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2018 IMLP
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We are now less than two months away from Lake Placid. After having tons of friends race Placid over the years, I've decided to give it a go. I've race Tremblant four times, but never the closer IM option (I'm outside of Boston).

I know that the bike course has changed - albeit back to what it was a while ago. Any idea on how this change will impact bike times?

Who's in? Any tips for the race in general - swim, bike, run, other?

I tried to use one of the homeshare sites to get a house or condo, but ended up getting a room at the Quality Inn, which I believe is about a mile from transition.

I'm racing Quassy in about ten days as a prep race, then it'll be a solid seven weeks of training heading into IMLP.

Blog: http://262toboylstonstreet.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/NateThomasTri
Coaching: https://bybtricoaching.com/ - accepting athletes for 2023
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Re: 2018 IMLP [natethomas] [ In reply to ]
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I raced IMMT in 2014/15 and IMLP in 2017.

**Weather can be unpredictable: prepare for rain, cold, wind, or heat**
Swim: Self-seeded 2 loops, there is a cable that runs the course. Congested on 1st loop, easy to follow others swimming wide. 2nd loop can follow cable.


Bike: Bike exit out of transition has 180 degress hairpin turn. Long 4-6% grade hills, nothing steep like IMMT. Hills at beginning(Ski Jump), middle(3 hills: God, Market, ...) and end of each loop(Ski area-->Cherries-->Bears). On Keene descent you can easily hit 40+ mph, hope it is paved this year. New course adds some elevation, old course to Ausable forks was fairly flat.


Run: Downhill start, uphill return on each loop. Hills are like Quassy.

I also in for Quassy Half.
Last edited by: jdais: May 24, 18 8:59
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Re: 2018 IMLP [natethomas] [ In reply to ]
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Hi Nate
I've done IMLP twice-2012 (last of the mass swim starts) and 2016 (rolling swim start).


S-What can you say about the nicest swim in IM. Enjoy it. Rolling start but know that people do not seed appropriately so choose a slightly faster time. I swear Mirror Lake turns into a slowly turning whirlpool. Water is crystal clear with absolutely no muck/seaweed. Bring bonus shoes/sandals or something to walk around in before as there is a lot of walking-especially if you drop bags at special needs.

B-As with all IM races, keep to your power plan early and know that the technical portion is just getting out of transition and there is some uphill early leaving town (*esp mile 4). The course is pretty and scenic. The change is now back to the 2012 course and doesn't really impact the overall plan at all. You will be leapfrogging the slower cyclists on the second loop, no doubt. The bears are steady inclines and not bad at all.

my notes:
Exit transition with a 180 degree turn left and then 90 degree turn right. 2 Loop course heading out of town up a slight hill followed by several miles of short rollers. These rollers are not insignificant and mile 4 is a real hill which took me 6 minutes at 185 watts. Do not burn matches you do not need to. The Keene descent is actually a long, winding switchback road so even though you get to 50mph, there are sections of it. The third is the most twisting and has some areas of road that are still a quite bumpy. I was extremely fortunate to have low wind for my pair of 808's as this can be very dicey with crosswinds and worse with wet conditions. After this, there are 30 miles where you can push a steady pace. After experiencing the easy part, the second half will tax you if you went out too hard. I did not think anything about the Bears the first time around, but they got bigger by the second loop. https://connect.garmin.com/...ctivity/1271236804/2
and my strava https://www.strava.com/...52526145#15968339942

R-A bit hilly but LOTS of support. Hold back early as the first 2-3 miles is net down 150 ft, then flat for 5-6 miles before the hills (which are only ~200ft total in two steps)

my notes:
Slightly down for the first 3 miles followed by flat, small rollers for 3 miles, The first hill starts at mile 9 and is only ~75 feet. There are then a series of pretty short hills that are much higher on the second lap also. Getting back up the hills in town are much more challenging at the end and you appreciate how steep they are. It hurts to have to run past the Olympic stadium going into the second lap. Torture to have to run past it again and do an out/n/back before actually finishing after completing the second lap. Finishing in the stadium-priceless. https://connect.garmin.com/.../activity/1271236860

