Race Report : 2007 Ironman Coeur d'Alene : Swim

A year ago I was here in Coeur d'Alene it was summer. The air was warm and the humidity a little higher than anything I'd had trained in. Race day last year brought (see last year's race report here) high temperatures and an introduction to one of the most beautiful courses that I've ever seen.

This year the course brought early spring-like conditions with air temperatures in the low 50's to low 70's, and a 8-12 mile per hour headwind. Of course the more observant amongst my readers will ask, "How can there be a headwind the whole way?" I ask the same thing.

The lake wasn't the smooth glassy surface that I remembered from the year before. Instead we were greeted with an uneven wind chop that produced 1-2 foot white caps depending on the day and time. Conditions were such that as of the race start the swim became optional, with those who wished, an opportunity to work the day as a duathalon beginning the bike at 9:30am. For those of you out there who know me, this wasn't an option worth considering. I didn't come all this way just to bike and run. For those of you who don't here's a little background. I've been around water for a good bit of my life and would tell just about anyone that I'm a fair swimmer. However in open water conditions with a mass of people around me that are kicking and clawing their way forward, I experience a little more anxiety than I'm used to. As a result my swims are a little slower than my pool times would reflect. This time around, the messy conditions did a fair job of seeding the field, pushing those unused to ocean swimming around the course. Many of my team reported finding huge pockets of open water. I was not one of them. I seemed to follow several swimmers who were having a rough time. At almost every chance I had to pass some one would swim cross and close out my path.

That being said I was remarkably more comfortable in the water and despite the water conditions and traffic I finished the swim four minutes faster than last year.

I hear that back in LA while we were in the water rumors were circulating that the swim was cancelled. Rest assured it was not. Though close to 35 people opted out.

Stay tuned, more reports to come.