IM Texas swim leader Brandon Marsh approaching swim finish

IM Texas lead group “drafting” behind Marsh near swim finish

I got up early to drive to the Woodlands to watch some of Ironman Texas today.  A year ago, a group of friends and I were among the swim-capped throng out there in that icky lake at sunrise, but with IM Texas already crossed off our lists, this year I was thrilled to be just a spectator.  The outing today was mostly another chance to try to figure out my cameras.  I only watched the swim — I started home when the racers headed out for their five-plus-hour bike ride.  Like all full Ironman events, the swim is 2.4 miles long, but the IM Texas swim course has a unique finish up a canal (that’s what you see in most of the pictures — taken overhead from a bridge) that leads to the Woodlands Town Center area.  Don’t ask what’s on the shallow bottom.

 The water seems a lot less peaceful when you’re back in the pack:

The start: