Ironman 70.3 Steelhead : Official Thread

Hello. Very nervous first timer here. Last year my nerves got the best of me and I decided not to come the Thursday prior. If the freestyle becomes monotonous, can we swim breast stroke for a few to regroup? Are there enough people to spot the newbies?
Besides attending the Athlete briefing is there anything else to help me? Trying not to let my anxiety take over again.

My coach always tells me to trust my training. It will be my first 70.3 too. So, know you are definitely not alone. You can do whatever stroke you need to do to get to T1 by the cutoff. There was an olympic distance race I did where I wasn't really prepared for the cold water. I let my nerves get the best of me and ended up doing about 600 meters of breast stroke. So, whatever you need to do to accomplish your goals go for it! There will be a lot of support. I know it is a self seeded swim start. So, make sure you seed yourself appropriately and you will have plenty of athletes with the same skills and goals as you. Good luck!