In 3 short weeks I do my first half ironman, it will also be my first open water race. I know I’ll be in the mens 35-39 wave, which is going to be pretty competitive. Now the swim is my worst event, I expect to be out of the water in around 40 minutes on a good day, a little more if it’s tough.
Any suggestions on where to put yourself in the wave when you’re standing on the shore? I am clueless on this and don’t want to get stuck in a whole group of fast people and get swum over and beaten about.
My first half (Eagleman) I started at the rear of my wave (35-39). I had to pass a number of people and got passed by a few. I finished in 41 minutes. I would start somewhere near the middle or towards the back but not all the way at the back. Good luck!!!
The swim goes clockwise, so the first buoy will be a right turn. As a slower swimmer, I usually start off to the left so that I don’t get killed by the fast guys who will undoubtedly take the shortest route to that first buoy. I also like being on the left because I usually breathe to the right so it helps me keep an eye on other swimmers (mostly useful to help me from going too far off course).
The start is actually a standing, in-water start, so don’t expect to be running like a madman off of the beach. Lake W. is usually very pleasant that time of year and at that early hour. If it’s sunny, the low sun can make it a bit difficult to see the buoys in the middle of the swim course. In that case, you can use other swimmers to try to keep you on course (don’t worry, swimmers from the waves behind you will be catching up, so you’ll have a pretty constant stream of people around you). In any event, relax and enjoy. The swim will most likely be the easiest part of the day.
To this day I still hate the first 2:00 of a triathlon. I have been a swimmer all my life but still hate the crowd. I always try to start on the outside to avoid as much traffic as possible. It may add up to a minute to my time so if I ever come within a minute of winning my AG I will reconsider my strategy.
As a male in the 30 -34 AG, I have been in some pretty big mass starts. Timberman is really more of a pussy cat as opposed to a lion (Eagleman for example). Because of the right hand bouy turn +/- 1/4 mile things will sort themselves out rather quickly. The most underswam line at Timberman is the one to the right of the bouy line (towards the shore). Spot off the folks to your left. Because of the wave starts you will have people coming through as you make the final turn home, here keep wide and you will allow the fast folks to swim the most directly line, thereby leaving you unscathed.
