The little swimmer graphic looks cool on finisher hats, shirts and medals.

To make people feel good about themselves. :-)

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

To get to the bike! :)

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-Of course it's 'effing hard, it's IRONMAN!
Team ZOOT
ZOOT, QR, Garmin, HED Wheels, Zealios, FormSwim, Precision Hydration, Rudy Project

Well they do get those extra 4 miles on the bike to make up for it.

Hey, leave Bruce out of this!

Edit: Just wanted to say that.

x2.

It's all about the run anyway......

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.

All joking aside the swim course at a race is so dependent on what is available, if there is a crazy fast current like IM Louisville or the one and done IMNYC so be it. Some bike courses are 30-40min faster as well.

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-Of course it's 'effing hard, it's IRONMAN!
Team ZOOT
ZOOT, QR, Garmin, HED Wheels, Zealios, FormSwim, Precision Hydration, Rudy Project

A friend at the race said that during the race briefing, they had people jump in and float downriver in 2:30.

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IG: idking90

It gives us good swimmers/bad runners our moment of glory running in to an empty T1 like we own the joint.

I did my first IM this summer and maybe it was just the adrenaline of the start of the race, but I really felt like the swim was way too short. 3.8k goes by pretty damn quickly. 5k/100-110 mile bike/marathon would be awesome.

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Long Chile was a silly place.

All part of WTC's 16:45 or bust plan.

At least Louisville challenged you with about a 1/3 of the leg being upstream.

These WTC down river swims are a joke. May as well make the bike 100 miles and call it 112 miles and cut the run to 20 miles and call it 26. It is the same effect.

Agreed. Haven't looked up the current and crunched the numbers, but I would bet that folks swam something less than 2 miles based on the times.

Spot

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Taco cat spelled backwards is....taco cat.

I find it equally as 'funny' that the rd came on here saying that TVA was on board and that he planned to minimize the flow of the river on race day.

huh, uh...about that.....

But the thing is they could have shut down the locks more at the dam. At the Olympic distance race in June there was not that big of a current and it's the same exact swim course, just starting further up river today (same finish).

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

I don't understand the disdain. As long as you are not comparing times to other lake or ocean swims events what's the problem. Everyone still has to cover the distance. The fast guys are faster, the low guys are less slow by a bit.

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http://bigmikega.wordpress.com

I quite literally looked for the "like" button.

These days though the purpose of my swim is to ensure the roads are clear of cyclists before I start riding.

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The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits. -- A fake Albert Einstein "quote"

I think some of the distain is that you have a huge majority of people coming out of the water at the exact same time. If you were at the bike out today it was a freaking joke. Means there will be extensive drafting along the entire bike course. This is not triathlon as the founders meant it to be.

Plus you have all the people who were freaking out about not being able to wear their wetsuits. Actually, freaking out about most every single thing about the race. It's like everyone wants to be spoonfed.

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

I pretty much agree. The standard distance course (Unlike Ultraman fore example) does lend itself to comparisons though, even if they're not valid.

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The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits. -- A fake Albert Einstein "quote"

There are IM races with downhill, point-to-point bike courses? Because that is what would be analogous to a down-current point-to-point IM swim.

Where is that race??? I'll be signing up today! :-)

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

I'm seeing some pretty impressive times with people I know. Huge improvements on BOP racers I know. What gives?

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"In the world I see you are stalking elk through the damp canyon forests around the ruins of Rockefeller Center. You'll wear leather clothes that will last you the rest of your life. You'll climb the wrist-thick kudzu vines that wrap the Sears Towers. And when you look down, you'll see tiny figures pounding corn, laying stripes of venison on the empty car pool lane of some abandoned superhighway." T Durden

Louisville times were pretty smoking as well. Not like this, but fast.

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Founder of THE TRIATHLON COLLECTIVE (Closed Facebook Group). A SBR discussion group without the white noise/trolling!

I think that has more to do with the first-come, first-serve swim line. The slower people got there early and got in line first so the race bunched up as faster swimmers caught the slower swimmers, rather than the race spreading out like it would with a mass start. So everyone gets to T1 at the same time.