Wow that was a crazy weather day! And perhaps your friends just handle cold differently than you, and if it had been crazy hot you would have been fine and they would have been lying packed in ice. There is always something that can make for a DNF on the day. The only thing to do is try again, so it's good to see you have a next race all set up.

That's unfortunate luck to have for your first 1/2. Try to stay positive about the experience and use it for motivation for your race in September.

My brothers both finished, and they've also both sworn that they're never even going back to Burley ever again.

Sounds miserable. Is that typical weather? When I'm doing my last 100-miler this weekend in 90 degree heat, 70% humidity, 20mph winds, and cloudless skies, I'll think of you.

Ya, cold tolerance is pretty individual. I did a sprint in similar conditions and can't imagine being out there for a full 1.2 - Yikes!
Yup just move ahead and focus on the next race - bet you will have a much more enjoyable day!

I did a race last year, fortunately was an pool swim. Weather was not quite that bad.But on the bike my feet got so cold they froze. when I tried to get off my bike, one toe went straight down while the other four stayed up. Broke the toe I think, but it was so frozen I didn't feel it until the turnaround on the run. That was a painful drive home.

Don't feel like a failure. If this was easy everybody would do it. I'm sure you'll kick a$$ in September.

Cheers.

you take what the day gives you and do your best and that was a brutual day. sorry it didn't go as planned but glad you're ok.

sorry the water was miserable. tough conditions! i'm sure september will have much warmer water.

My buddy did this one and took 6th overall. He's done more triathlons (IM, HIM, Oly, ...) over the last ten years than I can count, and he says it's one of the toughest things he's ever done. T1 took him over six minutes because he had no feeling in his hands and feet.

Big props for finishing the swim.

By the way, it snowed up there today. :)

You got out of bed at 5 in the morning and swam 1.2 miles in those conditions. Try telling that to anyone you run into today and see if they call it a failure. I guarantee they'll consider you a stud. I'm from southern Idaho and know how cold it can get. You've got my respect. Kick ass in September!

Bummer to have such terrible weather for your first 1/2! It's not uncommon in this part of the country this time of year, unfortunately. I just took my Team in Training team to Wickiup for a practice weekend for the Pacific Crest Tri and here's a warning to anyone doing that tri this year: the water temperature was 52 degrees! And that was in the shallow, relatively warmer part, not out in the middle where it got even colder. And it was 34 degrees in the morning hours.

Unfortunately, weather is not exactly predictable - a race that can broil people one year can freeze them the next. Kudos to you for getting in and and braving the weather and giving it a good try, even if finishing was not in the cards for you.

One thing that's a good idea is to know your own weather limitations. With Raynaud's syndrome, you may have to stay away from colder waters and early season tris, and aim for the later summer months as your primary season. Personally, I overheat easily in hot temps, so I mostly go for spring and fall triathlons as my favorite races. Also, some folks I know use those little instant hot pads if they have a hard time warming up hands and feet after a cold swim.

Best of luck to you in your next race, hope the weather cooperates a little bit better for you!

Now that cogirl has explained what a wonderful experience this was, I guess I had better post my race report. Like ChunkyB said, I did waddle through this, but I am in no hurry to sign up for another race this long or make another trip to Burley for that matter. The race was actually run and supported very well (except for the fact that they mispelled the word "conqured" at the top of the race shirt). The biggest neg was something that couldn't be controlled, the weather.

Like cogirl said, it was cold and windy. I was looking forward to a nice, easy course for my first half distance, but the wind and the cold were really discouraging. The swim was supposed to be down stream in the Snake River, but the wind was blowing white caps back up stream. At one point, the lane line they were holding as the starting line broke and the little individual floaties were floating upstream instead of downstream. Oh goodie. The water was really cold and my brother and I were the only ones I saw wearing shortie, water-ski style wetsuits. We did spring for neoprene caps and I am glad that we did. Once we got started, the swim was not really that bad, just cold and choppy. A lot of people were pulled out of the water and even more walked along the shallow water close to the bank. I was looking for a sub 40 split, but didn't make it against those waves.
Swim - 46:33

The absolute worst part of the day was, strangely enough, getting out of the water. The 40 degree temperature and 30 mph wind really chilled me to the bone. I had a hard time getting dressed and started shivering uncontrollably. My hand and feet were totally frozen. Finally, I gimped my way onto my bike.
T1 - 7:45

