LOST Triathletes at IM Louisville in 2009! (click to enlarge)

So we are into September and only a few swims left!  We always play it by ear, but there are probably only 2 or 3 swims left… so come on out!  Mel told me there was about 10 swimmers out last weekend and lots of them still going naked as the water is still very nice.  Looking at the map it says the water is somewhere in the upper 60′s (but who knows?!), regardless, good swimming temp! 

The weather has been a bit uncertain too, but the forecast is only for 40% chance of rain all day tomorrow and even that is for only 1mm… so you can’t use that as an excuse either!

I know we’ll have at least one enthusiastic newbie and one special guest out tomorrow!  The fastest naked woman in the LOST Race and 5th fastest overall, Lisa Neidrauer, is planning on making the trek out from Toronto for the swim before she heads off for the long weekend… she’s also done the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim… so she’s a great source for any open water swimming questions you might have!  (now watch… I scared her away!)

Here we go! (click to enlarge)

I know a lot of people might be away this weekend as we head into running season and wrap up the triathlon season (in fact, I have to be excused tomorrow too!… Joanne, Maisey and myself are doing Guelph Lake 2 triathlon tomorrow!).  On a related note… congrats to all the Ironmen who just finished Ironman Canada last weekend!  All the Oakville Gecko’s and the Iron Dames especially!  I read Diane Gordon’s account… she’d didn’t post a very fast time… but then when you read about what she went through, you understand why!  Things got worse as the day went on for her, nutrion-wise, and she ended up “yaking her brains out”, so to speak… and finished like a champ!… not pretty, but that’s what it’s all about!

It looks like the LOST Triathletes are back in action too!  After being inspired by all the Dames and Gecko’s, 16 of us took the plunge and got into Ironman Canada on-line on Monday!  A real rarity, since last year was the first year that IMC even made it to selling on-line… this year it was open for about 24 hours!  So the lucky IMC prospects for next year are: Rob Kent, Joanne Kent, Alex Mcmillin, Peter von Euw, Brian Smithson, Jenn Strang, John Strang, Hugh Ryder, John Fortin, Brett Titus, Hamish Gordon, Tim Barnaby, Bruce Horsburgh, Bobby Whitfield, Albert Wimmers and David Brezer!  Looks like we have an Ironman summer coming up next year!  Sounds like there will be plenty of people to train with too, as Alexis Williams, Helene Desrosiers, Tom Schopf and Mark Hollis all got into IM Lake Placid too… probably several more that I missed, but it should be good!  Here we go!

yikes!

One last note… do try and make it out for the TCOB (Tri Club of Burlington) Pier to Pier swim on Sunday!  15 of us LOST Swimmers did it last year and I believe there was a total of 42 swimmers, so it would be great if we could make a good showing again!  Lots of fun and a great event… always great to support a swim in Lake O! (more information in an earlier blog… just scroll down or check the TCOB website).

Cheers,

Rob

Darren and Kim Lumsdon... what an autograph hound! (click to enlarge)

Okay, I’ve been a little… okay, very delinquent in keeping up with the blog and all that has been going on!  Don’t you just hate it when the real world gets in the way with fun!  Actually in this case it wasn’t the real world… it was vacation!

Anyway, prior to vacation last week with the family in the Bahamas… and even prior to the LOST Race the week before… Darren and I took a trip down to Welland and swam in the 5k and 3k races there!  Very well organized and a great venue for open water swimming.  We had a beautiful sunny day… and a strong head wind almost all the way… and it was a point to point swim!  (I’m just trying to set up a few excuses, so that when you see my time I’ll have something to fall back on!).

The highlight however, for Darren and myself was meeting Kim Lumsdon and Colleen Shields!  They are both truly marathon swimming legends! 

Darren and Colleen Shields... he still hasn't washed his arms! (click to enlarge)

Kim has swum Lake Ontario… twice!  In 1976 and in 2006… at ages 19 and 49!  It’s never too late!  She’s just coming back off of injury and it was great to see her back in the game.  And in case you thought the name sounded familiar, her father, Cliff Lumsdon won the world championships in marathon swimming as well as the Lou Marsh Trophy too!  True marathon swimming pedigree!

