You know the Ontario tri season has hit when we go outside to swim

In Ontario we have two triathlon series Recharge with Milk and the Subaru Series each offering a race late in May.  The earliest being Victoria Day long weekend in Waterloo.  We had a wonderful warm long weekend but the lake would still be oh so very cold.  I don't know anyone in the Durham Triathlon Club who participated in either of these races rather most of us start with the Guelph Race on Father's Day weekend. This race offers the Try-A-Tri, Sprint and Olympic distances. The club will be represented well with Cam and Frances in the Try-A-Tri, Jeff, Tara, Deanna, Peter in the Sprint and Liza, Alison and myself in the Olympic. There are probably others but our roving reporter's ask on our facebook page resulted with these names. Like Cam and Frances for many of us this was our first race and holds a special place in our memories.  Wishing Cam and Frances the same awesome experience I had in this first race. 

Unlike the 81 degree lake in Texas the water in Guelph will be a bit chillier.  Probably not wet suit mandatory but cold enough to take the option to wear it. Swimming in a wet suit has some advantages including buoyancy, slickness and protection.  Two disadvantages are a sense of constriction as the suit is like a second layer and very tight and depending on the model the pull (arm movement) is constricted. A new triathlete may have these concerns on top of concerns about swimming in open water.  Open water presents many new challenges such as the vastness of the lake (no edges to grab on to), none stop swimming (no ends), waves, the depth (sounds strange but this is one of my fears), cold, close proximity to others thus a kick or hit does happen, fish, algae to name a few.  There are many things to like including seeing birds, the shoreline, houses, city scape rather than watching brick walls or the pool deck go by. Seeing the sky, the sun, the sand dunes at the bottom (Holmes Point & Wasaga Beach) and when the zone hits you don't have to stop at 25 meters.  The swim in Texas changed my outlook on this discipline.  I'm not sure I can describe it but it gave me a confidence and a calmness I have not had in the past.  This feeling was there in our last two swim classes and in our first club swim.  Texas will hold a very special place in my heart as the place I actually felt comfortable swimming in a lake.  I don't know if this feeling will continue but I have a place I can go to in my mind's eye when I'm swimming that may calm me down.  I guess I should take it as a sign its time to move from the "D" lane in swim class.  I asked Coach Christine which lane was the development lane and her response " do you really need it? " I guess its time to face the next fear swimming with the "big" kids.

Here we are, all 25 of us, swimming at Jackson's Point in our first club swim of 2012.

Even if its cloudy and raining this weekend there is sun above those clouds.

- Liz