Ironman Swim - Tips, Question for IM AZ
Hey everyone, i know people fret about the first Ironman swim. I know I am with IM AZ approaching next weekend. I guess, what do I expect? I've done an olympic iron and a half iron with a wave start. I got pretty beat up in the wave start since I started in the second to last wave and caught tons of slower swimmers, and had lots of slow swimmers swim ACROSS me. Yes, very strange. I can only imagine an IM is much worse. But for how long? Is it 500M? 2000M? Entire way. I plan on swimming a 1:05 to 1:10 based on my RR (1:08 in a pool for both RRs, which is painful)
Also, what's the best place to start for IM AZ? I've heard start slightly to the right from center, and probably slightly up? My concern is that I don't want to start too far back and get slowed down significantly by slower swimmers. I'm imagining a 1:05 time would put me in top 1/3. So do I risk it and start in the top 1/3rd of the line? Is it worth it to go out a bit harder in the first 3-5 minutes to fight off the crowds? Any advice for this newbie would be awesome!
And lastly, I have a full wetsuit and a sleeveless. Ive done both my tris in the full and have yet to swim in the sleeveless. I've been restricted in the full compared to swimming in the pool, but just wondering what people would recommend? Bite the bullet in cold and go sleeveless or just be more restricted with the full? I will have a test swim on Sat before the race to try either/or out.
Thanks everyone in advance! I appreciate the help!
AA
Comments
Based on your estimated time, I would suggest you start towards the front (as far up as you are comfortable but no more than 5-10 people deep). Like all IM races, the swim is crowded from most all starting spots - I started right of center last year but not sure if makes a big difference. My swim time is about the same as yours and I started about 15 people deep last year. The first 5' of the swim was mostly head-up crawling with the crowd. It was a good 15'-20' before I could get into a groove. You might save 1-2' by seeding yourself closer to the front. I wouldn't worry about going hard in the first 3-5' - you have a long day ahead of you. Get in your groove, breathe easy and don't swallow the dirty water.
Go with the long sleeve as long as it is comfortable. I don't think many people complained about overheating in the frigid lake
A longsleeve is always faster, as well as warmer. It may feel awkward; making sure the sleeves are pulled way up around the shoulders can make armstrokes feel a little freer.
See this thread for a comment from Terry (half way down the first page) about his observations from the shore during last year's race.
If you are swimming a 1:05-1:08 you will be in the top 3rd of the field. I would line up about mid way between the buoys and the shore about 2-3 rows back from the front. Its better to get swum over by the few fast people who line up too far back, then line up to far back yourself and have to swim over people.
Also would recommend the full suit as well -- The water in Arizona can be a little cool.
Since I am a newbie, can any of you explain the best way to get into those positions in the morning? Do you need to get in the water early? Just swim by people before the gun goes off? My concern is that I tend to have stomach issues from nerves before a race, so I usually time it to go in pretty late.
My plan is to do 3 rows back and center. We'll see what happens. From all the videos I saw on youtube of the past two years, that does appear to be the fastest area! What about suggestions on the turnaround? Is that going to be a clusterf*&k no matter where you're swimming since everyone has to turnaround at the same spot and it probably converges?
Thanks again everyone!
Adam - and anybody else curious about how the swim entry works at IM AZ:
The entry into the water at IM AZ is a bit problematic. Of course, as at all IMs, you must pass across the timing mat, and if I recall, that's basically coming out of the transition area. The problem comes in that they hold all the AGers until the pros get lined up. The entry spot is a little dock just west of the bridge. There is no easy entry, as this is not a true lake with a shallow entry; its more like a pool which is ten feet deep, so most people are plunging in one at a time.
