At precisely 7:00 a.m., the cannon went off to signal the start of Ironman Lake Placid for over 2,700 age group athletes. I looked at Carrie, one of the athletes I was talking with prior to the start, and said, “Oh, is that us?” She laughed and said, “Yup, that’s us!” I was in no hurry to start. My plan was to wait one minute before starting. So, I walked along the banks to the start line of the swim. (I had been standing about 50 yards from the official start line.) I looked ahead as the washing machine …