SwimSmart Feedback from IMCDA Folks?
We've had our first execution of the Ironman SwimSmart initiative with the conclusion of 2013 Ironman Couer d'Alene.
Based on the info from Ironman live, it took just 15 minutes to put all the athletes into the water at Ironman CDA. And the results, according to tri data enthusiast Raymond Britt on his blog, suggest that swim times in 2013 were not only faster than 2012, but faster than the average of every year since 2010.
But speed isn't everything (I say to a forum full of folks who love carbon fiber like it's oxygen)...
...I would really like to hear what veteran IM athletes think about how the swim played out compared to previous races. Any and all info welcome...thanks!!!
0
Comments
They made a fairly big deal about it in the athlete meeting and stressed that there was no point in trying to "game the system". If you were a slow athlete you were not gonna get more time by self seeding in front. The new rule basically says you have 17 hours from your start to get home. If you crossed the timing mat at 6:45 AM, you had until 11:45 PM to be off the course. That being said, they kept the finish open and Mike Reilly did his thing until Midnight. So, maybe some people got a finishers medal, but the computer will show them as DNF if their total time was over 17 hours. Basically, no way you could start and 6:45 AM and then finish at 11:50 PM before the midnight deadline with a time of 17:05 and be an official finisher.
All that being said, let's talk about execution. They set up corrals like a marathon start. The groups were "Sub 1 hour" (some were calling them the Dominos Pizza Group - "60 minutes or less"), 1:00 - 1:15, 1:15 - 1:30, 1:30-1:45, over 1:45. 9:20 AM was still the official cut off time.
The beach was open all morning for warm ups and splashing around. The Pros went off at 6:00 AM and 6:05 for the women. Shortly after the Pros were gone they asked that we start getting organized. Once we were seeded, they removed the ropes. There were no barriers or dividers now. We were now a mass of about 2300 people tightly packed and organized by ability down the beach with the swim start inflatable with timing mat at the East end. When the gun went off at 6:35 AM, the human mass surged through the narrow timing arch in one big wave. Think about the movies when army paratroopers jump out of a big plane in mass. It was like that.
I thought it was efficient, safe and still awesome to behold. I am a reasonably strong swimmer. I seeded myself near the front of the 1:00-1:15 group. According to the official race results, that seeding had me in the water 44 seconds after the gun went off.
My RR open water swims in the SoCal ocean had me at about 1:06 so I thought I was fairly placed. My time at CdA was 1:07. That was good enough for 404 overall. I still worked hard for the first 300 meters and had a few bumps and brushes, but no worse then any wave start I have done. I swam the first lap in 00:32:36 and the second in 34:32. I think the difference was the hard start and then a combination of perhaps fading a bit with settling in on the second loop.
I also don't think the course was short. Certainly not in a meaningful way. Those splits are on par with my other 1/2 Iron swims. My Garmin file from my 910 is here. It shows 2.7 miles with a little bit of zig-zagging, for what it's worth.
I think one of the contributing factors to faster times in addition to the start was the water temp. It was 61 degrees. The water was warmer than the air at the start. I was in a full suit with a neoprene cap and was completely comfortable. At the end of the swim, I was nice and toasty, in fact. I didn't hear a soul complain about the water temp.
As far as the impact on the race, I am probably out of my depth as a rookie mid-packer with no goals of a podium slot, but I don't think it impacts the race. There is a lot testosterone that is saying this kills Ironman for them and that the battle at the start is all part of it. I don't agree that you need to survive a massive human scrum to be an Ironman. That may piss some people off, but it's just my opinion. It doesn't really matter. It's here now.
Look at how the NFL protects it's players with rule changes. It's just how things go in sports and it's probably for the best. I would feel terrible if someone's IM dream went down the drain in 30 seconds after a year of training because through no fault of their own they got kicked in the face or elbowed in the jaw. Now they are out before they even got started???
If you want to feel like you are really racing the people on the course, seed yourself to the front and then don't let anyone pass you. If they do, look at their leg and decide to mark them or not. Or start last, and work your ass off to catch every man on the course....
Can someone remind me, in prior years, was IMCDA a beach start or an in water swim start?
He said everyone else loved the rolling start.
The bike was also fairly clean, didn't see any big groups staying together. People around me were playing it straight.
Dino and I did a race report podcast for his IMCDA race and we spent a good bit of the podcast discussing this new swim start protocol. The podcast will be up early next week so be sure to check it out.
Did he discuss falling on his face? If so, I will listen to it. That was pure gold!!!