Kit check 
Hopefully a bit less windy tomorrow we got sand blasted on the beach this morning but the windsurfers were loving it. Apart from a 15min shower we’ve avoided the wet weather they’ve been having south of us… 
that continues.
Tracker is up for anyone interested, starting about 9:10 tomorrow.
(@d.t I’m the skinny Scottish fella with the beginnings of a gray, winter beard wearing a Zone3 wetsuit with orange on the cuffs.)
Smash it, Doon 
No idea how some of you can cross the finish line & bang out a race report immediately, I’m 3hrs finished & still barely coherent.
First off, great low key event, I’ll certainly do some more of the WeSwimRun races in the future 
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I was having a lovely convo with @d.t when the organizer gave us a 5 second countdown. By the time I looked up from my watch my erstwhile chatty mate was 20mtrs into the water & on a mission.
Although tide assisted you’re still swimming for a long time, 2:27 for me. Despite the best route seeming obvious on paper it is probably changing all the time as sandbars are shifting & channels deepening or filling. I’d taken a look at low tide on previous days to try & see where the better channels/deeper water was going to be & was reasonably happy I had nav’d my way round better than I may have.
Despite this, I was pretty cold & only getting colder from about 30mins . Fingers weren’t receiving commands & my pull was from my palms & forearms…while I’m whinging about the swim I must mention the seawater slaps that the headwind treated me to on the less sheltered sections. Enough water was taken onboard to force me to stop & put fingers down my throat 
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On the plus, I did occasionally get the feeling of being a swimming God & averaged 1:08/100mtrs 
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We clambered up a ladder up the riverbank to transition, found our bag, got changed & headed off…
…then fell over a couple of times for no good reason other than my legs being unhappy in a vertical position 
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The run was a good test, 13km/382m with probably a 50/50 split road/muddy track in mild, wet conditions with a solid tailwind. I tried my best, but didn’t see another competitor. Turns out I was 25mins behind the top 4 & 20mins ahead of 6th.
Had a cozy debrief with @d.t in the showers & then again in the yacht club over a pint. Turns out he only went & took 2nd place…savage competitor indeed .
Love that, too work Gents.
Well done you two, great racing 
Top writeup @Doonhamer and great to meet you. Yeah the start came quickly and I legged it for the inside route! I found the sighting hard and at certain points I was further in the middle of the channel than I probably should have been. Standing on the sandbanks and taking my chances with the weever fish (glad I didn’t know about these before the race)!
How were your run legs after the cold, mine started cramping up but managed to hold it off. I left my shoes and jacket in the showers after our cozy debrief. A bit far to drive back but they are sending it this way! The team were all fantastic and I’d definitely go back for more.
I missed this thread and the updates @Doonhamer , top work there mate. Swimming, uggh, there should be a law 
Quads & shoulders definitely know that something happened over the weekend & I seem to have picked up a bit of sinusitis…but only up my right nostril 
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After swimming 13km with a pace of 1:09/100m Training Peaks & Intervals.icu has given me a whopping training load of 760 
… that’s not going to happen too often.
More photos have been dropped, I’ll not bore you with them all.
I’m putting this on my list for next year…
I have a long list of things I’m not doing next year too.
Same, but I can say with absolute certainty that this is one
I’m in 
What happens if you are so slow that the tide turns. Do they fish you out?
They release the sharks 
It’s still swimmable, but you definitely slow down. Not ideal if you’ve already been swimming for 2:45 & now entering the cooler river water 
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A friend who took 3:12 struggled for the final 2km. It must be difficult for the organiser to balance there being deep enough water for the leaders to swim versus slower swimmers swimming against an ebbing tide.
Another friend did The Hurly Burly the day before which is another tide assisted swim from Barmouth to Penmaenpool. It’s only 10,825mtrs but faster, he took 1:33 for 52secs/100m
ETA
Bwrlwm Bermo/Hurly Burly – Outdoor Swimming Society Outdoor Swimming Society
Would love a go at the swim, the run not so much.
I’m sure you’d love it.
Obviously you wouldn’t fancy hitting sandbanks, but if you took a good look at the deeper channels present at low tide there is no reason that you would need to stand up. The organiser sent a good video out telling us some of the best lines & mentioning that it faster to adopt your stroke to (much) higher elbows in shallow sections.
TUT! I’m shocked and disappointed in you 
but: DID YOU WIN? and beat the 11-14 snipperwhapper?
