Canada open water swim | Open Water Aerin

Oot and Aboot and Blooming Magnolias

Now you see me, now you don’t!

I have certainly been oot and aboot, as we Canadians say. I’ve been in places I didn’t expect to be, but somehow seem to be the right places at the right time, most of the time.

Facing a crappy snow year on the mountain, dealing with ongoing fuckery, and generally in need of a change of scenery at the beginning of the year, I rented an apartment in Vancouver. Kitsilano, to be exact, and it has been a great call and one of the coolest experiences. Kits ticks all the boxes: an 11 minute walk to one of Vancouver’s nicest beaches, Pacific ocean sunsets, bike paths, cherry blossoms, and friendly people. I have loved my Kootenay and Kelowna homes, but I think I’m in my ocean swimming phase this year. Salt water heals and makes my hair look great. 💅🏼

Vancouver is home to VOWSA, an active open water swimming community that I hope to get involved with this summer. I also joined the English Bay Swim Club who practice at the Vancouver Aquatic Centre, and have enjoyed a mix of short course and long course Masters practices. Exploring other pools in the city has been fun, and I can hardly wait to swim outdoors at Kits Pool and the pool at Second Beach this month. I’ve been biking and exploring and thriving in my little 700 sq ft space with a blooming magnolia right outside my bedroom window.

Work travel combined with a long overdue girls’ trip took me to Quebec City in March, where I snuck in a swim at Laval University’s lovely facility.

I presented the story of my English Channel swim to a fabulous hometown crowd at the Rossland Museum in April. I have worked on different narratives that might suit specific audiences, and my Rossland attendees responded really well to an overview of both my swimming history, approach to training, and the swim itself. I pretended that everyone in the crowd was naked, which made me feel relaxed and happy, since Rosslanders are very good looking people. You can watch the talk here.

I am presenting my swim story for the Across the Lake Swim’s Lake Club as an exclusive member webinar on May 12. The Lake Club is ATLS’s new membership offering, and I’m looking forward to dishing the details for this community. I am also serving as a Swim Squad Ambassador for Across the Lake Swim for the third time. ATLS are running several new events this year, including a starlight swim and two new events on Vancouver Island. If you are interested in any of these events as a first time participant or seasoned swimmer, please let me know and I can offer information, mentorship, and a discount code.

“What’s next, Aerin?” still weighs a little heavy on me at this point, almost one year post Channel swim. The truth is that I really did need to take my foot off the gas this year, after nearly three years straight of pretty intensive and structured training. I wanted to focus a little more on other things. I didn’t have the motivation for the weekly kilometres. My bank account needed a bit of a bum rub of love. And honestly, the personal situation that derailed the celebration and processing of my swim kept not calming down and carrying on and throwing weinerschnitzel at my head.

I’m starting to feel ready to start planting swimming seeds again, as April showers turn to May flowers. Two friends who will swim the Channel this summer are coming this very weekend for some ocean training. You can follow them here – I know they will both smash it!

I’m taking off for a cycling trip to Hokkaido, Japan with my nephew in June. Since a bicycle needs a fish, I’ll be swimming along the way as well.

August means a trip to Ireland for work, combined with other amazing swimming opportunities. Thinking maybe Galway Bay? Fastnet? Suggestions welcome!

And there are the Across the Lake swims, some VOWSA events, and just generally trying to enjoy my life and maintain my peace, and get back to a place where more training and structure makes sense. Getting there!

All in good time. And all a good time. A fresh start means everything and I really needed one. For someone who has planned and structured meticulously for the last few years, it’s nice to just stop and smell the flowers. There are a lot of flowers around this time of year. I hope you’re enjoying them too.

The Skaha Lake Ultra Swim – Take 2

Posted on August 12, 2019 by Aerin Bowers

I’m writing this post with my feet, since my arms and shoulders are so $%#@*&!! sore from yesterday’s Skaha Lake Ultra Swim. An 11.8 km marathon swim of ecstasy and agony, but not for the first time. This was my second time swimming Skaha. Why go back for more, you might ask? Well, that’s an interesting question for an open water swimmer, since we as a breed seem to seek out events that test us, tire us, thrash us about, and leave us battered, weary, and definitely wanting more.

