So last week was awesome. Period.
A high for this year, 92 LOSTies, enjoyed the pancake flat, 63F/17C water. And just to show why you should come to every LOST swim you can make, it rolled over only a few hours later. Much like life… don’t take anything for granted. Grab it and enjoy it while you can. Get your butt out of bed and come to LOST Swimming. I can’t think of any time I’ve said to myself: “man, that was no fun… I wish I had gotten an extra 1 hour of sleep instead of having a true adventure every Saturday morning… for the past 14 years!”
And just to show you how “LOST is like a box of chocolates… you never know what you’ll get” (Forrest Gump). I had an experience I had never had before at LOST Swimming. I swam through a huge school of tiny fish. Just cool. For better or for worse, we don’t have as many rays, octopus, tropical fish, turtles… or sharks, as other places. So it was pretty cool for Lake O!
A few of us were going to do a 5k swim the next morning, from Coronation Park to LOST Beach. But when we got there… I couldn’t get more than my toes wet! It was 47F/7C!!! At least it I got a nice pic of the sun coming up!
PS. Don’t worry… it has since rolled back over and is warm again!
Volunteers: We are getting within 1 month of the LOST Race and LOST Mile… we literally couldn’t put it on without a few volunteers… so help out! It is easy, an hour or two, on-land or on-water, and you can still swim the race too!
Oh, and you get a free $10 Tim’s card… and one of them is a $100 card!!!
LOSTie Of The Week: ATHENA
These are the stories we love. Stories of people that didn’t spend their whole lives swimming, competing or racing. Stories of people that found their passion as adults.
Athena is one of those stories. Athena has been a member of LOST since 2011 – a whopping two years after she learned to swim. Her first swim lesson … adult swim lessons at the local Y. She instantly fell in love. After two years of pool swimming, going back and forth in a pool she wanted more. Athena was hooked with the water. She was hooked with swimming. To quote –
“Imagine my delight in discovering there was a group that swam in our very own Lake Ontario in Oakville! I didn’t think I could do it when I first came out, but by August, I completed the 3.8K LOST race, my first swim race ever!”
And this is her story.
Here’s me about to enter 9°C water for the 2017 LOST Race. I may look cold and nervous, but I’m still smiling which is a good sign!
What you are training for 2019 / 2020
This season, I’ve signed up for the LOST Race and am constantly eyeing the swims in the Global Swim Series. One of these days I’ll make it to one in an exotic location!
Best thing about open water swimming
The water feels alive. It has its own moods – it can be cold, warm, dark, clear, serene or turbulent – and if I want to be a part of it, I need to adjust myself physically and mentally. I like the challenge. And when you connect with the water, the feeling is almost transcendental. Also I’ve met some lovely, incredible people as this rather crazy thing we like to do gathers kindred spirits!
(Kat here .. I need to interject here as the “inhouse LOSTIE writer” I just couldn’t do it .. I just couldn’t change or modify her sentence. Its perfect “It can be cold, warm, dark, clear, serene or turbulent.”)
Does anything scare you about OWS
Yes! Disappearing under the waves.
Any things you want to work on
I want to…
- Overcome my fear of swimming in the dark because it’d be awesome to experience an open water sunrise.
- Train to swim longer distances (5-10K).
- Swim in the ocean.
Any advice for newbies
If open water swimming attracts you, take it one step at a time. It’s very different than pool swimming. Give yourself time to adjust to the new environment. But keep at it. Be persistent and you’ll find your calm and happy place! When I tell people about swimming in Lake Ontario, some who are genuinely curious and don’t instantly think I’m cuckoo, have come to check it out and see the fun vibe for themselves. LOST is a super welcoming place to start. Rob is so kind and friendly. I’ve received helpful practical tips from him: earplugs for cold water, breathe deeply and exhale fully, and have fun! He imparts nuggets every week to newbies and veterans alike!
A couple short lines of what your “thing” is .. runner? triathlete? swimmer? all three 🙂
I’m a swimmer! : )
I consider myself a recreational swimmer and I swim more for pleasure than competition. I also swim with Oakville Masters outside of LOST season. Superhuman athletes awe and inspire me but I‘ve learned not to let their achievements intimidate me. I know my limits and when and how I’d like to push them. We all work at our own pace.
Cheers,
Rob & Kat
You’re such an inspiration, Athena! I love how you went from learning to swim at the YMCA to jumping into a lake. I hope to overcome my fear of open water one day and join you in one of your swims!
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