Anyone going to be out at the Sandman?

Good luck!

I did the Rock 'n' Roll Half back in '06 but then took a long hiatus from anything even remotely healthy until a couple months ago when I got back on my bike. I've done a 5K since then... and it was 10 minutes slower than my PR from 2.5 - 3 years ago.

I'm going to keep plugging away at my swimming and try to find a sprint when I'm ready... maybe Giant Acorn in October.

Yeah, the Richmond Sprint is October 12th. It has a 400m pool swim so it's had my interest too... I had forgotten about it, though, when I mentioned Giant Acorn (Oct 4).

ooooh richmond sprint looks fun......maybe i'll do that too (or instead if i can't get my swimming down...)

I did Sandman and Richmond last year. Last year the Richmond Sprint was earlier so I did that one first. It is an excellent race for a beginner or someone who isn't a great swimmer. The Sandman on the other hand was not such a good event for weaker swimmers. The waves were a little crazy and I was just about spent by the time I made it out to the start buoy. Thats right the start buoy. I just turned and headed for the beach. A lifeguard asked me if I was o.k. and I said I would be fine when I reached the beach. Once I got to shore I just walked along the beach watching the others swim. When I reached the area everyone was getting out of the water I just joined the crowd and jogged to T1. I went on to finish the race (with a really good swim time). I would recommend that if you are going to try the Sandman to get in a lot of ocean swimming to get used to the waves. If all else fails and you find yourself unable to swim in the waves just do what I did. I am so glad I was able to do the Richmond Tri first. It was great the way they had the finish line set up it was like you were the winner of the race. They even announced my name and where I was from. I was really impressed. The refreshments after the race were also great. It was a great choice for my first Tri.

The sandman last year was my first tri ever.  The swim is definetly no joke.  With that said the current is a big help getting down to T1.  I wasn't (isn't) a strong swimmer.  I kept my head afloat and tried to stay out past the breakers and the current did alot of the work for me.