I will be racing Coeur d’Alene this year and have read approximately a dozen reviews and not a single one had a positive opinion about the swim. In fact, many claim they feared for their life. lol I have a handful of questions:
Has any one come across a positive review on the swim? Please share. Or does any have their own personal review of the swim that is fairly positive?
The reviews I read were mainly of middle of the pack swimmers, which typically get caught up in the mess anyway, but a few were from some decent swimmers (1:00 to 1:05 times - not great, but not bad with the conditions). Are there any reviews or tips from stronger swimmers? I am a 1:00+/- min 2.4 mile swimmer…not first out of the water, but typically in the back of the first group… I am working heavily on sprinting for the first 400-500 and then settling into my pace in hopes of being ready to pull away from some of the group. Besides that, is there a good position on the beach to be in to lesson the chance of getting stuck on the mess?
Let me also add, I don’t think I am fast enough to make an initial breakaway affective, unless the work I put in over the next few months really pays off.
Love to hear everyone’s thoughts on the coeur d’alene swim.
i’m normally about your range and had no issue with the swim when i did it - conditions were pretty good that year and my only complaint was it was cold. My swim time was exactly where i expected for my fitness
Thanks Zulu, that is what I was looking for…it’s been hard to find any positive experiences on the swim. Can I ask, where did you start on the beach and did you find it more, less, or the same as any other race to break away from the majority pack?
It’s a long beach so people tend to spread out - if you are in the 55 min range start where ever you like:-) - as a relatively strong swimming i always take the shortest line when lake swimming
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I’m a lot slower than you, but I started on the far left and made my way slowly toward the buoy line once the fast guys cleared out. I had n problems. The water was chilly. I recommend getting in a short swim to acclimate to the cold the two days before the race assuming you’ll be there by Friday.
After the first turn everything was smooth sailing.
I’ve had worse contact and washing machine in local sprints where everyone is gunning from the start. The width of the beach as CDA made the start much less hectic than I had expected going in.
Definitely get in the water a day or two ahead of time. For mental reasons more than anything. I hopped in two days before the race and the water was cold and really choppy. I would have freaked if I wasn’t mentally ready for this on race day (it was my first IM). That being said, besides the cold water, everything (including to time) went according to planned. After the first turn, it went pretty smooth.
I have done the swim at CDA 3 times and dont know why people complain other than the cold water. I’m slower than you (1:11) and had zero problems, my only advice…
Going back out on the second loop it gets really choppy, just be prepared to battle a bit more chop than the first loop.
If you go wide of the turns by a few feet you will miss the scrum. Last year was the first year I tried this and it worked great, I didn’t even have to stop once.
Thanks that helps too. Like I mentioned above, I am pretty confident swimmer, but reading all the crazy reviews and watching the videos on youtube of the entry, i was starting to psych myself out a bit. This helps
Cool, thanks. I think I am good on the cold too. I am “lucky” enough to swim in pacific all year round and throughout the winter, so I good with cold water. In fact, prefer it, because I know it shocks other people.
I have done this swim twice and it isn’t that bad. As mentioned above the water will be cool so getting a swim in before the race helps. Also the tip on going wide at the turns worked great as well. I was 10 feet wide of the first turn and was able to watch people swimming over each other while I had no one close to me. I started in the middle both years because there is a large wood pole sticking out of the water that everyone tries to avoid but it means that you have pretty open water. The lake is pretty clear and the mountains make for a pretty view as long as you have tinted goggles because once the sun comes up over the hill. All said it is a triathlon so there will be some contact but it is no worse than any other race.
The cold water and chop should be the least of your concerns. The swim is just overcrowded and nasty. It ranks as the worst triathlon swim I have ever done. The second loop was even worse than the first. I managed a 1:13 (36/37 splits) and it felt like I was in the water forever because you never get a chance to relax and just swim. It’s like you are always fighting and working. At one point I remember taking 8-9 strokes and was never given the chance for a breath as I was completely covered up by bodies.
The rest of the course is awesome. Just harden up and know it is gong to be a less than desirable swim.
And for the breakway? You, along with 1000+ others have the same plan. Save your energy. I still think it is a relatively fast swim. Call me crazy, but people say the far side of the beach is the faster approach to the first buoy due to the curved angle of the beach near the buoy line. Others say the inside is faster. Who knows.