The first 25 miles or so of the bike leg were directly into the wind. Oh man, not so fun times. I had gone well over 5 miles before I could shift gears normally. My fingers were so frozen that I had to mash the heel of my hand into the shift levers. At two hours, I had only gone 22 miles. Also, nobody told the farmers to turn off their sprinklers in the 30 mile an hour wind, so I got more water than their potato fields did. After about 25 miles we turned cross to the wind and had a nice climb. It was so much better than the head wind and my toes finally started to thaw out. At around 30 miles, we turned with the wind. Oh, yeah. I was finally enjoying myself. Before I could barely go 12 mph downhill and now I was having a fun time cruising along at 30. I sat up high and held onto my top bars and just sailed along. It was kind of funny to pass these expensive tri-bike and I wanted to tell the riders to get up out of their aero bars and enjoy the push. I wanded to do a 3:00 to 3:15 bike, but there was no way.
Bike - 3:43:17

I had been carying cement at a scout camp earlier that week and my back was giving me trouble when got off the bike. The volunteer catching my bike asked if I was doing the aquabike because I wasn't hurrying over to my shoes. "No," I said, "I just can't walk or stand up strait right now." So I streached out a little bit and got started with my jog.
T2 - 3:30

I wanted to do a 2:10 run split and was doing pretty well for the first half. Then, I died. Seriously, died. my legs really did not want to move much longer. I was going slower, but I was still going. I didn't stop to walk until about 9.5 miles, but then I just embrased the walking and the relief it brought. I ended up walking for a couple of minutes every half mile or so. My buddy from work saw me just before I got to an out and back turn around at mile 10 and waited for me and we ended up finishing together at a nice, slow pace.
Run - 2:31:33

Total - 7:12:49
141/209 overall
21/27 age group

I was kind of hoping for a 6:15 or so, but the wind hurt me on the bike and I think I overestimated my training and fitness as well. Anyway, I'm glad it's done and I'm looking forward to cheering my wife on in her first Oly in a week and a half.

CaptainMal - don't you have a date with ChunkyB in Burley in late July?

[quote=callco]CaptainMal - don't you have a date with ChunkyB in Burley in late July?[/quote]

Naw. My wife was going to do that one, but I got bumped off of pureelectronicevil.com (active.com) a few times and then the race filled up. She is doing Cache Valley in a week and a half instead.

Just read that the ITU world championships in Vancouver, Canada, cancelled the swim for the age groupers and turned it into a du because the water was too cold.

I have been training on my bike indoors because it hasn't stopped raining here for the last month.

Where is this global warming I keep hearing about?

[quote=callco]CaptainMal - don't you have a date with ChunkyB in Burley in late July?[/quote]

What kind of family do you think this is?

Yeah, I'll be racing alone in Spudman, not just because I'll be behind everyone else. But, I have been inspired by their race, and I've been praying for good weather every day.

I have your global warming here in the upstate of SC. We reached 101 and 102 on Mon. and Tues. of this week. Pool water feels like bath water and it is only June.

I will be doing my training for the Sprint and Oly indoors soon on the Bike and Run not because of cold but because of heat and humidity.

It is suppose to be low 80's not 100's. Boo weather.......

Yep, Cincinnati is far from chili as well...we've been in the mid 90s for 7 of the last 8 days or so, which has led to some vicious thunderstorms that pop up quickly, especially last week. But at least we didn't get the flood rains like they did just 50-60 miles west of us in Indiana

Yeah Vikingman was very very tough this year. I averaged 11.5 miles/hour for the first two hours of the ride, and my brother beat me by over 1/2 hour. But it was worth it for the shirt!

Wow... Raynaud's syndrome... now I have a name to go with my purple fingers in the winter...

Great job toughing out the swim. You'll do great in September.

Don't sweat it cogirl3. Like people said everyone handles tempatures differently. I HATE the cold in anyway shape or form. I always struggle in colder races (although nothing like you had to endure) but find I do much better in hot humid conditions. Everyone is different. Chalk it up to experience and be glad you have lower body fat ;)

CaptainMel - that is amazingly impressive to survive those conditions. I tip my wool cap to you.