Aerin Bowers

Getting LOST (and found)

Posted on July 22, 2018 by Aerin Bowers

I just spent a holiday week in Toronto with my daughter Scarlet. We lived there before making the move to the Kootenays in 2018. I’ve been back to the Big Smoke several times for work, but I’ve rarely had any time to explore past haunts and do fun things. The best part of this week was seeing the city anew through Scarlet’s eyes as she was 8 was when we left. We stayed at an AirBnB in our old Danforth neighbourhood and it was really cool to retrace our steps 6 years later. We hung out with good friends, took in the Vans Warped Tour, smuggled Scarlet into Choir!Choir!Choir!, saw 2 movies, went to the beach and travelled a lot of kilometres on foot, baking in the hot sun. I am not eating or sleeping well right now so it was nice to have a plethora of distractions and good to be very tired at the end of each day.

My training plan was set as a recovery week, so I went on the holiday intending to swim but with all pressure off in terms of meeting my weekly km goal. I had a lovely 2 km swim between buoys at Bluffer’s Beach in Scarborough – which is a beautiful place and one I would highly recommend if you’re doing open water training in Toronto. The buoy distances are long enough that you can get a good workout, the water is clean and clear, and it’s very cool to look up and see the looming red cliffs. The lifeguards are also constantly present in row boats, so I didn’t worry that a dink on a jet ski would run me over and ruin my day. The speedos are also plentiful. Maybe it’s just me??

Before heading to Toronto, I’d done a bit of research to see if there was an open water community to swim with. As much as I like training alone, I’ve been thinking about how nice it would be to introduce a bit of social interaction to the summer outdoor season. My tendency in difficult times is to isolate myself, but I’m finding that it isn’t really working for me lately. Sure enough I discovered the Lake Ontario Swim Team (LOST) and was excited to learn that they meet every Saturday at Lakeshore Park in Oakville for a group swim.

Scanning through the LOST website was also a treat, because I learned about upcoming Ontario events, the history of the club, and was also able to register and pay as an International Guest, a bargain at $10.

Not a bargain was the money it cost me to Uber out to Oakville from the Danforth. I could have spent 2 hours in public transit, but I only fell asleep at 5 am on Friday and I needed those extra 2 hours. And damn it, I work hard for the money, honey! Read More

Gear Review: Vorgee Vortech Max Goggles

Posted on July 15, 2018 by Aerin Bowers

Gear review time!

We checked in to the Across the Lake Swim in Kelowna and as always, we took a look at the vendor tables in search of something fun. I like to spend money when I’m a ball of nervous energy. Don’t you?

The Vorgee table had a bunch of interesting stuff, and I had noticed their presence at the Canada Day Challenge in Vancouver a few weeks ago.

I struck up a conversation with the rep about my current struggle to find the perfect pair of goggles for both lake and pool. Sharing is caring, so I’ll fill you in on my situation:

I’ve been almost exclusively using the Aqua Sphere Vista masks for my open water swims. Pool training is a bit more flexible – as I have a bunch of different goggles in my swim bag at any given time. My collection is huge and includes the tiny Tyr mirrored pair that look cool but sit inside my eye socket and threaten to suck my eyeballs right out of my head. Friends, this can happen!

Let’s get this out of the way – I am blessed with extra large eye sockets. Not quite anime-level peepers, but definitely higher and wider than the eye sockets that most goggles seem to be designed for. Small competition goggles get uncomfortable when my eyelashes bump up against the lens, and I can never seem to open my eyes properly when I’m wearing them. I like seeing. Seeing is fun. Read More

Swimming Through a Messy Life

Posted on July 9, 2018 by Aerin Bowers

Getting a 3.5 km swim in at clean, lovely Christina Lake.

Keeping up a weekly swim blog is hard work. What if nothing exciting or momentous happens in a given week? What if many momentous things happen, but they don’t necessarily relate to swimming?

Or maybe…swimming should be my metaphor of moving through things in the medium of water.

I am going through a lot of things in my life right now. A deep breath.

I’m newly separated and adjusting to that both well and terribly
I have a wonderful new job that presents a big blue sky of opportunity but also a steep learning curve and a big chance to do something great – and as a work motivated person, this is so important to me. But yeah. Pressure!
I definitely have a form of PTSD from my previous job
I have a teenager who is moving through her own changes and challenges, and doing a far better job of it than I did at the same age
I am new to this whole world of my own financial management and planning and this presents its own steep learning curve and uncertainty
I am preoccupied with my health and feeling a bit of fear. Well, maybe not just a bit. I have some terrible habits and some shite genetics
My lawn needs mowing and my deck needs painting and OH GOD THE WEEDS
My beloved new wetsuit gives me awful neck chafe and it looks like I’m spending a lot of time in dirty chambers of sex bondage
I’m not spending any time in dirty chambers of sex bondage

So – to just go out and swim through it all? Sometimes it seems overwhelming.

