I would agree with the assessment of not the size of waves but lack of rhythm. You would be swimming along with no waves and suddenly big swells. I drank a lot of lake water. I'm not a great swimmer and my time was about 10 minutes slower than usual. Hard to believe that many people bailed being afraid to get in the water.

As other have said the swim was rough. The two days before the lake was flat calm so definitely was not expecting those conditions. But its lake Michigan. You never know how she is going to act. Just walked down there and its flat calm again today. Debated about putting on the wetsuit right up until I entered the water but ultimately glad I didnt. Swim was only 6 minutes slower than best 2k time and 2 minutes slower than target time so cant complain too much.

Bike course was very fast. As a flat lander (coastal NC where you can do 100 miles and maybe get 50 ft of elevation change) there were a few hills that I struggled up but nothing major. Some of the roads had pretty rough seems in them and I saw quite a few bottles that had been ejected from the bumps.

Run wasnt bad. Some have said it was a little hot. Training in NC summers with 100% humidity and heat indexes of 100+ the weather here was a dream. Aid stations every mile or so. The run through the whirlpool campus jogging bath was a little weird but shaded so that was nice. That HILL we got to do twice I walked both times. But after that it was all down hill to the finish.

Overall great experience for my first 70.3. Goal was anything under 6:00 but hoping for closer to 5:40. Finished in 5:22!

I totally agree about the rhythm. I tracked a couple of friends from a top AG and through spectrum of MOP. Their swim times were all over the place compared to their norm and pretty matched what you said.

I also happen to observe this on my swim on the other side of the lake yesterday in Chicago. The swells/waves weren't terribly high, but unpredictable from the boaters, jet skis, etc. I saw okay triathletes swimming tossed all over the place by the swells. There were a few "real" swimmers (looked like former collegiate swimmers, all without wetsuit) that swam straight as an arrow.

Steelhead will be a early season race next year! June 30th! Z

I agree rough swim. What cracks me up is people posting that there were 5-6’ waves. It was 1-2’ chop by my approximation. I was only 1.5min slower than last year on poorer preparation.

Bike course was nice. However I felt like I was never going to get to the turnaround in South Haven.

Run was brutal. Sponges would have been a nice touch. Hopeful that a June race day next year will make things a little cooler. I know it’ll greatly increase the odds of a wetsuit swim.

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Is this race moving up in the calendar due to the inclusion of Traverse City?

Yes, they mentioned that date change at the athlete briefing! Is not official tho!

According to Tom Z it’ll be June 30 next year. Hopefully that’ll bring slightly cooler run temps but as always Lake Michigan will be a wild card.

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It was definitely a slow swim across the board. I drank a lot of that water too but it kept me pretty well hydrated going into the bike. The swells weren't overly bad, there seemed to be a little current against the majority of the swim. I swam 2 days earlier in the lake for a good open water practice and was about a 11 sec faster/100 at about the same effort. That also included a wetsuit. So, the swim was definitely slower but it wasn't the worst I've seen and I think a majority of swimmers giving up or being pulled from the water had more to do with lack of preparation rather than anything else. It was a great first HIM and the volunteer support really impressed me. That hill on the run was tough. At least most of it was shaded. So, I got a little time to cool off as I walked it.

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https://www.strava.com/athletes/23685202