Xterra Fort Yargo-Swim Question

I did that race in 2008...it was my first tri.

Heck yes, a wetsuit is definitely worth it. I know some ppl that wear wetsuits for 250m swims.

Free speed.

 That what I thought as well but I guess I was wondering if struggling with stripping it off would negate the time savings.  How did you like the race? 

Ppl around here will tell you that it shouldn't take you all that long to take off your wetsuit. You just have to practice.

Loved the race, but since it was my first tri, it really kicked my butt. I almost didn't finish the swim! I started to side-stroke/doggy paddle/float on back somewhere around 300m!  I was dead last in the swim by over 5 mins! The support by the kayakers and the crowd was pretty good, though.

The bike was super fun, but MTBing is a whole different animal than road racing. I had never MTB'd until that race. The course is not overly technical, but I really had to focus to not run into trees! Climbing steep hills was also a challenge.

The run was great. Loved it.

The atmosphere was also awesome, but I was super disappointed in that I didn't get a tshirt. The only gave out a few after the race. They had great prizes, though! They gave away wetsuits, glasses, etc.

Oh, and not a very big race. Super fun, though.

See ya at Yargo, I will definately be wearing my wetsuit if the water temp is legal.

Oh yah, thanks for the reminder, I need to take my wetsuit out of the closet and soak it in the bathtub before Xterra Hickory Knob next weekend.

I've done this race twice, once with a wetsuit and one without. The wetsuit year had been a chilly spring but we've had a crazy spring so I'm not sure what the water temp will be - probably wetsuit legal. I would wear it. A 1/2 mile is long enough to make it worth it, IMO. And I'm a big baby in cold water.  

The MTB course is good, especially if you've ever ridden there before. The Monster Mile is usually included but since it's a counter-clockwise day, you'll be riding down it. 

The run is fun too. I love running the trails there, it's my favorite place to run.

A wetsuit should take you no more than 5-8 seconds to take off.  That amount of time will be gained by even the best swimmers in about 200 meters.  'Typically' a poor swimmer will gain ~10 sec/100 in a wetsuit and a good swimmer 3-5 seconds/100. 

And even if you gained no time advantage whatsoever, you have saved heart beats that you can use in the bike and run.

I did Xterra Ft. Yargo last year as my 1st Xterra and had a blast!  Good times.