Colleen is no slouch herself… get this… she and Kim are 2 of the 6 people who have ever swum Lake O more than once!… and only 45 people have ever completed it at all!  Colleen swam it in 1990 and 2006 at the ages of 38 and 54!  At 54 she took the title for the oldest person to ever swim it from… you guessed it… Kim Lumsdon, who swam it just 2 weeks earlier!  Oh, and I almost forgot… between seeing Colleen at the LOST Race and now… she went for her 3rd Lake O crossing!  At age 58!  I wanted to crew for her, but unfortunately (kind of!?) I was in the Bahamas, but I just checked and unfortunately she didn’t make it… she swam for 18 hours and 15 minutes before having to pack it in, due to very strong winds… with only 5k to go!  For those of you who made it out to the LOST Race and thought it was rough for the hour or so we were out there… this should put things in perspective.  Despite the fact that she didn’t make it, it does show you what can be done!  Having tried and failed at crossing the English Channel myself… I know how it feels… not great… but still an amazing accomplishment and incredible courage to try something most people wouldn’t dare attempt.  Well done Colleen.

Darren, Kim Lumsdon and Rob... Welland 5k (click to enlarge)

To make things even more interesting… after Darren and I were sufficiently in awe from meeting Kim and Colleen… the very next week we had Marilyn Korzekwa show up to swim the LOST Race… which means we met 1/2 of the people that have swum Lake O twice… all in one week!  Pretty cool.  And without dragging this on… we also had Miguel Vadillo show up for the LOST Race too… but he didn’t swim… but we’ll let him off the hook… he’d just swum Lake O on the Tuesday before the race!  18 hours and 4 minutes.

This isn’t just interesting trivia, these people really are some of the best marathon swimmers in world… Dover, San Francisco, Catalina Island, Australia… they have nothing on this crowd!  Very cool.

Cheers,

Rob, Colleen Shields and Darren... Welland Canal 5k (click to enlarge)

Rob

Miguel all greased up! (click to enlarge)

Miguel taking a quick feed

Now that's nice flat water! (sorry Colleen!)

Miguel made it, 18 hours 4 minutes! (click to enlarge)

LOST awards!

What a great swim!

Where to start… well, the turn-out was fantastic… 64 swimmers and tons of supporters!  We had a few recreational swimmers, numerous Masters swimmers, lots of Ironman triathletes, a couple varsity swimmers, two Manhattan Island Marathon swimmers, one English Channel swimmer and one Lake Ontario swimmer… an amazing group of swimmers!  In fact, we even had two more Lake Ontario swimmers that came out to cheer everyone in… Miguel Vadillo, who just finished his crossing this week, in 18 hours and 4 minutes… and Colleen Sheilds, who has already swum Lake O twice and is going for a third time… and the record for the oldest crossing ever (and possibly the fastest!).

And while we are on the topic of records for swims in Lake Ontario… the 64 swimmers in the 3rd annual LOST Race made it the largest race ever held in Lake Ontario… another record we hope to break next year!

The water conditions were great… but I’ll admit they were fairly tough.  The air temp was nice and warm, the water temp was the warmest it has been all year… 71F / 22C!!!  But it was pretty choppy… but that’s open water swimming, baby!  To use Hamish’s great quote “I hope it howls!  I may not be fast, but I’m a real hammer head!”… which is just what was required today!

Getting ready for the start of the 3rd Annual LOST Race! (click to enlarge)

The other side of the coin was that because of the amazing growth in numbers (8 in year 1, 39 in year 2 and 64 in year 3!) we needed to be a bit more organized and official.  We are now an officially recognized Master’s Team and that was a sanctioned race! (and insured!)  But equally important was that we had several people step up to the plate to help out!  Melanie did an amazing job in registration, she was running the show!  My daughters Jillian and Maisey deserve a pat on the back too for all their help… as do my parents, Bob and Dot, who helped out with parking and timing… as did Coach Mette (from Oakville Masters)!  Joe Allen had his work cut out for him organizing the boats… especially in the rough water!  And a special thanks to TOWARF (Town of Oakville Water and Air Rescue Force… the Auxiliary Coast Guard) and the Halton Police Marine Unit too. 

I should also give credit to our 2 swimmers that pulled out… which might sound strange, but I personally want to thank them for using their common sense and deciding not to continue and just ending their swim before a rescue was necessary.  From what I understand they just called it a day and swam over to the Police boat and got a ride back… no fuss, no muss.  Hey, everyone has had a day like that, but it’s a whole lot nicer for everyone when people stay in touch with how they are feeling.  It’s always tough to make that call, especially when we often train ourselves to push through it.

Lining up for the 3.8 km start! (Ironman distance) (click to enlarge)

Nice to see everyone was on the same page… come out and have a good tough race… and some fun!  Well done, everyone!

