Donations collected through the efforts of participating swimmers raised over $15,000 for the Child Advocacy Centre Simcoe/Muskoka. Although the $995 I raised did not match the amount I collected last year (over $2,000- more than any of the other swimmers) I was able to do so in about a week’s time- thanks in no small part to contributions from so many generous friends, family and the angling community.
Last year, it took me 1 hour 35.5 minutes to swim from Fern Resort across the lake to Couchiching Beach Park and I placed 17th out of 53 swimmers. This time I was determined to knock at least a couple of minutes off my time ... and one huge way I hoped to accomplish that would be by simply swimming straight. Thanks to clearer markers, better instructions and an increased familiarity with swimming this section of the lake, I was able to accomplish my goal. I swam the distance in 1 hr, 29 minutes and 23 seconds; so about six minutes quicker than last year.
This time there were 38 swimmers who swam the 4km but before we even started I knew some of the competition was lights out faster than most of us. The guys in Iron Man competition T shirts were somewhat intimidating and sure enough they were several metres ahead of most of us shortly after we started. I paced myself for the first two kilometres ... with my son Izaak in his kayak beside me as the mandatory spotter- keeping me on track. Occasionally, I would swim a few metres of breast stroke but for the most part it was front crawl. After two km though, I picked up the pace and stuck with the faster crawl ... and managed a 15th place finish ... and just happened to be the quickest in the ‘over 50’ age category!
Thanks again to all those who supported my 2nd Sun City Swim across Lake Couchiching. For more details on this swim and the Child Advocacy Centre please visit: at www.cacsimcoemuskoka.ca