This weekend F.I.R.M. held the Witch CIty Triathlon, up in Salem Massachussetts. The swim took place in an enclosed inlet. Although the race director set the markers the night before, the tides managed to change it all up, and the swim course was significantly shorter. The water was significantly colder then Lake Massapoag or the Constitution Y. I decided I would warm up for this tri and went into the water at about 6:15 to swim a couple of laps. Swimmining in cold water is not a prescription for warming up! In fact, it wasn't until about an hour later, as I made the second turn for the home stretch in the water that it actually felt enjoyable. By that time the wave behind me had caught up, as did the wave after that. One fellow finished the half mile swim in seven minutes! The bike course was beautiful, along the water and a couple of laps in and around Marblehead. The fun part about a loop is that the second time around you really get to know it, and I was able to hammer down a hill and the third time I hammered into it, and then down it again. I need to replace the speedometer on my bike so I can check my maximum speed. The run was a flat 3 miles, and we got to run through parts of Salem that are mostly for commuting. I had some good company in the form a person a decade older then me (your age is marked on the back side of your calf) who paced me through the bulk of the run and has been doing tri's for over fifteen years. Given that I don't run more then 4 miles a week, this was a very good thing and helped considerably!