The Swim & T1

The Swim: Noelle, Cindy and I filtered into the swim chute just around the time the National anthem was being played. I swam out to the 'ski ramp' and was going to start the swim semi-near the front of the crowd (maybe about 20-30 feet from the front line) and just a tad 'wide'. The plan for the swim was just to keep it loose and swim steady. Not going for any speed records here - is just a 'warm up' for the day. We bobbed in the water for about 4 to 5 minutes until the cannon fired. And we were off!

Lining up at the swim start
The first minute required you to swim heads up - to see what the heck was going on. Imagine arms and feet just flailing, causing the water around you to be one big, bubbly mess! The course is a 2-loop rectangle, and the first length was just pandemonium. Who cares about swim technique here...just survival!

The best part of the swim was looking out at the Menona Terrace, that was lined with people from top to bottom! Was so amazing to see all those bodies...which I'm sure they were thinking the exact same thing as they looked at all of us, flailing in the water.

The top of Menona Terrace - Spectators
The absolute worst part of the swim came at the first 90 degree turn. Everyone descending on one small point, attempting to change direction was just like a whirlpool! I made it around the buoy and just kept going. A couple times I literally had to stop, tread water for a bit to allow stupid people to get out of the way, and then I would curse at them (not that they could hear me...but it made me feel better). At the end of the first loop, I checked my Garmin and saw I was at 33 minutes...which was below my expected split. Loop two, I decided to take it wide and swim out a bit from the crowd. This allowed me to have about 5-10 feet of open water in front of me so that I could actually do a proper swim stroke. What a concept! It was still crazy at the 90-degree turns, but then I got back out to my spot with open water. I came into the final stretch and swam it into the finish chute. A volunteer helped me out of the water as I glanced at my watch. 1:12 was my split - I was very happy, as I had estimated around a 1:15 for my time, based on my Half Ironman swims this year.

Next, I ran over to the wetsuit strippers. Down I went, and off came my wetsuit - the coolest thing! I grabbed my wetsuit and started running up the helix to the T1 area. I got a big yell from my two cheering groups on the helix and then headed into the Terrace.

T1 Transition: In transition, I grabbed my bag in the convention room and went into the changing room. I decided to change every 'sport', so had to get out of my wet swimsuit and into my bike uniform. I for some reason didn't have any 'helpers', so it was a bit tricky to put on the sports bra and uniform top by myself, slightly wet. I got it done, put on my bike shoes, belt with my bib number, and helmet and headed out the door. Collin was my 'sunscreen' guy - who wiped me down on my arms and legs and then I was off to grab Pink Lightning for the 112 mile bike ride. I saw Jake and Team IronJen as I was heading to the helix to ride my bike down out to the course. They were cheering loudly and pumped me up! And then the bike leg began...here is where the endurance of this race actually starts!

Jen and Pink Lightning on Bike Out