Here's what I did last year with good results. I made it a point to get to that dock very early, near the front of the herd. Since the air temp is in the 40s, getting your wetsuit on sooner rather than later is a good idea, so you can stay warm. Then I moved to the right, rather than going in at the west end of the dock, where most people were plunging in. I went as far as I could on the dock, then I eased into the water, looking for a little ledge on the concrete wall to stand on (it was underwater about 12 inches last year, but may be above water this year.) Then, I slid along that ledge as far as the bridge. The ledge was slippery with algae last year; it may be smoother this year. Once I got to the bridge, I just hung out there (basically out of the water) until about 12 minutes to go. I got in and swam "warm-up" near the wall (on the south side, near the tall buildings) out past the start line, then turned around to check out the crowd. I headed back in to the area that seemed to have the fewest people in it - about a half way from the bouy line on swimmer's left towards the wall on the right. I eased into the crowd, and treaded water about 3-5 people back from the front. My time was about 69 minutes IIRC for reference.
See the above referenced thread for my comments on the route I took during the swim itself - the course curves, and it's possible to swim the tangent rather than the radius, to shorten the distance.
I guess at some point I must stop over thinking - this is only about 5-10 minutes of an ironman time we're worried about here
Adam, you'll do great! You're obviously a strong swimmer, so your focus should just be to relax as much as possible in the swim and not waste any energy. You're right when you say that any trouble you encounter will add up to peanuts compared to the total time you'll be out there that day.
Take the advice to get up in front. I think you should be able to get up within 3-4 people of the front of the line. People do tend to get nervous about placement at the swim starts because they're like you, afraid of getting edged out at the start by slow, flail-ly people. You should be able to gradually move forward through open spaces as people tread water and drift, but if not, don't stress. Also, you'll find that plenty of people hang back on purpose because they don't want the scrum. On TV it looks like you're packed in like sardines but it's not that awful.
In mass starts, you'll often find that you push through a group of swimmers about 500 meters or so out. These are swimmers who took it out way too hard and then fatigue and slow. The trick to swimming in crowded water it to sight all the time so that you can see all potential obstacles in your path and plot a gradual line around them. I breathe every three strokes and if I'm in tight water I'll combine each breath with a peek at the water in front; so, it's 1-2-sight, 1-2-sight, 1-2-sight.
With regard to the turn buoys, I would swing wide. You'll always find a huge bottleneck there and the risk is that you'll get pushed up against the buoy or, worse, the anchor cable.
Good luck!
What others have posted is sound advice and based upon experience. It is always good to have a Plan B! If you find two much traffic, head for the center. I'm not a terribly fast swimmer and for my first IM, I hung back to let everyone climb over everyone else. It was a good vantage point to see the field split in two directions. Huge numbers headed towards the wall (right) while the other huge group migrated towards the bouys. That left the center the path less travelled. So if you run into traffic, head toward the center to potentially find open clear water. In retrospect, hanging back 30 seconds did not impact my overall day. ALSO, don't forget to look for someone of equal ability and hang on their heals (drafting).
Have a GREAT race! May the wind be at your back and you execute your race using the 4 Keys!
Rich Miller
Except for the bridges, which are about a mile apart, there is very little in front of you on the way back to draw a bead on for sighting. That's why almost everyone either follows the (curving) buoy line, or the (curving) right (north) side wall. Last two years, I've tried to swim a straight line instead of following the curving course, and I found NO feet to draft off of (1:09-10 swim time - probably even less crowded @ 1:25).I'm pretty lucky in that I can swim a straight line very easily, but if you are direcitonally challenged in open water, the left (buoy) or right (wall) side is the only real help on the way back.
On the way OUT, it's another story - there are plenty of people to bounce off of (and sight off of) no matter where you set up to start.
thanks all for the tips in here, good stuff...
question, generally speaking, do the weather forecasts for the local towns & tempe show the usual high winds?? problem is there is some cloud coming through and winds are only showing at 3-5 mph....
Winds during the last two years during the bike have been 0-8 mph, really a non-factor. AZ's rep for winds is based on April weather, not the new November dates. So far, it looks like Sunday will be a "cool" day, with temps reaching maybe to 70 - ideal for running. As to wind, I think it's too early to predict whether that will be a factor, but I really doubt that it will be anything scary for the bike. Meaning, use a disc wheel if you've got it and keep your head down at all times.
@Scott - We'll see if I fixed my zig-zag this year w/ all of Coach R's swim drills!!