Ironman Japan - Swim

At a certain core, primal level I am simply scared of open water.  There is something ominous about the ocean and each triathlon I have done has entailed an effort to overcome my fear.   Eight years ago I entered my first triathlon and struggled to deal with panic and merely complete the tiny 400 yard course in a calm California lake.

So my 1:27 swim time at Sunday's Ironman is my biggest triumph of the day even though the swim is widely considered the shortest and easiest component of the Ironman. 

I was remarkably relaxed prior to the swim.  Fortunately the ocean was very calm at 6:30am, though it would get choppy later.   The temperature of the water dominated pre-race discussions, but I found it a non-issue (19 degrees is plenty warm).   Ironman Japan is a deep water start and I had been concerned about needing to tread water for awhile, but when you are wearing a wet suit in salt water you can  float indefinitely without expending much energy.   I inadvertently positioned myself in a good position for the start on the inside of the inner rope and when gun went off  I was not immediately caught in the "washing machine" effect of hundreds of swimmers thrashing and kicking each other.  

The Ironman Japan swim course is essentially an out-and-back course that the athletes complete twice.  At the first turnaround my inside position worked against me as I tried to maneuver around the buoys with dozens of other swimmers crawling over me. 

Much of the swim is a blur of struggling to avoid colliding with other swimmers and thus be able to focus on the techniques our Swim Squad coach Greg  emphasized.  As the swim progressed the water became rougher, and the second return leg required more effort to catch a breath and see the buoys.   Oddly, the two hardest parts of the swim were:
1.  The section between the two loops where athletes run around a cone on the beach and re-enter the water -- I thought I was going to throw up and it felt good to be back swimming again
2.  The final 300 meters.  I could hear the taiko drummers on the beach, but it seemed to take forever to finish the swim.   Later I learned that their was a current along the shoreline pushing against us.

It seemed to take forever to finish the swim.  But my swim pace on Sunday was much faster than any other triathlon I have done even though the distance was much longer.  At the Wildflower half-ironman it took me 47:29 to complete 1.9-kilometers in easier conditions.   It was nice to finish the swim in almost the exact middle of the pack and see so many bicycles still in the bike racks during the transition, unlike my earlier triathlons where my bicycle looks so lonely..