guessed max of 64 when I put my feet in, but later when I got in
completely I guessed 60 (I couldn’t swim far due to shoulder pain but it was
so nice and fresh, I was glad I got in and dog paddled around at least a
little) Francois took the temp after and got it at 58… it was nice and
flat though. Cadence had a good paddle!

Get Grandma and the dog... it's fun for the whole family!

Everyone was wishing you and the other LOSTies well at Ironman Canada! and look forward to hearing details next week!

Melanie Price

Shiny, happy people! (with apologies to REM!)

Pier to Pier route

Way to go, Rebekah!!! 

From Rob and all the LOSTies!

A new LOST World Record... 52 swimmers!!! (including the early and late LOSTies!)

… funny, after the LOST Race last week, I think some people thought it was the end of the season.  I got a few emails asking if there was still going to be swimming today… and when the season ends… it’s weird how quickly the season comes and goes… first we have those few crazy cold days, when everyone is chomping at the bit for it to be nice, but it’s still kinda cool… then it gets nice… then it rolls over and we start all over again… then it’s nice and it doesn’t roll over… then it feels like we are done.  But we’re not.  We’ve still got a few more weeks left… at least.

headed out for a great Saturday morning LOST swim!

Today was perfect… toasty warm 72F / 22C, which is pretty much as warm as this lake gets in this area (although we did get a stretch this summer when it got up as warm as 77F / 25C, but that’s quite unusual!), it was also flat as glass and pretty clean.  The only week I missed this summer was when it was really warm… and guess what happens when it gets really warm?… stuff

Cadence gives "shepherding" a go!

starts growing in it, which isn’t the end of the world, but it can get kinda smelly.  But that only lasted the one weekend, then it circulate and went somewhere else in this huge body of water.  There was a bit of green today, but not bad.  That’s what I always say “if it so warm that you want to swim in it… you probably don’t want to swim in it!”… meaning if any lake is north of about 75F, for any amount of time, it starts getting pretty slimy and that’s when you start getting the ear infections and sore throats and the like… especially if they are shallow lakes that don’t circulate well.  A few of the beaches on Lake O where even closed for this reason recently, but we’re a bit luckier where we swim, because we aren’t swimming on a nice shallow beach or in a bay or sheltered area, it circulates pretty well where we are.  A great place to swim.

Dalia's having fun splashin' around too!

As far as attendance goes, if my math skills are still above grade 4 or so, then I counted 52 swimmers!  Including all those in the picture… the LOST Sunrisers that were out there for an hour before the bulk of us… and the truly lost, LOST swimmers that showed up late!

A bunch of us (17 or so… again, I don’t necessarily trust my math skills!) are headed out to do Ironman Canada next weekend, so your hostess next week will be the lovely and oh so talented Melanie!  She also took the pics today, so enjoy… and we’ll see you all in two weeks with tales of great adventure from IM Cda!!!

Cheers,

Rob

No hurry getting out today!

How’s that for picturesque!

Hi Rob,

I hope everything is going great for you this season! I wanted to share with you a promotion for your athletes. Please pass this information on.

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Vector Pro X2 Fullsuit: $275 (reg. $600)
Vendetta: $500 (reg. $750)
Velocity-M Speedsuit: $175 (reg. $200)
Transition Backpack: $45 (reg. $70)

Our Customer Loyalty Team can be reached at 877.779.3850 for help with sizing or model questions.

Thank you!

Kind regards,

Kristen

Mel and Rob... moments before she takes the plunge!

Hi LOSTies,

Last Friday I successfully swam across Lake Ontario into Oakville. Oakville is home to LOST swimming and where my love affair with the Lake bloomed. So for sentimental reasons I choose a new route…Just a warning LOSTies, Rob Kent, founder of LOST has a way of making some crazy ideas seem like good ones…lol. Truthfully though, Rob & LOST are doing great things for the growth of open water swimming in our area, and in particular in Lake Ontario. Rob has been a mentor, a supporter and encourager, but mostly a great friend. As have the LOST members. It is such a great group of people with a wealth of swimming knowledge and experience but everyone is so down to earth and modest. I love having people to train with in the lake and to chat with after!

This whole experience has been incredible and I can’t thank you all enough for your encouragement and support throughout. Many LOSTies were at the send off (on a Thursday at midnight, can’t believe it!) and at the finish, where we did our best to give you some added excitement! The turnout really was overwhelming!

Mel... doin' her thing!

Again, thanks for everything!

Proud to be a LOSTie!,

Melanie Price