Swim..

Swim: 1 hour 28 mins 50 seconds

As Luke and I were floating waiting for the gun to go off, we really couldn't hear any official count down and next thing i know i saw athletes taking off and swimming and then heard the horn. Being as i was wide left i did feel some people creeping up on me as soon as the swim started which i figured were the faster swimmers that still happened to be towards the back. it wasn't too long and i noticed my speed suit was rubbing the back of my neck so i kept messing with it and pulling on it but i couldn't get it comfortable, i even stopped briefly to try and pull my tri jersey up to cover it but that didn't work either, i knew if i didn't fix it some how my neck was going to be rubbed raw before the end so i quickly unzipped it about 4 inches and it opened the neck line up taking the rubbing away, YES! I kept on swimming and next thing i know i am making the turn around the 1st buoy and still not really a washing machine effect. there was plenty of swimmers and drafting going on and i worked to grab a foot after making the 2nd buoy. this worked for a while until my drafting guy slowed down and i passed him. The water is sooo amazing and clear, you could see all the way to the bottom, the fish, the reef. I would even site the buoy, draw a line on the ocean floor and follow it for much longer than any other siting i have done in open water. At this time the current of the ocean is also giving a nice push and swimming is just going great. This was the long section of the course and swimming did seem like it took a while and i even started looking for the 3rd main buoy and nex thing i know there it was.. it was really a submarine. Made the turn around it and swam to the 4th buoy to turn left and head home, here is where i really experience the most swimmers. I have caught up with many and now we are on the main line heading home. I tried to swim a little towards the right to clear the swimmers but there was just more and i notice looking under water that there was many heading for the exit so i just held my line. Coming into the final few hundred meters everybody picked up the pace i was swimming with and I was soon reaching for the stairs!!! I crawled up the stairs, stood up and looked at my watch, which is in one of my pictures and the look on my face is WHAT!!

T1: 7:32

The run down the dock to the showers was a long ways and here is where Luke tapped me on the back as he ran by, Luke! I yelled. It was great to see him other than running out of the change tent I wouldn't see Luke till the run. I stopped in the water shower and tried to rinse off a lot b/c I knew the salt on the body would not be a good thing and I was not looking for "Salty Mixed Nuts". I grabbed my change bag, ran into the tent and found a nice spot in the corner where i quickly got my bike gear on and out the door i went telling Luke to "hurry up, this ain't no rest home!!" I ran to my bike, turned on my Garmin, put my Moeben arm coolers on and away I went.

rockon'