All-

So I completed my first sprint tri this weekend in preperation for my HI and had a ball, great results as far as I am concerned, I won't brag about them because ya'll don't care but I do have one question, the area that I struggled the most was the intial swim. We where not allowed in teh water till about 2 minutes before the start and then off we went so I had no warm up like I do when I do a running race. I struggled the first 1/4 to 1/3 of the swim just getting warmed up, finding a groove etc... Is there any way to get this warm up done som eother way/ I guess I can run a little but to get the hear tgoing but do most races let you warm up in the water first or are they mostly like this one where you start cold turkey? Thanks.

Thanks for the advice, much appreciated.

At Boise 70.3, the waves went off 5 minutes apart.  They shuffled the waves to the end of a big dock and after the wave in front went off, you were allowed to get in the 53 degree water.  Not nearly enough time to get over the shock of the cold water.  I got in and took a couple of strokes, forcing myself to breathe out.  In water that cold my body is telling me to hold my breath.

Try to get a 3-5 minute warm up in the water if permitted, especially in a spirit or an Olympic. A little less important for a half and almost downright silly for a full IM.