Now, unfortunately I was a bit disorganized this year and didn’t get a single picture, so if you have some pics (and there were lots of people that got them), please email them to me at the5kents@msn.com and I’ll include them in a post and stick a few in the LOST Race section too!

 The one thing I do have, that I’m sure everyone wants to see is the results… so here you go!  They will also be on the LOST Race tab too… (I made a couple of corrections!) LOST Race results, 2010 .  Dylan Kent was able to retain his title as overall winner of the LOST Race for the 3rd year in a row… and this time in the “naked” division!  In fact, his margin of victory was greater this year over his pal John Steadman than it was last year with a wetsuit!  Figure that one out!  Might have something to do with the rough water?

...and they're off! (click to enlarge)

Again, thanks to all the volunteers, be they boaters or land-lubbers… I, and everyone there certainly appreciated it!  Also, thanks to all the swimmers for coming out… I am flattered and excited that so many people like our “little” race… it is just that much more fun with more people to swim with!  So keep spreading the word and we’ll see you next year for the 4th Annual LOST Race… and you are, of course, welcome to come out for a LOST Swim every Saturday morning at 8:00 (note that we start where we finished today though!)

Some good press in the Oakville Beaver yesterday and the Beaver and SNAP newspapers were there taking pictures, so keep your eye out for all of us in the Beaver and SNAP!

Cheers,

Rob

PS. more pictures to come… check back soon!

Pre-race registration and award painting! (click to enlarge)

Kayakers all ready to go! It's going to be a great day on Lake O! (click to enlarge)

Rob's pre-race meeting! Getting all psyched up! (click to enlarge)

Aug 7, 2010, Victor, Alexei, Darren, Stacy, Lynne, Mel, Anna Marie, John, Rob, Bill, Joanne, Madhu, Maisey, MacKenzie, Ronald, Stewart, Jeremy, Hamish, Jason, Shawn, Wesley, Peter, Albert (click to enlarge)

I know I’ve said this the last couple of weeks in a row… but each week keeps getting better and better… and today was about as nice as it gets! 

I thought it was going to be cool to start as the air temp was only 13C… but in the sun it was fine.  And just to show you how there is no correlation between the air temp and the water temp… this was one of the coolest air temps we’ve had in quite a while… and the warmest the water has been so far… 68F / 19C!!!  Not a breath of wind and the overcast clouds burned off while we were swimming and we finished to beautiful sunny day!  The water itself was crystal clear and you could see for miles underwater… very cool!  (if you like to see underwater… Alexis!    )

Funny thing was the water was nice and flat, no waves… but there was a strong current!  On our way out we had a very strong current going with us… and against us on the way back. It is quite strange to be swimming against the current when it is pretty much invisible.  There are some rocks that poke out of the water near where we start and the water can be as flat as a pool, but if you look over at these rocks you can see the water pouring over them like a babbling brook!  Even stranger is that it changes direction from week to week!

Maisey... our LOST Model... sporting the new LOST Shirt!

Which is something to keep in mind for the LOST Race next week!  The first year we swam INTO the current the whole way and last year we swam WITH the current the whole way!  I hate to burst anyone’s bubble that thought they were smokin’ fast last year… but, it was very much current assisted!    But hey, it counts either way… because that, my friend is open water swimming!  I’ll tell you in a week what current we’ll get this year!

As for the water temp next week, I’ve consulted the LOST crystal ball and it tells me… it will be warm!  The first LOST Race, which was 2 years ago today was 60F, but the weekend after it was 68F… which is why I moved it a week later  for last year’s race… and it didn’t disappoint, last year it was 70F.  Having judged this section of Lake O for the last 5 years, it seems like this next week is when it gets warm to stay… it is done “rolling over” and the lake as a whole is warm until late Sept or so.  So I’m going to make the call of 70F for next week!  Mind you this is open water swimming and the unknown is what makes it interesting!

A few little pats on the back for some great LOST Swimmers… Peter just got back from a cruise… and swim!… in the Arctic! (check under the “PICS” tab!)… Hamish crushed Ironman Nice!… Wesley did very well at Ironman Switzerland too… Melanie just did the Governor’s Island Swim (2 mile swim in NYC!)… also welcome to our 2 newbies, Mackenzie (Stewart’s 18 year old daughter) who just moved here from Edmonton, is a great triathlete and has competed at the Canada Summer Games in triathlon… and Shawn, who heard about LOST through the grapevine, is an excellent swimmer and built like he should be doing a crossing, is also in the Canadian Military!  In fact, he’s just recovering from a broken leg that he sustained while helping out in Haiti after the earthquake… great to have you out Shawn… and I can honestly say I’m a proud supporter of the Canadian Military and of the work you do for Canada!… it’s an honor having you out with us!  He’s coming out next week, so can shake his hand at the LOST Race!

