ME, Ironman seems ludacris.

I remember treding water beside the pier at IMH in 1989 at the start of my first IM. I was actually very nervous. Despite training and racing triathlons for 8 years to that point, I was rather anxious about being able to go the whole way! It seemed ludicris to me, despite all that experience, training and racing I had to that point.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

Mark, I was going to ask your thoughts of the swim being canceled but Na, that would not be nice.

Dave

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

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Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

I was in the race today and I think think that I would have been fine swimming and I am sure the Chris L. would have been fine swimming. That being said I think it was the right call with the amount of "newbies" in the field. I would estimate the waves at around two feet and I think slot of people would just get lost in that kind of water. Also, I don't think that any of the smaller boats could have held their position effectively. My biggest beef is that I really don't think that the organizers had spent any time at all on this backup duathlon plan. They pulled off gettig the race going but of was very bootleg.

wow. Really glad I couldn't make it now! I would have been pissssssed off if the swim was cancelled. I dislike running once, never mind twice!

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NCCP certified Comp coach

very well put.

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"I'm happy when life's good,
and when it's bad I cry.
I've got values but I don't know how or why."
- The Who

 "I think it was the right call with the amount of "newbies" in the field"

So they dumbed it down for the masses,

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All great truths begin as Blasphemies.

Very well put. Thank you for posting this.

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"It is not the great things we do in life that really matter, it's the small things we do with a great heart..."-Mother Theresa

the water was really rough the rd made the right decision. Big white caps + Lots of newbies--the three guys next to me on the bike rack it was their first triathlon.

It was a 2 mile run on the first part of the bike course which resulted in another bike course change and a short bike leg -- my computer showed 54.5 miles, lots of bike prs

the three guys next to me on the bike rack it was their first triathlon

My previous post is ringing a bit truer. I rest my case.

A 1/2 IM as their first triathlon? Where exactly are these guys getting their direction?

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

If the RD took the "newbies" money then I don't feel sorry for the RD. It always about the money.................................

Steve is right on this. It was 7 years of racing before I did an Ironman, then another 10 before I did another one, then another 5 before the last one....none of them very fast. Not saying that schedule is for everyone, but I had lots of experience in the sport and was still nervous before all three.

I DON'T at all begrudge folks wanting to challenge themselves with the long stuff. I DO think that they would actually have more FUN, and have a little more knowledge, if they built up to it over time.

And...alot of the "big" races are too crowded. Is it time to have a hard limit and then charge accordingly? If the fields still fill we'll know one thing. If they don't...we'll know another.

Doesn't matter who is signed up, if you are goimg to cancel the swim because of 2 foot waves you should not plan a race in lake michigan. Can't always tell who is a newbie by looking at them or entry form so how exactly can that be taken into account. I would be pissed if I was racing. I agree that it is silly to jump into long distance but if done right can be fine. To enter a race with a 4k open water swim never having swam more than 2k is insane.

I also raced today and am one of the ones that would have rather seen a swim, and I had the bike course at 54 miles. If they do not limit the registration, I will never do this race again as there were FAR to many people. I will be interested to see how many people got drafting or position penalties. It was almost a 56 mile pace line out there and the only way to not draft was to just pass everyone which is what I tried to do.

I am not sure when Steelhead became a IM. Steelhead is a half with only a 2K open water swim.

1st tri was a HIM? Damn... I just figured out how to latch on to some faster feet and stay there this season, and I did my 1st in 2000 on a MTB.

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If I don't, who will? -Me
It's like being bipolar in opinion is a requirement around here. -TripleThreat

Yes you are correct but I was responding to Flecks story about a lady at IMFL

Canceling a triathlon swim should only be done for unexpected conditions. For any tri swim that is true open water swim (i.e. a major lake or ocean), 2 or even 3 footwaves are not unexpected. This is normal for the course so anyone who can't handle normal course conditions has no business signing up for this race.

I did Steelhead a few years ago and have thought about going back, mostly because i like swimming in the big lake. It's kind of like doing a ride with an epic climb. I actually seriously enjoyed the fact that even 24 hours before the race you did not know if the water would be 58 or 75 or flat as a pool or you'd have to deal with some surf.

But based on what happened today, I would never do the race again. The only unique feature this race has has been rendered meaningless by the massive number of wusses they now let enter.

Yep, I agree with you. I didn't try a half until my 3rd year in the sport. These guys today said their goal was simply to finish and they all seemed pretty happy the swim was off as they feared it the most.

I think its time to start having qualifiers for 1/2 distance....complete an Oly or something.

I think it was 2005 at Big Shoulders 5K open water swim in Lake Mich and the waves were crazy, throwing you into the wall crazy and 400 or so of us were swimming 3.1 miles with no wetsuits (USMS rules, although you could swim with a wetsuit in a different division). Our warning was be careful, lol.

SOR this year, had cold water and they pulled the bouys in to make sure you could touch bottom in most sections...for 250 bucks at S.H let me swim!!!!

The waves here are at least 10 feet?

I agree with you. Did the race last year , LOVED the swim, as swimming in the midwest is typically muddy lakes, and the great lakes are awesome places to swim. Now it is unlikely I go back if they will cancel the swim over chop/waves - that's what open water swimming is all about. The bike and run can be challenging with terrain, why is it so wrong for the swim to be challenging also? The swims are already way too short in races of every distance, we should all be able to at least be able to deal with a little challenge on the swim if we are going to put ourselves into a race.

The bike course was way too crowded, I was in wave 14 and had to sit and soft pedal many times because people would not get over--I kept telling people to get over, most would say sorry and move over..one guy said f u! To have that many people on an open bike course is insane! Not a great experience climbing over folks for 56 miles but it is what it is, and we all keep doing these races and paying the $250.