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| Soon, I am in no-man's-land between the two packs. However, I feel comfortable and know that I will be able to pick up a draft at the first turn which is coming up. Into the first turn and the sun is breaking through the clouds. This is my favorite part of IM day. The return leg with the sun above you. You can see the waves shimmering and feel the warm sunlight on your back. Not even the chaos of the second turn could take this moment away from me. I am at peace, swimming easily. I look at my watch and see that I hit the 2K mark sub-30 minutes and realise that I am on track for my sub-60 swim goal. The people around me are swimming at a pace that I can easily handle (what a difference a year makes). On the return leg, some faster packs work through and I move from group to group. There are times when I have excellent drafts and times when I have nothing. Some people are accommodating while others are aggressive. I just enjoy myself and yield to all the aggressive folks. Their strokes are ragged and I can tell that they are suffering a bit. I have confidence in my bike and save my energy. The sun is quite high in the sky and the water is perfect. Just for good measure, I am clocked a few more times and, as I am dunked, I notice that the lake water tastes better than last year. Soon I look up and see the swim exit. I smile with the knowledge that this has taken nothing out of me. |  Bring on the bike! |