IM St. George (Page 2)

 

Actually, when the race first started it was fine. The wind literally came out of nowhere. By the time the waves first started hitting us, I would put us at about 15-20 minutes out. So from there, you're kinda committed. I thought it was boat wakes at first and was wondering why the stupid rescue boats were making waves right on top of us.

Really though, no warning on the blow and it stuck all day thru the bike.

Friday was awesome, today is awesome. Just caught a weird blow day on race day...

Edited by gwbuild 2012-05-06 7:23 PM

Some of, or maybe a lot of, peoples anger is directed towards the amount of folks who cut the course but managed to get to the boat ramp, went over the timing mat and continued on WITH their chip. Being on the boat and seeing this was kind of stunning. I truly like to believe that folks bailed across simply to reach safety and did not intend to cheat but when they came up the ramp and no one took their chip they continued, but they know they didn't do an honest swim.

We watched one girl swim along the shore side of the big rock, go up the ramp and continue on. She's was far from the only one. For this reason when they offered to let me continue chip-less, I went on. If their letting people cut and keep their chip why not let people go on without one.

Wow Suzanne, thanks for posting.  Sounds really scary out there. 

Thanks for your post Suzanne. I knew it was bad, and I heard rumours of up to 400 people being rescued (including two by scuba divers (safely)), but it's moving to read your description of how things actually were on one of the rescue boats and after.

I suppose I'm a reasonably strong swimmer, and I was fearing my life when the waves started hitting. If this would have happened last year there is no way I would have tried to push through it. Like gwbuild, I thought the first few waves before the turn were rescue boats leaving wake. It didn't seem that bad until right after that turn.

I feel very lucky to have made it through that.

One note about people missing the buoys is it was very confusing out there because, on top of all the other chaos, some of the buoys had dislodged and weren't in the correct places. Distance perception was very difficult. For instance, on the long leg into the wind, I stayed right of a buoy then immediately saw another one that I would have had to make a sharp left turn to get close to. I thought it was way to close to the one I just passed do I held my line. Someone to my right saw the buoy and did hang a sharp left directly in front of me. I knew that wasn't right but then I couldn't see any buoys beyond that (when the waves weren't blocking the view). That's when I realized the buoys were moving so, as others have said, I used the rock island as a guide and did my best to negotiate where I thought the course was intended to be. Based on the course map, I knew the course was supposed to go a little ways past the island, but when I got past the end of the island, I couldn't see the large turn buoy at all. I just kept swimming straight (I think) and figured I would see it eventually. Then I saw people in a boat to my right waving their arms at me and telling me to turn. I stopped and looked around and saw the turn buoy was pushed almost over to the edge of the island (at least it looked that way from my angle) and I was a ways past it. I was far enough that by the time I turned, I went outside the turn buoy and the yellow buoys coming in to the landing ramp, but I don't think the angle was right. I'm sure plenty of people hung a left at the turn buoy (wherever it was at that particular moment) and headed for the shore inside of the yellow ones leading to the ramp. It was just difficult to tell which buoys were out of place, especially for those who hadn't done the course with bouys before. At any given time, people could only see a fleeting glimpse of the course, if anything at all. I'm sure some people cut the distance and had a feeling they were doing it and others might not have done the course correctly despite giving it there best effort in chaotic circumstances. Heck, i might be one of them. I figure I was at least close to where the buoy was supposed to be at the turn, but I have I have no way to be sure because it wasn't there and I was being told to turn by the boat. At the same time, I wouldn't be surprised if someone told me I was short. I also might have zig zagged from buoy to buoy all they way down the long leg of the course. At 25+ minutes past my expected swim time, I didn't know if it was just the waves that cost all that time or that I swam too far or if it should have been even slower because I swam too short. I gave it my best effort to be true to the course and I'm confident most others did the same because that's how IM competitors roll. I think (and saw) people really did make an effort to course correct and get around the buoys but it was crazy and confusing out there.

Brad

Sorry for the darn no paragraphs phone formatting above.

Insane conditions. From looking at a pic that bryancd put up I believe I may have been another pulled out....crazy.

Why couldn't IM see this coming in a detailed weather report?

Glad to hear no one died. Crazy.

Here is another blog entry with a couple short video clips. Sounds like this guy was frightened for his life a little and he was in a power boat.

http://sabrosacycles.blogspot.ca/

I just read Iron Cowboy's blog on the race - it's a good read if you have the time.  Website is called triandgiveadam - gives a perspective from a really good triathlete but racing with his wife in her first Ironman - she DNF'd but what a trooper!

Forecast was winds of 8mph. Weather in the high desert can be very unpredictable in terms of wind. Mountains, canyons, and high desert plains with no trees to block the wind, it can get a head of steam going and wham! My wife and I can be out sitting by our pool and suddenly a 30mph gust slams into us out of nowhere and then it's gone.

....and for the pro start, it was gorgeous.  STILL calm and gorgeous when the AGers went out.  WHOOSH at 7:12-15 - it was unreal, and out of nowhere.  and it lasted........

Oh my God, that is so funny as the EXACT same thin happened to me! When we first moved out here to AZ back in 2003, we lived in Scottsdale. I drove out one day to hike a trail in McDowell Mountain Park which is past Fountain Hills. I wasn't familiar with the town, just drove through on my way to the trail. Anyway, I am out there on this 15 mile hike and suddenly out in the distance I see water shooting hundreds of feet in the air! I also couldn't see the town and didn't have enough sense of directio to even recall where the town I drove through was. I thought I was hallucinating! Then as I drove back i came to the town and noticed it's name, Fountain Hills. Ahh, that must be it! And then I saw the lake where the fountain is and put it all together. Too funny! Yeah, we LOVE Fountain Hills and live 1 mile from that same fountain, whicis one of the highest in the world and goes off at the top of every hour.

How do we get a St George 70.3 thread?