... how to embarass your 15 year old daughter!

In other news… the LOST Swimming T-shirts are in!  And the feed back so far is that they look pretty good!  We sold several this morning ($15) and a few bathing caps ($5)… at cost, in case you were wondering, as we just want to put the word in the streets!… or the pool and lakes, as the case may be!  They will be on sale at the LOST Race too.

Finally, we set a new LOST World Record this morning… 23 swimmers!  Beating the old mark by one!  We also had 7 “naked” swimmers!   And, as a bit of a Lake O swimming historian, I have an interesting fact about the LOST Race, which I believe to be true… the LOST Race next week will be “THE LARGEST SWIMMING RACE EVER HELD IN LAKE ONTARIO!!!”.  Back in the golden era of Lake O swimming and crossings they held several races at Exhibition Place and even a few cross-lake races, but they were all small professional swimmers from all over the world, with a field of only 8 – 12 swimmers.  So technically our 39 swimmers last year was the biggest race ever in Lake O… and although most of our registration will likely come on race day, I have a sneaking suspicion that this will be a new record!!!

See you next week!!!  Check under the “LOST RACE” tab above to download the details on the race!

Cheers,

Rob

… so first things first… it would be great if we could get as many people as possible to bring down their registration forms and $40 (cash or cheque) and give it to our LOST Registrar, Melanie Price. 

If you are registered with another Masters club then you probably already have a number, so just bring your MSO number on your registration form.  It will help us  significantly to get as many swimmers registered before the race as possible… also, this will now be required for ALL Saturday LOST Swims too… as it provides us with insurance… so either way, we need you to register.

You can get all the details in the Race Package… which can be downloaded from the “LOST RACE” tab above!

As far as swimming goes… tomorrow looks good!  Depending which site you believe the water should be between 62 – 68F… balmy!  See you down there!

Cheers,

Rob

You can now find the LOST Race, race package, under the “LOST RACE” tab above.

Guelph man to attempt Lake Ontario crossing

Miguel Vadillo shows off the bracelets he’s selling to rais …

Kim Mackrael

kmackrael@guelphmercury.com

GUELPH – When Miguel Vadillo read that a Toronto mother and her two daughters drowned trying to rescue each other from the deep end of a hotel pool last summer, he was floored.

“It’s so stupid. It’s a hotel pool, so the distance you need to move can’t be beyond 10-metres,” the former competitive swimmer said.

“If you’re not able to move 10-metres in the water — that must be an awful experience.”

Convinced the drownings were preventable, Vadillo resolved to do something to help more people access basic swimming lessons.

This month, the 40-year-old Guelph resident will attempt to swim across Lake Ontario to raise money for disadvantaged kids to take lessons through Canadian Tire’s Jumpstart swim program.

If he reaches his fundraising goal of $10,000, he’ll be able to send 300 kids to swimming lessons.

The money hasn’t come in as quickly as he had hoped — he’s raised just a quarter of his goal so far — but Vadillo said even a smaller donation to the Jumpstart program will help.

“If what we’re doing ends up with even a few kids learning how to swim and having that life insurance around water, we did something good,” he said.

Last week, Ontario’s acting chief coroner announced he will investigate a surge in drowning deaths across the province.

According to the Lifesaving Society, 75 people have drowned in Ontario so far this year — up from 64 at this time last year.

Speaking at a fundraising party for his Lake Ontario swim Saturday night, Vadillo told guests their donations toward swimming lessons could help save lives. About 30 people crowded into Senor Chipotle restaurant on Willow Road for the event.

Rhiannon Hawksby, who came to the fundraiser with friends, said she admires Vadillo’s efforts.

“Learning how to swim is almost a necessity now,” the University of Guelph student said. “If you don’t know how it takes away so much of the fun you can have as a kid.”

Hawksby said she grew up around lakes and pools and can’t imagine a childhood without them.

The mother and daughters who drowned in the hotel pool last year had never learned to swim. The family moved to Canada from Pakistan in 2002, where swimming is less common.

A recent report by the Lifesaving Society found that immigrants are four times as likely to be non-swimmers as people born in Canada, putting them at a much higher risk for drowning.

Vadillo, who moved to Canada from Mexico six years ago, said recent immigrants often have too many other concerns — such as finding a job and learning English — to worry about enrolling their kids in swimming lessons.

