I did a HIM this past weekend. The water temp was 68 and the air temp was 44. It wasn't terrible. The air did warm up to near 70 by the end of the bike, and the sun was out.

Things I did that seemed to work for me:
- Socks on for the bike (I normally go bare-foot).
- Plastic baggies over socks inside bike shoes. Really helped to block the wind, as my tri-bike shoes are well-vented; the extra thickness wasn't an issue when biking.
- Thin merino wool long-sleeve over tri-top on the bike. This was a marginal aero-penalty but I was warm enough on the bike. Helped absorb and evaporate some residual water from the swim.

Things I would have done differently:
- Have a pair of shoes available to walk down from transition to the swim start. Walking on the cold dewy grass barefoot was very uncomfortable.
- Have a pair of shoes available to run from water to transition - cold dewy grass was cold.

Things I saw others do that looked interesting:
- Plastic bag inside tri-top to block wind on the bike. Bag can be discarded / tucked in back-pocket once you're warm enough.
- Taped air vents on helmet to completely block wind.
- Skull cap under helmet to keep head warm.

Things I saw people do that may have been overkill:
- Wind/Rain jacket - big aero penalty / annoyance
- "Yoga Pants" / full knickers on the bike - results may vary, but once things warm up, could be uncomfortable for the long ride.

Things I debated over:
- Full finger gloves. I had planned to wear them, but at the last minute decided against them. I didn't regret it. Others that had gloves commented how difficult it was to open gels / pick up on-course bottle hand-ups.

Something I noticed:
- The adrenaline from finishing the swim and running to T1 made it feel as if it wasn't too cold outside. I almost didn't put on the long sleeve jersey as it felt like it was warm enough to go without. I'm glad I did as I knew it was cold while on the bike as the top of my thighs had that burning feeling (like when you take a hot shower when you're really cold) for the first 10 miles. For Lake Placid especially, the wind-chill down to Keene will be intense.

At IM Lake Tahoe a couple years ago, air temps were in the 40s, as I recall. The swim wasn't so bad, but the start of the bike was miserable. I put on a speedsuit top and gloves. They made arrangements for a clothing drop part way through the bike.

Neoprene swim cap or just double up on the latex?

Water temp is 69, that is almost warm... I wouldn't worry about the water temp.

What is the conventional wisdom with this race?

WTC does not renew Syracuse 70.3 when their contract is up and move LP 70.3 to mid June w/ better weather?