Those of you who were not there and try to talk about how anyone could have done it and anyone who was pulled or pulled themselves after the first lap shouldn’t have been there, are jerks yourselves. It was a tough swim. And I grew up surfing and swimming in Santa Monica and Malibu. Anyone who finished it should be very pleased, regardless of how long it took you. And for the record, it took me 1:26:52. Not fast by any accounts, 7 minutes longer than last year, but good enogh for the start of a long day.
Here are two images of the lake. The first was during the race, the second was on Tuesday Morning before we left town. What a difference!
I totally agree, the swim sucked! Every time I went for a breath, I’d either catch a wave or an elbow. I’ve got over 20 races under my belt and this was the roughest swim I’ve ever done.
Here’s another photo of the swim start that my son took. (Yes, those are whitecaps in the background):
This was my first IM, and I am not a swimmer by any stretch 1:52 and lapped by the pros.
I swam 4 days per week all winter to get through this swim, and I almost quit after the first lap. The cold, chop, etc. The mess out at the 1st turn was a nightmare big swells, chop, elbows and kneecaps. After I talked myself into going back out for the second loop, it was VERY easy comparitivly speaking.
The funny thing is I have had no respect for lake swimming before this year because I swim in the Ocean 7 months per year with some pretty good surf.
However the turn on the first lap made the big swells and surf LA and Strawberry fields look small.
I left CDA yesterday as well and that lake looked like it was laughing at us!
I commend anyone that took the option of the Duathlon or pulled out during the swim. The decision to offer a Duathlon option was made a mere 20 minutes before the start of the race and was not done lightly. Think twice and then a few more times before you make a decision for over 2,000 people.
Whilst we may get bashed in these forums, please remember that it is your interests and ultimately your safety that effects the decisions we make.
I personally have coordinated hundreds of swims and come from an extensive water safety background and can tell you that was the most challenging of conditions with white caps, 20+ mph winds and low 60’s water temp.
For those of you that finished the whole event or Duathlon option congratulations for a tough day at the races.
I didn’t take the Duathlon option, but I commend you and the other race officials for making the offer. The swim was tough, a lot tougher then the images show. However, I know that I am not the only participant that appreciated the fact that the choice of a duathlon was offered and the swim wasn’t completely canceled. The option provided for safety and still allowed those “prepared” for the rough conditions to do the full thing.
Your post is a good one. But I will tell you that almost all of the people I spoke to did not hear about the option (Not that I would have taken it, because I am a stubborn, pig headed, triathlete who made a decision to attempt (and fortunatly complete)a second loop that could have killed him).
But in terms of safety it is better to error on the side of caution, and for that you did an EXCELLENT job!
I concur with the other posts. This was my first IM, and by far the most challenging swim I’ve ever done. Going into the race, I was hoping to swim a 1:20. I ended up swimming a 1:36, and was happy just to finish the swim.
However, I was very glad that they offered a duathlon option instead of canceling the swim altogether. I would have been very disappointed if I had trained for all of these months and not gotten to do the full Ironman.
the swim was in a bay portion of the lake, with the turn around being in the open area. The closer to shore ie where these pics were taken, the calmer the conditions. Out at the turn around it looked like open Ocean 20 miles off of shore.
Very rough!
does anyone know how it compared to kona this year with the surf? i seem to remember 6’ rollers in the ocean, resulting in very slow swim times for everyone.
was the wind worse?
Have been surfing for 20 yrs and doing tri’s for 10 yrs. With the combination of cold, chop, mass start that was by far the toughest swim I have ever done. Swam a 1:23 and was probably well into stage 2 hypothermia by the time I came out of the water. Took a dip in the hot tub and then 40 minutes of riding (arm and leg warmers) before I started to warm up. Congrats to all who took on CDA it was tough.
i thought cda’s swim was far worse that kona last year. the ocean swells were easier to deal with than the lake chop that pounded you all the way out to the first buoy. the water was also about 20 degrees colder. my cda swim time ended up about :30 slower than kona.
Congrats to all of the competitors that braved the elements. This type of situation is a wake up call to anyone thinking of doing an ironman and maxed out in a 2.4 mile pool swim.
My CdA swim was almost exactly the same as my Kona swim, but I’m not sure you can compare the two. Kona was much easier, except for that imfamous wierd current that hit at about 45 min. CdA was tough the whole time. In my 16 IMs I thought the CdA swim bike combo was the toughest I’ve seen.
You got any hair left, or did you pull it all out?!?!
I think that was the roughest IM swim I have done and thank you guys for all your efforts, expertise and execution. I’ve done 12 IM’s, including Moo last year, which was way rougher than Kona, and I have never seen chaos like I did at the first turning buoy. When I poked my head up at the turn, I saw at least 6 swimmers hanging on kayaks for rest breaks, and I am an hour swimmer!
