Triathlon season started for us today, and given the seemingly long winter, my wife and I decided to ease into it with a simple sprint relay at Etampes, just outside Paris.  A much weaker runner than my wife, I decided to restrict myself to the swim & bike and let her take over for the 5k, which also conveniently placed us in the much less competitive relay category and gave us a shot at the podium (which alas, we missed by 30 seconds).

The second my toes hit the water, I discovered that I wasn’t exaggerating about the long winter.  Officially the water was at 13° celsius (55 ° farenheit).  It felt like a lake during ice-fishing.  Within those first splashes, I think at least 20% of the participants turned around.  Thank goodness it was only a 750m swim; an olympic distance could have resulted in hypothermia.

But the weather cooperated for the bike and run.  The course was well-marked and devoid of traffic.  Within a 45-minute RER ride of central Paris, I would recommend this well-organized event as a local staple.