July training swims

    Many people ask about my training.
     Once the water warms up and I can do longer open water swims, there are 2 key swims that are important to prove a swimmer can do the distance.
     In 2 weeks I will be doing the long swim, which will be 75% of the distance of Lake Tahoe. This year, I will do 3 laps of an 8.5 km circuit. In past years, for the long swim I have swum a lake, such as Lake Muskoka, Lake Joseph or Lake of Bays. In 2011, for the long swim, I swam Lake Simcoe, which was 34 km, the same distance as the English Channel, This was to prove to myself that I could still do it because it was my first year out of retirement. In 2015, I swam the 3 Provinces, which was actually 4 km further than the Cook Strait, but the point was to prove I could swim for a long time in 15-16 degree C. water.
     Towards the end of the month, I will do the split swim, which is an English Channel training concept. The goal is to do the distance of Lake Tahoe in 2 to 3 days.
     Another swim that I will also do in July is the Swim for the Cure. I have swum it 10 of the last 16 years. This swim is organized by a nurse friend from St. Joseph's Hospital, Debbie Bang, to raise money for breast cancer research. Over the last 16 years, this swim has raised over $238,000. The swim is 12.8 km down the Trent-Severn waterway. For more information:  www.swimforthecure.ca  If you are interested in supporting breast cancer research, the link for my donation page is:  http://convio.cancer.ca/site/TR/Thirdpartyevent/IFE_ON_CommunityPartnerships_?px=6939560&pg=personal&fr_id=23019#.WVCCHPkrLIV

Gulliver's Lake Park

I am excited to report that Gulliver's Lake in Flamborough is supporting my training again this year, the 5th year in a row! Thank you Gulliver's for my free pass! 
Gulliver's is a beautiful spring fed quarry that warms up way before any of the other larger lakes and is perfect for early season open water training. Lots of triathletes and scuba divers use the lake for their training and lessons.
It's an awesome place for a picnic, too.
http://www.gulliverslake.com