The start was not as crowded as I had imagined. Sure, it was crowded with 2,500+ people all jumping in the water at once. But I thought it was a suprisingly calm “chaotic” swim. The winds were pretty strong so the current was choppy, but it was a consistant chop. Easy to get in the groove or flow with. I consider the swim quite nice for anyone who has done atleast a couple open water swims.
I was aiming for a swim time fo about 1:12, given my Iron distance swim time of 1:09 in the Aurora reservoir back home only 5 days earlier. But the chop and crowds apparantly added a little more time than anticipated. Oh well, still a great swim. The water temp was in the mid 60’s and actually felt quite warm.
My only issue with the swim was the guy I was drafting on the final stretch went from a smooth freestyle stroke into a breastroke. His abrubt change into a frog kick cought me right in the nose! It hurt, it hurt alot. I think the chillish water helped sooth the pain. I learned quickly to stay away from that guy.
Out of the water in 1:20:14. I think I could do better, but let’s be honest. This was my first ironman and I am not qualifyeing for Kona (this year…) So who really cares if it took a little longer than I anticipated…