You can swim off to the side...it's a wide beach. If the run the same course as last year, you'll be fine. There is plenty of time to warm up, and that 15 minutes between the pros and you is time to savor. They won't be coming back your way yet. One of the coolest moments of the day, beside the finish, was swimming out 200m and turning around to see all the competitors on the beach. Absolutely incredible sight, and all I could think was "damn, am I a lucky person to have the privilege to do this or what?"