I do love the course personally. Be prepared for a possible 25-30 degree increase from start to finish.
Hopefully I will see you at Quassy and we can talk more, if you have any questions that I can help with.
Dale
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Re: 2018 IMLP [natethomas] [ In reply to ]
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Pacing on the bike loop is key where so many people crap out on the second loop when coming back from Wilmington on 86. Also, the climb a few miles in just after the ski jumps is an early key where it is about 1.8 miles long and fairly steep in parts; I've seen so many people go flying out of T1 all fired up to be on their bike and try to mash up that climb in their big ring, wasting valuable energy early on. Just sit back and get a good spin going up it and you'll be fine.

The hill coming back into town on the run is tricky where you think you're at the top when you make the left turn at the light, but it keeps going and even has an additional few more steps when you take the right at the Mobil station (finish oval is on your left) and start the out and back on Mirror Lake Drive.

Get up there if you can before the race to recon the course. Not sure if Dev's EpicMan is the same weekend as your upcoming race but it is an excellent prep for IMLP. Good luck!



"You can never win or lose if you don't run the race." - Richard Butler

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Re: 2018 IMLP [natethomas] [ In reply to ]
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I'm in! It'll be my first full distance race. I thought about doing Quassy, but ultimately decided on doing StG 70.3 (a few weeks ago) as my first triathlon and tune-up - figured Quassy and Syracuse were both a little too close to LP for comfort.

Super pumped! Looking forward to following this thread.
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Re: 2018 IMLP [natethomas] [ In reply to ]
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Also in. Also 1st IM. Not doing any tune-up races other than Escape Philly just because it's a big race for my team. Otherwise just riding the hills of Scranton until race day.
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Re: 2018 IMLP [natethomas] [ In reply to ]
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Well it's about f***ing time! (I kid, of course).

Alright, so let's break this down a little bit:

Pre-race stuff to know about:
  • On training weekends, watch out for people who insist that you swim the swim course the "right" way. Heaven forbid you swim from the historic spot...
  • Wait an hour or so after athlete check-in opens. It dies right down after the initial surge.
  • Riding and running in town is, in my opinion, batshit insane. I recommend trying to get out of town going reverse on the bike course to spin out your legs down the bears, turnaround on River Road, and come back on up. For running, again, avoid the main drag and do stuff further out on Mirror Lake Drive.
  • Bike check in is a gong show right at the start. I'd wait until a little later to go.
  • You can't go wrong with some Saranac Sourdough at some point in the weekend.

Race Day
  • Special Needs bag locations are a ways apart from one another. Somebody will usually offer to help run them for you.
  • The line for the air compressor gets huge. If you run a disc and forgot your crack pipe at home, go early. They tend to overinflate.
  • People start heading towards the beach bright and early. The area on the beach is small. If you want to be in the right seeding area, be prepared to head over early. Bring any last minute food/drink with you - the aid station doesn't get set up yet.

Swim
  • The swim course I find is more crowded on loop 2 with the rolling start. If you want to be right on the line, you can be. Just know that 3000 of your closest friends are also looking to be right on the cable too.
  • Breathing to your right is easier to keep an eye on the buoys.
  • It does wind up creating a little bit of a whirlpool effect with so many people swimming at once.
  • Water is super clear - so you can see the foot that is about to kick you in the jaw easily!

Bike
  • The hardest part of the bike course, IMO, is the climb out of the ski jumps. On loop 1 it's easy to hammer this. You know you've paced your first loop well if you hit this on loop 2 and it feels like nothing.
  • Look to your right at the ponds on the descent. If you see whitecaps, it's going to be an interesting lower part of the descent.
  • The descent gets steepest and curviest at the bottom. There is one right hand corner that feels like it will never end and tightens up a little bit at the end of it. If you don't hit 55 at some point you sandbagged it. Try again.
  • The stretch from here until the left turn in Upper Jay is false flat for the most part. It's easy to blow your race here. Don't.
  • The left to climb up toward Wilmington begins the "what goes down must eventually go back up" part of the course. You really don't get to ever stop pedaling from now until you're back into town. Seriously. This is where I find having done plenty of work on the CompuTrainer helps - because, well, you never get to stop pedaling.
  • Your first trip up from Wilmington will feel easy. You will regret that next time around.
  • There's an unnamed fourth bear after the three proper ones. You make the right turn at the top of Papa and, well, it goes uphill again. I dropped my chain here and ruined my race by fucking up getting the chain back on. Just be ready for it.
  • Special needs is at the skating rink. Be prepared - it's a right hand turn, and you'll likely need a lighter gear to come back onto course.