I did it a couple years ago, and my time was like 1:09. Started at the far right side of the beach, sort of in the middle-back of the crowd. I had just a few stop and goes on the way to the far buoy, where I got virtical and got kicked in the groin by someone just in front. Zero issues after that when I was mostly by myself. My advise for you would be to start from the right side of the beach near the front to minimize being blocked by slower people, and swim wide around the turn like people mentioned. Also, the right side of the beach does probably offer the shortest distance to the first turn, as I felt I swam faster during the second loop (the swim exit is at the left side of the beach) but my lap times were almost identical.
I have done it twice. The water can be pretty cold, 1 yr did with a neoprene cap and the other with just 2 swim caps. Get down by the entrance when the Pro’s line up because it can be a bit of a pain after due to all the spectators. Don’t get in the middle of everyone like my first race there, I was hammered the entire first lap. 2012 I was all the way inside and followed the buoys just to the inside. Not a lot of draft but also didn’t have people trying to drown me… Both years things open up on the second lap, but this year the wind really picked up and the 2nd lap was tough. For sure get in as much as possible prior to the race, unless your already swimming in mid-60’s (f) water. Also, hope you don’t have to change in the tent, the layout is small so both times I just changes in the grass outside, much quicker… Enjoy, it’s a great place to race!!!
I did it this year, the water was pretty cold-around 55-60 degrees but being from up north I didn’t mind it too much.
The main issue was that they wouldn’t let the Agers in to the swim area until the last pro finished their first loop.
This meant that at 6:50 am 2800 people had to find their swim start position in 10 minutes. This being my first IM in 4 years I went as far as you could go to the right. I think I was the last person on that side and when the gun went off I had free water, line of site to the first buoy (about 800m in just over 12min). This turned out to be a pretty good decision for me. Ended up swimming around 1:02 (30-32) which was pretty good for my swim shape at the time.
The swim is just overcrowded and nasty. It ranks as the worst triathlon swim I have ever done. The second loop was even worse than the first. I managed a 1:13 (36/37 splits) and it felt like I was in the water forever because you never get a chance to relax and just swim. It’s like you are always fighting and working. At one point I remember taking 8-9 strokes and was never given the chance for a breath as I was completely covered up by bodies.
For comparison, what other IMs have you done & what times? Thanks!
I love that swim! I’m a little slower than you (I did a 1:05) but started on the far right and had zero issues with crowds. I had plenty of space from the moment the gun went off, though I took the turns wide cuz I could see there would have been some contact if I chose a tight line.
I didn’t use a neoprene cap or booties both years I raced CDA, and I won’t the next time I go either.
CdA is my favorite race and I love the city. Done it twice and much slower swimmer than you… Yes the swim can be crowded unless you are a faster or slower swimmer, but it is a mast start with 2500 people.
No problems the first year as I started far right. In 2011, I started in the middle and felt never felt like I got into a good swimming rhythm for the first lap. I couldn’t catch a good draft and felt like I was playing bumper boats. But nothing unexpected. This wasn’t my planned starting point for 2011, but the beach start was more crowded than 2008 and I didn’t get a good spot. Again, nothing unexpected since several hundred more people were racing than in 2008 and it was bad planning on my part for not arriving a few minutes earlier.
Water was around 53º F on race day in 2011 which was pretty cold, but again expected. Water has been decently calm both years I did the race, but have swum in the lake in rough condition during px swims… The lake is beautiful and probably one of the cleaner lakes. I did completely change in T1 so I could start out semi - dry clothing and took me until about mile 30- 40 on the bike before I felt my toes, but again nothing too bad or totally unexpected.
I have had the fabulous fortune of doing CdA 3 times, so far. I love that race and the people. Further, it is my family’s favorite destination for a summer IM.
When I was younger I was a 55-60 min IM swimmer. In recent years I am now closer to 65-70 min.
In 2007 the CdA swim was made “optional” about 10 minutes before the start due to severe chop…it was like a wash tub; however, it was probably the most congenial swim I have ever been in…we were all in it together. Time was 68 min. Water temp high 50s. In 2009, again a good bit choppy, water temp in high 50s - time 69 min. In 2011 it was cold - 54 at start and 52 at the turn - but I had no problems at all. Time 68. Average swim times maybe about 2 to 3 minutes slower for me.
You ask for a “trick” - I have 2. 1) those wax ear plugs really work. They keep you warm, and you don’t have any equilibrium problems coming out of the water. 2) start far right…it is a long beach/start area so I go way down to the end. It adds nothing to the distance and really reduces the fight. There will be 1 or 2 fast swimmers who go way over there with you so you have someone to draft/team up with.
that helps too. Like I mentioned above, I am pretty confident swimmer, but reading all the crazy reviews and watching the videos on youtube of the entry, i was starting to psych myself out a bit. This helps