HI,
I was hoping for advice on the swim for Lake Placid IM. I was up there for a few weeks ago and I definately zigged and zagged more than i thought humanly possible. By the looks of the lake and how narrow it is i am assuming the other swimmers around me will keep more or less in line.
that being said- my guess i will be a 1:50 swimmer-(obviously not a good swimmer- couldn’t swim a lap a year ago) any advice of where to line up to have the smoothest swim possible if there is such a thing? Right now my plan was to line up to the right - wait on the beach of 2 minutes if i can hold myself back then go- staying away from the underwater cable on lap 1. On lap 2 my guess all the real swimmers will basically be so far ahead of me that i can pick a straighter line . what do u think? i am stressing out about the swim
thx!
Absolutely wait on the beach for a couple of minutes and then get started. You’re going to get lapped at some point though, so be prepared for everyone to catch up to you. You “could” keep an eye behind you now and then and when the pack starts closing in, just move to the outside to make room for them. Take your time and enjoy the experience!
x2 on staying out to the right. There are so many people though that you will end up swimming beside people at some point. Can you breath on both sides ( ie every 3rd stroke ) this will help you keep a straighter line. Also every ten strokes or so take a look ahead and see if you are on course. Pick something in the distance and swim to it ( I believe there is a boat house at the far end that would be good ).
FWIW, I thought it was more crowded at the cable on lap 2. Last year, I didn’t wait on the beach, but stayed right on lap 1. Pretty clear the whole way. I moved toward the cable on lap 2 and it was very congested. I’m a 1:10 IM swimmer.
cool thx for the responses…i can only breath to the right - so that wont really help me i guess. Sounds like it will RIGHT andwide the hole way- wich i guess probably goign to add soem distance to the swim…thx for the advice
Last year was my first time racing Lake Placid, and I too am not a very fast swimmer (1:37:xx last year). I started about 15 yards out from the rear beach (parallel with the starting line) roughly in the center of the beach. Once the gun sounded I slowly started up towards the line, but it probably took 3 minutes before I got to the actual start line. By then the crowds had thinned out, but there was still some congestion the first 300-500 meters. Nothing too bad, and most people were doing everything they could to avoid other swimmers. I was aiming to stay off the bouy line (and underwater cable) until the first turn, but I was able to get over it with about 200 meters to go on the first “out” section and it was fairly clear. Just before the end of my first lap I got lapped by a few of the pros, but no major difficulties. On the second lap I just got with people going the same pace I was and drafted for a while, and if they got too slow I passed but then got back on the underwater cable. All in all it was a good swim and I wasn’t pummeled nearly as bad I many of the people who lined up closer to the starting line.
If you have time, I’d recommed swimming at least 1 lap in the lake a few days before the race to get a feel for the water and practice your sighting. I did an easy lap the Friday before the race, mostly alone in the water, to practice sighting and get an idea of the landmarks that I’d see during each portion of the lap. It also tremendously helped my confidence and made me much more comfortable going into race morning. As somebody else said, if you can’t follow the bouys there is a beach house that is useful for sighting the way out, and the dock and the swim exit are good for sighting on the way back.
Absolutely wait on the beach for a few minutes at the start. You won’t be alone. Given the number of entries and the small start area (for an IM) you’ll have a lot of company. And by beach, I mean the grassy shore directly behind the start line. At 1:50, you’re going to be in the last 10% of the field coming out of the water. That means about 2,300 people should be in front of you. Let them go!
Stay right of the direct line unless you’re getting really lonely, on the first lap. I don’t have a lot of experience at the back of the pack, but up front it’s brutal for a slow swimmer (as in the case of wave starts). Given the mass start, I’m guessing about a third of the way down the first straight away, you’ll probably be able to move closer to the line without too much contact/conflict. If not, don’t worry. Mirror Lake water is pretty clear, you can sneak looks underwater to your left as you swim and mark bodies. No need to sight, just keep those bodies to your left at the same distance and you’ll be fine.
Pro’s will be on their second lap before we start, so no worries there. You’re looking at ~55 minutes first lap, some age groupers will be finishing around that time, so figure on starting to get lapped somewhere around the middle of the return long straight away. Again, you probably don’t want to swim right on the bouy line, these guys will be really fast. Swimming inside the bouy line would probably be a good option as they will be right on the line.
Second lap should be really quiet if you really are a 1:50 swimmer. Be aware though, a lot of people seem to swim faster here than they think. Something to do with 2,000 people pulling you along in a small lake perhaps. Anyway, you should have plenty of room. Snce you breathe right, I’d advise to swim just inside the bouy line, mark the under water rope (it’s not a cable actually) and keep an eye out for the bouys (the wind tends to blow them about a bit).
ok thx! - maybe inside the cable line on the way back- def ddin’t think of that…thx for all the repsonses!
FWIW, there will be a decent current to the right of the cable/buoy line on the second lap. Most people try to swim a tight line next to the cable (both inside and outside), but I found that the best way to catch the current and avoid bodies is to swim about 10 feet away from the cable (keeping it to your left). Even if you breathe to the right, you can keep the cable in your periphery when your face is down in the water.
I was in a Kayak for the swim last year and it gave me a very different perspective on it than racing. First off, last year they did not let anyone swim inside the buoy line. Also, when people talk about swimming “wide” of the line on the return leg they are talking about 10-15 feet wide of the buoy line. If you are 20 feet outside the line a kayak or surf board will shoo you back in toward the pack. It feels far more spread out when you have your head in the water than it actually is. After the first 3 buoys or so, anyone could have had all the clean water they wanted if they moved over about 5 feet. It is going to be hectic and there is going to be a lot of contact no matter what. If 500 people stay in the back on the beach and in order to not run into other people you are still going to have a 500 person wave starting pretty much at the same time. Same thing with going wide and angling in at the start. Once everyone intersects it is going to be crowded. Just is. There is plenty of room in the lake. Enjoy.