When I talk to people about this “hobby” (and certainly this particular swim), a quizzical look often takes over their face. This is soon followed by an obvious expression of concern. And that’s ok. I get it – spending 4 hours in a wetsuit churning across a lake isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. But it’s definitely mine, and the 93 others who challenge themselves to make it from Penticton to Okanagan Falls early on a Sunday morning in forest fire season, with only a lone support kayaker to keep them company, and only some carbohydrate gels (and maybe some pickle juice) to eat.

Last year was my first Skaha Ultra (or any ultra), and I spent the majority of the winter leading up to the event feeling freaked out and excited and wondering if I was preparing properly for such an extension of my normal distance. I swam very near to the distance a couple of weeks before, so I entered the water very confident that I would conquer the distance but with no idea how I would fare compared to the other swimmers. I was very pleased with the results and it led me to seek out some longer swims, some of which have happened or are in planning or application stages. But – it whet (swimming pun) my appetite for pushing harder and for longer distances to see what would be possible for me.

This summer has been quite different! I trained all winter and had a respectable showing in the Across the Lake Swim. Soon after that I jetted off to Europe for an epic bike tour that certainly worked my legs and gave me calves of steel, but offered somewhat limited swimming opportunities for the type of distance I maybe should have been working on. In an attempt to keep my nerves at bay and my harsh inner critic in her locked box, I thought of it as a long taper…

…until I was 8 km into the swim, and my right arm and shoulder started to scream at me.

“YOU DIDN’T TRAIN FOR THIS, YOU IMBECILE!” said my right shoulder, and the left one whimpered in sympathy.

“YOU ARE DOING PERMANENT DAMAGE TO ME, YOU ASS! MAY THE FLEAS OF 1000 CAMELS INFEST YOUR ARMPITS.” said my right arm, and the left one nodded but couldn’t speak because it was totally numb and had been since the 3 km mark.

“WE’RE PRETTY FUCKING HAPPY. THANKS FOR ALL THE BIKING.” said my legs, happily kicking a nice 5 beat without complaint.

I dug deep within and promised my arms and shoulders that I would reward them handsomely if they’d just keep swimming. I wouldn’t ask for turbo power, just survival. I would never again let them sit around, merely steering and lifting bites of apple strudel to my mouth, for a few weeks before a long event like this. I would let them soak in a hot tub for at least 30 minutes after the event. I bargained with my upper limbs. And they held. But just barely. They even let me forget about them for the last kilometre, allowing me to finish strong, pushing myself upright to run through the finish (clapping – apparently, and according to this photo!!), and accept my well-earned Finisher’s Medal, which was even nicer than last year!

Arms and shoulders aside, the rest of the swim was amazing. Scarlet, my support kayaker, charted a nice straight line to Ponderosa Point, and offered lots of helpful encouragement along the way. She even called me a “tough little fucker”, which I really liked. Thanks to the awesome Stevens for lending us the kayak. The conditions were great and much less smoky than last year. I finished a respectable 39th overall, and even though I added 9 minutes to my time, I’m happy with the result. Blame the wind, blame the extra currents, or blame my undertrained arms and shoulders….but what’s the point? An event of this length is a huge challenge for any body, and even finishing deserves a big bottle of Prosecco or $100 worth of room service or whatever else floats your boat.

I’d like to express my thanks again to the organizers of the Skaha Lake Ultra Swim. This event runs so smoothly and gives great confidence to the participants, who really have a lot of other things on their minds as they prepare. From the safety meetings to the convenient post-swim shuttle back to Penticton, this team has it dialed. If you’re interested in challenging yourself, the registration sells out quite quickly once it’s posted. You have to decide fast. And I think you should do it.

Will I be back next year for a three-peat? It’s certainly possible! For now, I’m sitting in the airport waiting for my flight to Stockholm, where I will swim 3.2 km at next weekend’s Riddarfjardsimningan (say that aloud after a few airport margaritas). My arms and shoulders haven’t spoken to me since yesterday. They’ll get over it.