54 degrees and no wetsuit

54oF and No wet-Suit????

No Way!!!....It's too freaky cold for me....LOL

I'm with Patricia, not to be alarmist.  It will be a shock getting in, then you will get used to it.  The problem is you will be in the water for 2+ hours.  That's way too long in my opinion to be in 54 degree water without a wetsuit.

You've done no cold water training.  doing the swim without a suit is a very bad idea, IMHO.  A little tip for the future is a neoprene cap.  Something like 60% of body heat (loosely recalling from dive training days) is lost through the head.

Alcatraz is at most 1.5 miles, and most people are out of the water well before 1:00.  I've done it twice, and neither time was close to 54.

64, on the other hand, is pretty warm

i'd bring the suit and try to switch.  Can't see why they wouldn't let you.

Ok you have a 5k race but want to switch to the 10k race??

1. do you have health insurance?
2. what did you train for? you mentioned not training much in/for ows was there a reason that you didn't health wise that is going to effect you for this race? Or did you just not train.
3. not wanting to die isn't wimping out to me
4.

Todd,

Are you doing Big Shoulder's tomorrow?

Where did you get the 54F temp?

How do you know it is that cold?

That surface temp map that has been circulating isn't entirely accurate. 

If it is Big Shoulders, isn't it at Ohio Street Beach?

I was in there about 2-3 weeks ago, and even with this rain, it shouldn't have gotten that cold.

Can you say Ice Cream Headache???

Check with the RD. I bet they will let you swim with a Wetsuit but you will not get an official Time. The USMS Reg is pretty clear about 5k Swims being no wetsuit affairs but many RD's will let you race with one and just not post your "Offical" time.

Certainly worth checking into it because I can tell you that if your not used to swimming in 54 degree water, Hypothermia is gonna really suck on race day

Given that I didn't want to encourage Todd to do the race without a wetsuit ...

A certain amount is allowed. I forgot how USMS states it, but it's not much of an option.

Here is the link

 http://www.usms.org/rules/part3.pdf

Here are the rules (couldn't figure out how to make the font bigger)

 303.6 SWIMWEAR

303.6.1 Swimwear shall be the same as defined in article 102.14.1 and 102.14.2.

Goggles, ear plugs and grease shall be allowed. The suit shall be made of

a porous material.

303.6.2 Swim cap(s), including those made of neoprene, may be permitted. Swim

caps shall be defined as head gear conforming to a traditional swim cap

design and shall not extend to protect the neck or shoulders.

303.6.3 Wetsuits may be allowed at the discretion of the meet director. Wetsuits

generally provide a competitive advantage. If awards are given to wetsuit

competitors they shall be awarded separately from those for non-wetsuit

competitors. Any published results or records must clearly indicate which

swimmers wore wetsuits.

303.6.4 Devices used to maintain body heat are illegal, except for those listed in

articles 303.6.1, 303.6.2 and 303.6.3.

303.3

I wouldn't swim that cold with a wetsuit.  I tried cold water one time and made it about 100  yards.  But that is just me.  Some people deal with cold water better.

Man, 54 degrees?  That seriously does sound dangerous.  I'm kind of surprised they would even have a no-wetsuit division at that temp.  Have you ever BEEN in 54-degree water?  Whew . . .

Chris

As another point of reference, water temps at game time for this year's SOR were 55 (as I recall). Saw only ONE dude without a suit - he made it fine. The RD shortened the course and I'd surmise most swimmers were out of the water in 45 minutes or less, however.

IMO, 54F water+no suit+little recent OW training+3K swim = more risk than I would take. Switch divisions, if you can't switch, wear the suit anyway, or drop out.

All things considered, it sounds like a bad idea to me.  I've swam in 55 degrees with a wetsuit, and I got an ice cream headache and my hands and feet went numb within minutes.  And that was even with swimming regularly in 60-65 degree temps.

It's not a lot of fun when it's that cold.