Florida Lakes - would you swim?

[TriMom]

Ok WISHers, I know that I have not posted much - but I need your advice today.

The WDW Triathlon is Sunday - yeah! - I am ready and looking forward to it. However, the Orlando Heath Dept has issued a lake warning for amoeba Naegleria fowleri, basically a really nasty bug that can cause death . From the emails I am getting from Disney, I don't think that the bug has been found in Disney's lake, but they don't come right out and say it. In fact they are not canceling the full Triathlon. However, they are offering to let participants skip the swim. The swim is my best sport, and I was really looking forward to the full Tri.

What would you guys do - would you swim

 

[wfloyd]

I would swim but if there are any concerns just wear some nose clips. They had another Tri in Orlando last weekend and gave everyone a pair to use if they wanted. I think about half of them did.

From all the reports over the past years, it seems that it is kids who are the most effected. Or they are the only ones reported. It also seems to happen to about 3-5 people a year which is a small number compared to all the people swimming in the lakes throughout the summer.

Bill

 

[thndrmatt]

I am more likely to be struck by lightning while driving down I75 to the race or being in a 50 car pileup than I am contracting that virus. Might be my blind optimism... I don't even breathe through my nose when I swim, and I'll probably wear the nose plugs just to keep the general discomfort away from water getting in there while swimming and to keep DW from worrying, but if it was anything but very rare instances they would have cancelled the swim altogether. I'm pretty sure they don't like lawsuits.

In other news I'll see you there, and good luck! I just have to wait for this tropical depression or storm or whatever it becomes to pass through/by the panhandle before I can leave...

 

[Duanerice]

The only reason I wouldn't swim is becasue of the alligators. But you should be OK at Disney. Or at least you might want to hlod back a bit and let others lead the way through the water... Kind of like a scout

Good luck and I hope you have a great time.
Duane

 

[TriMom]

Thanks guys - I was leaning to swimming anyway, but DH was worried. It didn't help that CNN did a story on it earlier this week.

Matt - It looks like we might bump into each other twice, I'm doing the TOT 13K too! I see that you did the 70.3 - I heard that bike is the same as part of the 70.3 - Is the course mostly flat, or is there a killer hill or two? Good luck to you - and I hope your weather clears!

 

[thndrmatt]

There really aren't any significant climbs during the bike. That's not to say it's entirely flat, there are sections of rollers once you get off the resort, but a large portion is on sections such as the road around epcot and down the main drive out towards the gate, where it's pancake. What made the 70.3 course difficult for me wasn't the hills, but the wind, which given it's a big loop you'll be staring in the face as much as it will be helping you from behind, and depending on whether the upwind leg is later in the race it might add to the difficulty.

I'm still iffy on the ToT, might get deployed prior to that... I'm waffling as to whether to wear my WISH shirt for the run leg versus keeping on my tri top, it'll be totally dependent on how hot it is and how fast I'm trying to finish. I'm expecting about a 45 min swim, 2 hour bike, and 65 min run or so, might be run into each other on the course? I'll be starting in the 25-29M wave, which for the 70.3 was second to last out of like 20 waves, so I might have a lot of catching up to do...

But here's what to look for!

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=904697
Edit: Also, here's the 70.3 bike course in Gmaps, basically to get this weekend's course just go straight after mile 19 and skip the little out and back, and then cut straight across from mile 25.5 to mile 41.5 or so on that little road and skip the northern half of the big loop. So mile 1-19 as is, +1 through the out and back, 22-25.5 as is, 41.5-53 or so as I marked it as is. That adds up to 35 miles, and they are calling it 36 which is about right. As you can see from the elevation graph, the elevations go from 100 ft at start, through some rollers mile 17-23 up and down about 50 feet, and now that I'm looking back on it the larger hills were on the northern portions that we're skipping. Last 13 miles or so look close to flat. No worries!

One more way to gauge it, if you look at mile 9 that's immediately following the portion that crosses the overpass to Animal Kingdom, so basically the biggest size hill is similar to just riding over an overpass.

 

[ironz]

trimom....what Matt said about the bike course. Nothing crazy hilly, just some rollers. Biggest climb would be on Avalon.

I think that the amoeba can be found in ANY warm lake. But I would do the swim anyway. Would consider the nose clip, just to be safe. Main thing is not to get water up the nose (i.e., jumping into the water), etc. The disease is not limited to kids, per se...a 22 y/o died in TX this summer from it.
Would agree with the PP who wrote that we have more chance getting hit on the bike, etc., but just play smart.

Matt...hope to meet you at TOT if you are still around.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

As long as you don't ingest the water and have a nose plug--you should be fine.

That being said I am very leery of swimming in any Florida lake.

Mostly b/c of the hot humid summers when the bacteria can flourish.

In winter it isn't an issue b/c it is too cold.

It is cooling down for Florida, so I don't think it will be as much of an issue as it would if say the triathlon was in July.