Run
  • It is so easy to overcook the first couple miles of this run, just because of the downhill out of town. Be prepared.
  • The ski jump hill is the devil.
  • River Road can be a sauna and miserable experience. Stay positive. Stay shuffling.
  • As other's have mentioned, the climb from Lisa G's doesn't stop until just past the brewery on Mirror Lake Drive. It is a soul-sucking experience.
  • This finish line is, in my estimation, the best in all of triathlon. Big crowds, plenty of love from everyone. Enjoy it.



Post-Race
  • You will feel like a truck ran you over. It's fine.
  • Do not follow my diet of a half pint of Ben and Jerry's and two bourbons.
  • You will wake up in the middle of the night starving. Have food ready.



I, too, will be at Quassy. Feel free to track me down and say hi (I'm pretty easy to spot with the Smashfest Owen Otter/Sonic aero kit. Quassy is the rare course where you can pretty effectively double the time and come close to what you're capable of for IM (simply because you cover so much climbing on the bike/run relative to the full at LP).

----------------------------------
Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter
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Re: 2018 IMLP [rrheisler] [ In reply to ]
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rrheisler wrote:

Post-Race
  • You will feel like a truck ran you over. It's fine.
  • Do not follow my diet of a half pint of Ben and Jerry's and two bourbons.
  • You will wake up in the middle of the night starving. Have food ready.

Wiseguys for a post race meal was right on point for me. They have a cheeseburger wrap that I ate at least twice over the weekend.

Plus it's close to the oval, so you can easily get back out there to cheer on others coming in later if you can.
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Re: 2018 IMLP [djhuff7] [ In reply to ]
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I had bought a Saranac Sourdough sandwich that was originally going to be my meal on Saturday night. It took longer than expected to put our signs out on River Road so we wound up at Lisa G's instead, where my then 10-month-old daughter decided she wanted to try eating fresh jalapenos.

At any rate, my fridge was appropriately stocked for my 2:00 AM "I MUST EAT ALL THE FOOD NOW" hanger attack.

I just dropped out of LP, transferred to FL (long story), but I'll be around to help sherpa folks all weekend long.

----------------------------------
Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter
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Re: 2018 IMLP [rrheisler] [ In reply to ]
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rrheisler wrote:
Well it's about f***ing time! (I kid, of course).

Alright, so let's break this down a little bit:

Pre-race stuff to know about:
  • On training weekends, watch out for people who insist that you swim the swim course the "right" way. Heaven forbid you swim from the historic spot...
  • Wait an hour or so after athlete check-in opens. It dies right down after the initial surge.
  • Riding and running in town is, in my opinion, batshit insane. I recommend trying to get out of town going reverse on the bike course to spin out your legs down the bears, turnaround on River Road, and come back on up. For running, again, avoid the main drag and do stuff further out on Mirror Lake Drive.
  • Bike check in is a gong show right at the start. I'd wait until a little later to go.
  • You can't go wrong with some Saranac Sourdough at some point in the weekend.

Race Day
  • Special Needs bag locations are a ways apart from one another. Somebody will usually offer to help run them for you.
  • The line for the air compressor gets huge. If you run a disc and forgot your crack pipe at home, go early. They tend to overinflate.
  • People start heading towards the beach bright and early. The area on the beach is small. If you want to be in the right seeding area, be prepared to head over early. Bring any last minute food/drink with you - the aid station doesn't get set up yet.