I like to solve problems, and I also have a tremendous need for growth and change. The stability of a regular swimming practice is working well for me, even as the rest feels sometimes like a radio in my head that I can’t tune in.

How can I apply what I am doing with swimming to the rest of a messy life? Read More

The VOWSA Canada Day Challenge

Posted on July 2, 2018 by Aerin Bowers

Happy Canada Day!

I celebrated the true north strong and free this weekend with a getaway to Vancouver with my kiddo, the lovely Scarlet. We hung out with some best pals, ate some great food, saw my favourite band Belle and Sebastian on Friday night, and capped it all off with the VOWSA Canada Day Challenge event this morning.

This was my first open water event of the season. I am very pleased to say that I think I got most things right for this this swim! I didn’t burn out in the last 3 weeks – partly because I was sick, partly because I had a whole bunch of work travel, and partly because I’m trying to be more aware of overtraining and how it affects my body and my metabolic syndrome. I’ve been averaging around 10K each week, and I did sneak a few short sessions in while in Comox and Chicago on business, as well as a workout in the Trail Aquatic Centre to test out my new Orca Alpha wetsuit. Read More

Back in the Lake

Posted on June 22, 2018 by Aerin Bowers

I’m back in the lake!

Last Sunday was my first lake swim of the year. It’s much later than usual, due to the heavy snow pack in the mountains creating colder than usual temperatures. Or at least that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

I swam out at Nancy Greene Lake, which is a smallish lake about 30 mins drive from my house. I like training here because I’ve mapped the distance quite accurately. Swimming the “triangle” gives me approx 1000 metres, so it’s easy to track my progress and accomplish a practice goal. Swimming in a triangle is also nice, because triangles are one of those shapes that just do not get enough love.

The lake is cold and deep, and the weeds grow long and thick as the summer goes on. I don’t mind the weeds at all and actually find the surreal underwater green-ness to be quite thrilling and interesting. There’s always a chance that a big ugly fish face will emerge from the depths to say hello. I also like to take my dogs along on swims at Nancy Greene, because they can run alongside me on the shore. I can keep an eye on them and vice versa. Sometimes they swim with me, and we become a battle fleet. I’m sure they feel this way too.

I wore my oldest, thickest wetsuit for my inaugural lake training swim. It’s a 4 mm Blue Seventy Sprint, so I figured it would be the warmest option. I wore it for my first 2 years of events before I decided to upgrade to the Blue Seventy Fusion, which didn’t work for me at all. Read More

That Time I Escaped from Alcatraz

Posted on June 15, 2018 by Aerin Bowers

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When I told my good friend that I would be writing this week, I promised a tale that would include a diaper and CPR.

THIS TALE CONTAINS BOTH.

Without further ado, I’d like to tell you about the time I escaped from Alcatraz. Yes, I joined the likes of that (in)famous Bird Man and other brave escapees.

How did it happen?

My escape from Alcatraz was part of my 40 year old swim odyssey, but I didn’t get to plan it in advance. On my actual 40th birthday in September 2014, my family arranged a surprise party. I don’t normally love surprises because I’m a complete control freak, but this one was simply awesome, unexpected, and welcome. After a lovely dinner, I walked into my house to find my friends all dressed up as characters from my favourite movie, Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic. We had Zissous, Klauses, and even a convincing Alastair Hennessey.

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And my present (as if the party wasn’t a giant present in itself) – my present was a trip to San Francisco to do the Alcatraz Swim. This is an annual event organized by Water World Swim (who organize many other cool destination events). The swim itself isn’t particularly long at 1.5 miles, but the chilly waters and finicky currents of the San Francisco Bay make it a challenging one. I was so excited and freaked out. I thought I’d completed my 40th year challenge, but I was pumped to add one more fabulous destination swim to cap off an amazing season. And best of all, my parents would be joining us in the city I grew up knowing as the inspiration for their “Song“. Read More

Training vs Racing

Posted on June 7, 2018 by Aerin Bowers

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Happiness and anticipation for the Long Bridge Swim in Sandpoint, Idaho

Right now, I like training more than I like racing.

Don’t get me wrong – I enjoy event days too – the atmosphere of anticipation, the cameraderie, the snacks, the fashion parade of wetsuits, the men in wee speedos…its all good.

BUT – the reason I swim is not to race. It’s to access the feeling I get while swimming and after swimming.

What I want to discover is how far/long I can swim in this sagging 43 year old meat sack. What I want to do is swim in amazing places all over the world.

