I'm in! 2nd IMFL, I can't wait to get back on that course. Two of my freinds also got in. They have never even done a tri, yikes. I'm going to try and convert them to EN.
I'm going with a bud who's an Iron Virgin, too. I plan on diving into all of the EN group stuff so he better be ready to hang and drink the Kool-Aid, especially when he connects the dots with the results!
I recently did the a HIM(B2B), However not a great swimmer, hence I need a wetsuit. Would any of you recommend this race for not a great swimmer. Just started taking swim lessons in 2008 of November. So still learning and this is a ocean swim. Will the tide, current kill me on the swim part? Any thoughts, as this would be $1200 entry fee for me. My swim time was 33 min for the half, but incoming tide really helped me.
Posted By stephen chappell on 07 Nov 2011 07:56 AM
I recently did the a HIM(B2B), However not a great swimmer, hence I need a wetsuit. Would any of you recommend this race for not a great swimmer. Just started taking swim lessons in 2008 of November. So still learning and this is a ocean swim. Will the tide, current kill me on the swim part? Any thoughts, as this would be $1200 entry fee for me. My swim time was 33 min for the half, but incoming tide really helped me.
Hi,
I've done FL twice so there are my experiences. Both very different in the Gulf.
First of all, everyone wears a wetsuit, so no worries there.
The story of FL is always the wind. The first year I did it, I called the Gulf the "roiling, boiling cauldron of death." It was SO windy, and the . water was just WILD. At one point, I looked up to sight, and so did the woman I was swimming next to. She looked over and said, "what is going on?!" We were both in this really weird eddy of swirling water with a vortex in the middle. The water was slapping all around up, but this whirl was calm. It did, however, carry us a ways off course. I was never scared, but it was one weird swim.
The next time, the water was much calmer, and the swim was pretty uneventful. It's not like a lake, so there is water coming at you as the waves roll in, but nothing you can't handle. I love that swim, and it's one of the main reasons I so much want to go back to FL. A thousand times better than murky Lake Monona in WI. Yuck.
IMO, the swim is about mind training as much as physical training. If you train yourself to KNOW you can swim in the Gulf, you'll do just fine.
I'm in for IMF #2! @Steve This is usually a decent swim but can be rough. Although I think it can be easier than a lake swim as you are more buoyant and in a wetsuit. Plus you have plenty of room to line up wide if you want less contact, not possible in some lake swims (Placid!)
Stephen Chappell, I hope the plan will work! As I would not do this Ironman Florida without your great ideas! After completing HIM 2 weeks ago in good time, I now have great confidence in what you guys put together! Thanks
Comments
I'm in! 2nd IMFL, I can't wait to get back on that course. Two of my freinds also got in. They have never even done a tri, yikes. I'm going to try and convert them to EN.
Gene
I'm going with a bud who's an Iron Virgin, too. I plan on diving into all of the EN group stuff so he better be ready to hang and drink the Kool-Aid, especially when he connects the dots with the results!
I'm in for IMF #2! @Steve This is usually a decent swim but can be rough. Although I think it can be easier than a lake swim as you are more buoyant and in a wetsuit. Plus you have plenty of room to line up wide if you want less contact, not possible in some lake swims (Placid!)
Was gooing to make it a half year and Do Wildflower then try and Qualify for Vegas but maybe I'll make this my backup if I don't qualify.