Swim
  • The swim course I find is more crowded on loop 2 with the rolling start. If you want to be right on the line, you can be. Just know that 3000 of your closest friends are also looking to be right on the cable too.
  • Breathing to your right is easier to keep an eye on the buoys.
  • It does wind up creating a little bit of a whirlpool effect with so many people swimming at once.
  • Water is super clear - so you can see the foot that is about to kick you in the jaw easily!

Bike
  • The hardest part of the bike course, IMO, is the climb out of the ski jumps. On loop 1 it's easy to hammer this. You know you've paced your first loop well if you hit this on loop 2 and it feels like nothing.
  • Look to your right at the ponds on the descent. If you see whitecaps, it's going to be an interesting lower part of the descent.
  • The descent gets steepest and curviest at the bottom. There is one right hand corner that feels like it will never end and tightens up a little bit at the end of it. If you don't hit 55 at some point you sandbagged it. Try again.
  • The stretch from here until the left turn in Upper Jay is false flat for the most part. It's easy to blow your race here. Don't.
  • The left to climb up toward Wilmington begins the "what goes down must eventually go back up" part of the course. You really don't get to ever stop pedaling from now until you're back into town. Seriously. This is where I find having done plenty of work on the CompuTrainer helps - because, well, you never get to stop pedaling.
  • Your first trip up from Wilmington will feel easy. You will regret that next time around.
  • There's an unnamed fourth bear after the three proper ones. You make the right turn at the top of Papa and, well, it goes uphill again. I dropped my chain here and ruined my race by fucking up getting the chain back on. Just be ready for it.
  • Special needs is at the skating rink. Be prepared - it's a right hand turn, and you'll likely need a lighter gear to come back onto course.

Run
  • It is so easy to overcook the first couple miles of this run, just because of the downhill out of town. Be prepared.
  • The ski jump hill is the devil.
  • River Road can be a sauna and miserable experience. Stay positive. Stay shuffling.
  • As other's have mentioned, the climb from Lisa G's doesn't stop until just past the brewery on Mirror Lake Drive. It is a soul-sucking experience.
  • This finish line is, in my estimation, the best in all of triathlon. Big crowds, plenty of love from everyone. Enjoy it.



Post-Race
  • You will feel like a truck ran you over. It's fine.
  • Do not follow my diet of a half pint of Ben and Jerry's and two bourbons.
  • You will wake up in the middle of the night starving. Have food ready.



I, too, will be at Quassy. Feel free to track me down and say hi (I'm pretty easy to spot with the Smashfest Owen Otter/Sonic aero kit. Quassy is the rare course where you can pretty effectively double the time and come close to what you're capable of for IM (simply because you cover so much climbing on the bike/run relative to the full at LP).



Ryan
That is about the best, most inclusive summary that I've read. Outstanding!

I'd also remind everyone that it's a LOOOOOONG way from the beach to the transition area.

I will look for you at Quassy.
Dale










Last edited by: dtoce: May 24, 18 14:15
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Re: 2018 IMLP [natethomas] [ In reply to ]
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Hi Nate

Are you in the 35-39 ?

That’s looking like a tasty group of you are - already aware of a couple of fast EMJ guys going

See you at quassy

Cheers Steve
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Re: 2018 IMLP [UKINNY] [ In reply to ]
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UKINNY wrote:
Hi Nate

Are you in the 35-39 ?

That’s looking like a tasty group of you are - already aware of a couple of fast EMJ guys going

See you at quassy

Cheers Steve

Getting old and will be my first year in the 40-44 AG. I know it will be solid competition, but feel like I have a good race in me.

Blog: http://262toboylstonstreet.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/NateThomasTri
Coaching: https://bybtricoaching.com/ - accepting athletes for 2023
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Re: 2018 IMLP [dtoce] [ In reply to ]
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Yes - it is about a 500 meter jaunt from transition down to the beach. If you have a pair of shitty flip flops, its not a terrible idea to bring them to dump after getting everything done in transition. When running to transition it's not bad, but it definitely hurts on the way over.

I also forgot to mention on the bike - be prepared for the wind to swirl. It can seem like you're into the wind for hours at a time. Last year we got really lucky with the light rain on the first loop and dry/cool conditions for loop two.

