The swim: 2.4 miles

2.4 miles = 2 laps of 1.2 miles, triangle shaped course

There were many athletes in the water getting ready for the swim, taking warm up strokes, swimming a few meters, and getting acclimated to the water. I expected the water to feel cool, but with the lack of sunlight, cool air, and light rain, the water felt warm.

The water temperature was officially measured at 6 am to be 78 degrees, so wet suits were legal. Of course anyone who had a wet suit that day was putting it on. I don't own one, which is part of why I chose to race in Florida.

I started the swim wide to the right and a little behind. This strategy has been mentioned countless times for those not planning to be in the lead pack. There can be much fevered activity at the start of the race, and many swimmers will get hit, kicked, or run over. This is going to be a 14 or so hour race for me, so there's no point in getting injured in the first 10 minutes.

I started out away from the pack. It was pretty dark out, as there was cloud cover and not a lot of sunlight yet. Most of us had on tinted goggles. It was actually a little challenging to see the buoys sometimes.

It seems that the reason for the course layout was the prevailing wind direction on the lake. Not that it was anything terrible, but I think it kept pointing me away from the course. And since I started out wide to one side I didn't need anymore help. Or maybe I just can't swim straight. The first lap seemed longer than it should have been, and I am probably to blame for that.

After the first third of the first lap (rounding the first corner buoy) I felt like I got into my rhythm. I was taking long relaxed strokes and getting as much glide as I could. I no longer had to think about getting back onto the course, and concentrated on swimming efficiently and calmly.

Since we were completing two laps for the full iron distance race, we exited the water, crossed the timing mat, and re-entered the water for the second lap. They had water and Gatorade available for us as we went back to the water. As I was getting out of the water at the end of the first lap I thought that I had had a good swim and most normal people would go on to the next event at that point. I wasn't tired yet, but it seemed like I had been out there a while and like it was time to move on. So I took my time getting back into the water and started lap two.

The second lap seemed to go a lot quicker. I ended the swim right on my projected time at about 1 hour 30 minutes. Michelle has a great picture of me getting out of the water with the clock in the frame. (click for link)

I forgot to look for the clock before the race, and I couldn't find it when I got out of the water. I had no idea my swim time until later. It is a strange thing; there was a kind of sensory overload upon exiting the water. After an hour and a half of no sound but the water around me and my own splashing, I was challenged by suddenly being on land with a crowd of people, an announcer on a PA system, fans cheering for their racer, tons of cameras and pictures being taken, volunteers yelling directions, and other racers going by. If you ever have the chance or inclination, I suggest trying it! As a fan *or* a racer. :)