Winter swimming…

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LOST Swimmer
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There are 3 possibilities here:

BMSC 2010 Team (click to enlarge)

A) Burlington Masters: Coach Dave whips (maybe not “whips”, but he would if it was allowed!) everyone into shape.  An excellent technical coach and really pushes swimmers to be their fastest through proper stroke technique.  BMSC swimmers hold lots of Ontario, Canadian and, as of Summer Nationals, even one World Record!  Coach Dave also Coaches the kids in one of the best age-group swim teams in Canada, OAK, the Oakville Aquatic Club.  I’ve swum for Dave for a few years, he helped train me for my English Channel attempt and my Manhattan Island Marathon Swim.  A fun bunch of people and a great bunch of swimmers.  http://bmsc.ca/

Oakville Masters 2010 (click to enlarge)

B) Oakville Masters: Coach Mette is a great coach as well.  My kids started swimming for her back when she coached for OAK as well, my wife, Joanne has swum for her for the past several seasons and has improved significantly!  Coach Mette often tailors her workouts for the “stroke swimmers” and also has some interesting drills for the “triathlete swimmers” too.  You might have even spotted her timing at the LOST Race!  http://www.oakvillemasters.ca/Home

Polar Bear Dip! (click to enlarge)

C) The Polar Bear Dip: (yes, I’m serious!)… this third option is not exclusive of the other two!  You can swim for BMSC or Oakville Masters or not swim at all… and still come out for the Polar Bear Dip on New Year’s Day at Coronation Park in Oakville!  It’ll be great, we’ll have a bunch of LOST Swimmers with LOST Caps in doing the Polar Bear Dip!  See the details under “Events”.  http://www.polarbeardip.ca/

Have fun swimming this winter!  (But no, this doesn’t mean I’ve thrown in the towel for LOST Swimming quite yet… just thinking ahead!  Hopefully we’ll get a few more in).

Cheers,

Rob

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LOST Swimmer
https://lostswimming.com
I founded LOST Swimming because I like open water swimming and would like to see it grow and thrive in Lake Ontario. I started as a competitive swimmer as a kid and ended up getting as far as a silver medal at Nationals and going to the Olympic Trials in 1988. But I retired after that, I was sick of swimming. So I got into running marathons and have run over 35 to date, as well as a few ultra marathons, including the Marathon des Sables (7 day, ultra across the Sahara Desert). I also kind of fell into triathlons and have done a handful of Ironman tri's too. This gradually got me back in the water and in 2006 I took the plunge and attempted swimming the English Channel. I didn't quite make it across, but the circle was now complete and after 17 years I was a swimmer again! Although I still do plenty of pool swimming, I now much prefer open water swimming and like to say that open water swimming is to pool swimming, what trail running is to treadmill running! As a result I hope to encourage more people to join me for a dip in Lake Ontario as often as we can!

2 COMMENTS

  1. Hey Rob… not a whole lot of swimmers out in the month of Dec around here! But you are quite right, it certainly can be done! When I was training for the English Channel the coldest I swam was 41F, without a wetsuit for about 15 minutes! I’m happy to come with with you though… and I think I’d wear a wetsuit this time too! We might even be able to scare up a few more crazies to join us! We are actually away for part of the holidays, but let me know when you are in Oakville and we’ll see what we can arrange. Cheers, Rob
    PS. what are you training for… most people only swim in water this cold if they are training for something… or are nuts…

  2. Is anyone regularly swimming outdoors in Dec? I am coming up to Oakville for the holidays and looking for outdoors cold water training. I am currently swimming in 37F water and looking to extend my time in the water ( up to 10 mins ) with wetsuit ( no gloves or special cap or boots ) .. Rob

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