Also, be prepared for it to feel 15 degrees warmer than it actually is. 70 degrees in LP feels like 85 here in SW CT. If you're "lucky" you'll get to experience River Road conditions on miles 1-3 of the new Quassy run course, particularly if it rains Saturday and is warm on Sunday.

----------------------------------
Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter
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Re: 2018 IMLP [rrheisler] [ In reply to ]
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Pre-race stuff to know about:

  • On training weekends, watch out for people who insist that you swim the swim course the "right" way. Heaven forbid you swim from the historic spot...

Ya-this is ridiculous...


Swim it the way the race is, get the visual aides of where you are in the water...I shared a place on the lake with a bunch of Tri folks and we watched countless Salmon swim upstream, directly into other swimmers, argue all you want about how "they" should have been sighting, basically nobody sights, they use the wire...and nobody cares that you did the race "when" ...
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Re: 2018 IMLP [pots4] [ In reply to ]
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If you can't be bothered to sight, then you deserve to collide with someone. Go out, swim, sight, have fun. It's not rocket science.

It's an open lake. There is no "right" way to swim it until race weekend.

----------------------------------
Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter
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Re: 2018 IMLP [rrheisler] [ In reply to ]
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rrheisler wrote:
If you can't be bothered to sight, then you deserve to collide with someone. Go out, swim, sight, have fun. It's not rocket science.

It's an open lake. There is no "right" way to swim it until race weekend.

then swim up the middle and really make a statement--
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Re: 2018 IMLP [pots4] [ In reply to ]
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Been there, done that.

Now to really get people talking, go do a loop of the bike course in reverse. Or go riding up there on roads that aren't the race course!

----------------------------------
Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter
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Re: 2018 IMLP [rrheisler] [ In reply to ]
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rrheisler wrote:
Been there, done that.

Now to really get people talking, go do a loop of the bike course in reverse. Or go riding up there on roads that aren't the race course!

yup, have done that as well, probably 25 times...riding with traffic, not against it.
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Re: 2018 IMLP [natethomas] [ In reply to ]
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I'm headed up for my 5th IMLP. This is my IM #12 for the Legacy program as well.
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Re: 2018 IMLP [natethomas] [ In reply to ]
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I have raced IMLP twice and have also been there for a couple training weekends. Each time, I have reviewed Gordo's course summary/course tips and have found his feedback invaluable. Check it out in the Gordo archives here: http://www.byrn.org/gtips/imlp.htm

Good luck!
@Kid
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Re: 2018 IMLP [dtoce] [ In reply to ]
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Re: Breathing to your right is easier to keep an eye on the buoys.

If you prefer breathing to the left, you can swim to the right of the lane lines as long as you keep the turn buoys to your right. Another bonus is (a little) less congestion on that side.

@Atkid
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Re: 2018 IMLP [atkid] [ In reply to ]
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Last two years they've been instructing everyone to keep all buoys to their right. In part because they've been letting pros get that inside line for their second loop, and in part because it's just easier for them to course manage. YMMV.

----------------------------------
Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter
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Re: 2018 IMLP [rrheisler] [ In reply to ]
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My last race there was 2015 so:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd7tEsAuspA

Cheers,
@Kid
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Re: 2018 IMLP [atkid] [ In reply to ]
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atkid wrote:
I have raced IMLP twice and have also been there for a couple training weekends. Each time, I have reviewed Gordo's course summary/course tips and have found his feedback invaluable. Check it out in the Gordo archives here: http://www.byrn.org/gtips/imlp.htm

Good luck!
@Kid

Great advice - will definitely read that a few times before the race!

Blog: http://262toboylstonstreet.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/NateThomasTri
Coaching: https://bybtricoaching.com/ - accepting athletes for 2023
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Re: 2018 IMLP [rrheisler] [ In reply to ]
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rrheisler wrote:
Last two years they've been instructing everyone to keep all buoys to their right. In part because they've been letting pros get that inside line for their second loop, and in part because it's just easier for them to course manage. YMMV.

I did LP the last two years-both times I swam without issue on the right of the line, I ain't a pro...I was just off it, what I think they didn't want was people swimming "far to the inside" ...
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