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!
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 in swimming pools 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!
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
I was wondering if someone could help me out with info on buying a training watch for Tri’s. I am aiming for a Sprint Tri on the Labor Day weekend at Kelso. I am a beginner – only 1 Try-a-tri under my belt so far last summer.
I was directed to the GARMIN FORERUNNER 110 for ladies as a good beginner watch. It has a heart rate monitor, cadence……The only thing is that it is water resistent (to 1meter for 30 minutes), not waterproof.
Any suggestions – stores??? Thank you – Karyn C.
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