But he said it’s hard to keep kids who can’t swim away from the water.

“Kids get invited to pool parties, and you’re just surrounded by water here. There is an opportunity and there is a risk,” he said.

Vadillo said his own 12-year-old son, Santiago, was lucky because he learned to swim in Mexico before the family moved.

Now Santiago is helping his father with the fundraising efforts. He came up with an idea to sell blue rubber bracelets that say “Learning to Swim Can Save a Life” in support of his father’s lake crossing.

“You don’t have to learn to swim 50-kilometres — just the basics. That’s all you need so you can go to the pool and splash around with your friends,” Santiago said.

Sales from the blue bracelets will help Vadillo cover the costs of the swim. Registration with Solo Swims of Ontario, the volunteer group that regulates Lake Ontario crossings, costs $1,000. Vadillo also needs to secure four boats to accompany him through the choppy waters. He’s fundraising separately for Jumpstart lessons through his website.

Vadillo plans to attempt the 52-kilometre swim across Lake Ontario on Aug. 10. The swim will likely take close to 20 hours and temperatures could drop as low as 10C.

He has trained for the swim since September, sometimes as often as 40 hours a week while maintaining his job at the Toronto Star and coaching the Guelph Marlins.

To donate to Jumpstart or learn more about Vadillo’s swim, visit his website at malvaswimlakeontario.typepad.com.

My biggest and heartiest CONGRATS, Mel!!!

PS.  She did really well too!!!

Cheers,

Rob

My NYC swim…

Jumping off the water taxi! (click to enlarge)

Well it’s not Manhattan Island! But it was Governor’s Island, a 2 mile swim around the Island, 1 of the events in the NYC swim series. It’s a long way to go for a 2 mile swim, but I thought it would be a neat thing to do and see New York City for the 1^st time too, so I signed up.

Originally I was hoping to convince some of my BMSC swim mates to join me, but it didn’t pan out. So it changed to a family “girls” trip and 3 generations of Price girls descended on NYC on the Canadian Civic long weekend…

After settling into our hotel, we meandered our way down to the ferry terminal to see where the registration would be the next morning. The water looked pretty rough that evening, and we saw a warning sign about eating the fish and eels in the water… EELS! I was starting to get a bit nervous…

Where's Waldo... I mean Melanie?! (big grin at 3:00) (click to enlarge)

5:20am came pretty early; we all got up and walked down to the ferry terminal for registration. (New York City streets were quiet! – weird!) I took my sleeveless wetsuit, I think as a security blanket. At registration they asked if I was going to wear it, as she flipped through the list to find my name, I saw only “no” wetsuit replies for everyone who had already registered, so I said “no” too… Cadence, I think was nervous, and went and asked the water temperature, and was told 74F. So I was confident I could manage it in that respect. Cadence and mom then left (with the wetsuit), to go back to the hotel for a little more rest and breakfast…

I’m a little shy, especially when I don’t know anybody. So, I wore my Canada shirt, to maybe draw some conversation and it worked. “Are you really from Canada?” “Did you come just for the race?”… I met some nice people!

Is that cool, or what! (click to enlarge)

A NYC water taxi took us just off the shore of Governor’s Island, and we jumped off. We then swam to 2 buoys and when everyone was off the boats the race started. I found a nice rhythm, some open water and just relaxed. The salt water wasn’t an issue; the temperature was fine. There was a walking path along the Island and there were people walking around with the swimmers; that was really nice! Around the 1^st turn and breathing to the right side was Lady Liberty just across the way… how cool!! The water was a little rougher at the end of the Island where we turned to come back up the other side, but not to panic; Lake O has thrown worse our way…

The most difficult part of the swim, I would say, was the sighting, the Island was not straight! There were docks to navigate around too; and finally a bridge to swim under and up to the finishing stairs. What already? It was over before I knew it! 46:45

The winner was done in 37:32. Wow! I was 61^st overall (out of 209 finishers – the race was sold out at capacity of 250 – how wild is that!) They don’t sort the results, but I figure I was 16^th female. Pretty respectable! (And I know I could go harder, next time…)

Apparently I had a black beard when I emerged from the water, but I got a hose down, found mom and Cadence, got my snacks, and sat on the grass, in the sun, on Governor’s Island in NYC, very content & happy! It was a lot of fun!!

Then we were off to be “regular” tourists… (see J Facebook for my tourist pictures)

Melanie Price

Mel loves to swim NYC! (click to enlarge)

In case you were thinking of eating the eels! (click to enlarge)