…and that’s a wrap!!!

… 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, if you click here now you would know that 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