THE SWIM (30:58 minutes; 10th out of 49 in my age group; 280th out of 822 total athletes)That's me in the mirrored blue goggles sighting for the next buoy.
This is my sweet spot. I hunkered down in my group and waited to head out toward the in-water start. My wave was right behind the Elite women. Yikes!
Since water temps were above 78 degrees, we weren't allowed to wear wetsuits. Wetsuits make you faster b/c they make you more buoyant. For those who are weak on the swim, this was causing serious stress. Since I practiced the day before without a wetsuit and I am a stronger swimmer, I felt fine with going without one.
As we entered the water, I positioned myself to the far right so that I was away from the chaos of the start. This was good race advice that I previously received and I used it again here.
Early on I moved quickly toward the front and at 300-400 meters started cutting over to swim tighter to the buoys. It has been a great tactic during other swims and it worked relatively well again. I felt really strong going out and was confident.
The unfortunate thing is that at the turn around point I didn't estimate the buoys well and went a bit too wide. Though I lost time, I didn't lose my position among my group. I held my own. It was disappointing to not move further up the pack, but at least I wasn't losing ground.
By the time I got to the swim ramp I was preparing myself to stand up and start running. It actually wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I was able to orient myself, stand up, push up my goggles and start running up the ramp toward the transition area.
It was great b/c spectators were lining the run and I saw my family cheer me on as I headed in to get my bike.
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