I think I would be happier if open water events were positioned more as experiences rather than races. Of course, I am concerned with my time and my performance at any given event. But the reason I swim is to tamp down my sharp and uncomfortable edges. Competitiveness has a way of creeping into my head and my body and gives me the exactly opposite feels that a challenging but relaxed training session or light lake swim gives me. I stopped swimming with a local masters group because I was overcome with the negative mindset the practices triggered in my head and body, especially during a time of misdiagnosed illness. This would express itself in swimming too hard and then crying in the shower if my body wasn’t up to what I was asking of it. And of course it wasn’t up to it – it was liable to fall asleep at any given moment. It would remind me of how I felt when I quit competitive swimming as a teenager, when repetitive, negative thought patterns became a big problem for me.

Swimming on my own terms is my solution for the brain that I was born with. And solo training takes me into the positive space I need, and allows me to channel those characteristics into my work (which I LOVE), rather than my workouts. Read More

Swimming with Rattlesnakes

Posted on June 3, 2018 by Aerin Bowers

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I’m on a boat, waiting to swim the Rattlesnake Island 3 k. (2014)

I’m writing this on a plane on my way back to Comox, BC. My work takes me back to the Island this week, and I’m looking forward to chalking up a few more swims in the local aquatic centre. I made a quick executive decision to not bring my wetsuit on this trip, after some research that told me that the local lakes around Comox will still be a bit too cold for training. This may be true, or I might just be a wuss.

By June I have usually been in the lake a few times. Christina Lake is often the place for my annual first foray into the open water outdoors. It is always awesome to feel that chilly briskness on my face and hands. That first wetsuit pee is also very nice. This year I’m either a little less brave OR it’s still too cold. Following a strict training schedule in the pool is also my focus, as I strive to get my kms in and build for the longer events coming up this summer. Cold water training will have to wait a week – or at least until I’ve made it through at least 5 cold showers in preparation.

Last week I trained 3 times, including one midweek session that was 4800 metres. I could not consume enough carbs in the 2 days that followed (toast fans, are you out there? Can I get an AMEN?) and finished up the week with a short Saturday night session that focused on drills – specifically my underwater pull. Rather than throwing my shoulders into each stroke, I’m working hard to develop the water feel in my pull through fist drills, doggy paddle (yes!), and sculling. My early swim coaching taught the centreline pull technique so I must undo this tendency to pull to the middle and then out and down. I’m an avid reader of technique tips, and right now I’m finding TriSwimCoach and Swim Smooth blogs to be helpful. Read More

My Open Water Story: Part Deux

Posted on May 26, 2018 by Aerin Bowers

Screen Shot 2018-05-26 at 8.38.11 AM So, I was swimming again. And turning 40! I wanted to celebrate the unlikely success of both major life events, so I plotted a summer of races in all kinds of places: Across the Lake Swim in Kelowna, Sandpoint’s Long Bridge Swim, the Rattlesnake Island Swim, and the Lake Chelan Swim. There was another surprise swim, but it was a surprise for me and I’m saving it as a surprise for you. I am a sucker for clean water (who isn’t?), so I set up a fundraising campaign through Charity:Water and set a goal of $1000.

First was the swim leg of the Christina Lake Triathlon, with my trusty team of pals. This event is held every year in late June, and as a “sprint”, it requires an 800 m swim, 20 km bike, and 5 km run. All walks of life from Hardcore Strava Dawgs to People Who Drink Slurpees turn up to this event, which, depending how hardcore you are, includes campfires, beers, and a giant baked potato (or 2 if you’re crafty). I don’t really count this as a SWIM swim, but it definitely served as the kickoff to my other events.

My next swim was Kelowna’s Across the Lake Swim, Canada’s oldest open water event founded in 1949. It’s a 2.1 km crossing of Okanagan Lake, and finishes up at Lakeside Park. When you finish, you get oranges, cookies, and chocolate milk. This is important to me. It truly is the best swim to try if you’re new to the game – a very supportive atmosphere, tons of fun, and good swag. You get to ride a yellow school bus in your bathing suit. Even the check-in and safety meeting the night before is fun. In fact, I must mention that I haven’t bought a towel since I started open water swimming. If you ever need one, let me know. Read More

Recovery Week

Posted on May 24, 2018 by Aerin Bowers

Ahhhh….recovery week!

I have to say that I’m enjoying this week with my foot halfway off the gas pedal. It’s given me a chance to rediscover my bike (hi, bike!), do a few more yoga classes, and gear up for the next 5 weeks of intensifying training.

I have several swims planned for this summer and fall.

This will be my 5th time swimming Kelowna’s Across the Lake Swim, and my second time swimming Lake Chelan. The other swims are brand new to me, and have required me to focus my training on longer distances. This involves following an actual PLAN plan, which I haven’t really done before. I have to say that I’m really enjoying it. I started the new year with a 5 km plan offered through Prairie Girls Swim Squad and found it to be well-designed, motivating, and focused on results. I really liked the variety of the workouts and have adapted several of them as I build up my weekly kms. Read More

Open Water Aerin

Author: Aerin Bowers