Ok, the title may be a little mis-leading, or is it? Here is the scenario: Subaru, puts on a damn fine triathlon here is southern Ontario, they also give the option for 'swimmers' to start in earlier waves. (wave starts are done by age group and there is usually 2 minutes between each start.) Personally, I hate wave starts, I'd much rather see a mass start and just let us hash it out. However, I'm biased because the swim is my best event and I get to avoid alot of the thrashing that occurs in the mid pack.
The problem with wave starts is that if you're a good swimmer, you very quickly catch up the wave in front of you and end up swimming up, over and around the poor slower guys from the earlier waves. So the question is:
If given the opportunity would you cede yourself in the early wave?
Pretty innocuous question, but remember this is coming from a guy who will actually put on his brakes in a race to avoid even looking like I'm drafting. I try to race ethically well and I can't help but wonder if cedeing yourself in an earlier wave is .. well.. ethical. I suppose ultimeately I'm the one that has to live with decision and if there is any ambiguity, I should just start with my age group and be done with it. The flip side says, the opportunity is afforded to anyone who can swim 'fast', so it's not like you are being given special treatment. The two advantages you get by cedeing early are: no swim traffic to deal with and a cleaner T1 transition with less people being in front of you on the bike.
I'm still not sure which way I'll go, but by this time next week, I better have it figured out.
What do you think??
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3 comments:
Here's my two cents: it ain't cheating if you can keep up. Rolling in a wave that's above your capability is going to lead to two outcomes, neither of them good (trust me, I'm the slow swimmer here, so I know).
1. You'll get dropped and end up doing the distance on your own, doing all the work on your own and frying before the ride.
2. Alternatively, you'll find a nice little draft pocket, settle in and swim like you've never swam before, again doing more work than you've trained for and frying yourself before the ride.
By the time you get to a race with wave starts, you should have put in enough metreage to know what your split will approximately add up to, and seed yourself accordingly.
Again, it's not cheating if you can keep up. Cheating would be being listed to go in wave #3 and getting a six-minute headstart by going off in wave #1.
On an unrelated note, any suggestion for PBO accommodations? I'm in.
I would seed myself in the early wave, but I wouldn't cede anything to the slower swimmers.
Or were you speaking some Canadian dialect that I don't understand? ;)
I hate mass starts. I'm just a wittle girl.
Doh. That's what I get when I proof read it myself.
Thanks for for the 2 cents you two. (or is that to?, 2?, too?)
Cheers!
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