Ironman Coeur d'Alene : Official Thread (Page 73)

It fits totally fine, but I think swimming in a sleeveless for two years has warped my brain.  I wear a medium-long sleeveless Xterra Vector X2 for more of a pro fit and a medium-large (one size up) full Xterra Vendetta which is as flexible as they come.  I don't know, it just feels funny. 

I've done CDA 6 times in a sleeveless and plan to do 2011 in it as well.  I've seen a few people go wetsuitless.  If you can get past the first 3 minutes you really do not notice the cold after that.

I swam in a 63 degree lake two weeks ago for about 30 minutes and it seemed ok after a few minutes.  The air temp was warmer so maybe that is why.  I'm an average swimmer despite all the time I spend in the pool as I do about a 28 minute Olympic and 34 minute HIM swim.  I don't think I would risk my big IM day and go sleeveless for a little extra shoulder comfort.  As was the case this weekend.  25th out of the water.  4th fastest bike split.  Let the race be decided by who can run faster.      

CdA was 60 last year and I was wearing a full wetsuit.  For me, the initial shock was bad - it took me about 400 yards to really settle in.  Middle of the swim was good.  End of the swim I was very cold / shivering.  I don't wear a neoprene cap because the chinstraps drive me insane, but it had me almost considering it.  Quite a few people were wearing those plus booties.

I'm up north and I'm pretty used to cold water, just not continuously for over an hour.  Go for the full wetsuit if you can - it's usually a tad faster anyhow.

I would guess that the average water temp has been around 62 to 64 degrees.  The worst year for me was 2007, 61 degrees and heavy surf/chop.

Last year I wore a full wetsuit and 2 swim caps.  I also wore ear plugs which really helped out- I never got dizzy from the cold water. For me I never noticed the cold water because I was too busy trying to survive and not get punched or pulled down I think my high HR and adrenaline saved me from feeling the cold water.  I saw some swimmers wearing booties but I didn't wear any.  I did put some vasoline on my face around my mouth and near my nose- for some reason during my practice swim that area of my face got really cold. I think applying the vasoline there really helped!

I agree 100% about the ear plugs.  I get very dizzy when I try to stand up after swimming in cold water without ear plugs.  Anyone who has not swam a lot in cold water should probably bring some plug with them and try them out a few days before the race.  You could pick some up at the expo but you will pay IM prices for them (if they are not sold out).

I'll make a confession.  I'm nervous about this swim.  Cold.  Choppy.  Long.  1,800+ people starting at once.  I have three major swim events planned before CdA: (i) New Oreans 70.3 in April,  (ii) Benbrook 2.4 mile swim/race in late May, and (iii) Swim Across America 2 mile swim in early June.  In addition to my normal masters stuff, I should be more than ready......but I'm still nervous.       

Maybe the other IM vets can confirm/deny this experience since my sample is n=1, but I had no problem with the mass start vs. an Oly Start.  Think about it, Oly start like at a St. Anthony's or Chicago you have 150 people revved up knowing they only have 1500 meters to go, swimming like a bunch of maniacs for the first 400-800 yards and you get punched, kicked, pulled etc... 

IM swim, granted 12x the people, but spread out over a much greater start area all knowing they have 2.4 MILES to go and a much longer day when they get out tend to start a little less aggressive (I know, some are still nutso!).

At the end of the day, there are still only so many people within a 30 foot radius of you and how beat up you get is as much a factor of the number of people around you as it is where you seed yourself relative to the crowd.  if you are a 2:00 min/100 swimmer and you line up in the front in an oly swim, you will be bruised and bloodied by the 500th meter.  Same logic in IM racing.  If you plan to swim a two hour swim, don't be the first one on the beach.

A little math lesson for those concerned about adding too much distance by lining up "too" far to the right on the beach.  a² + b² = c², remember this???

2.4 Mile swim, 2 loops out and back, 5,280 feet in a mile, 6336 feet in a loop.  Each loop has 3093 feet out, 150 feet across and 3093 feet back (3093 + 3093 + 150 = 6336).  OK, say we line up 100 feet to the right rather than right in line with the turn buoy.

A = 3093 Feet
B = 100 feet (how far to the right you line up)
C = Number of feet you swim
C - A = How much farther you swim by lining up that far to the right...

3093^{2 +} 100² = 9,576,649.  Square root of 9,576,649 is 3,094.6 feet...  You swim 1.6 FEET farther...  If you line up 200 feet right, it is a only 6.5 FEET farther.  The trick is, you CANNOT cut into the line early, and you have to swim the tangent on the first lap. 

All this is to say, seed yourself correctly and do not be afraid to line up outside.   The swim should be the most enjoyable part of the day.  The only reason I would NOT do IMKY,even if they moved it out of the middle of the summer, is because I loved the excitement of the mass start so much and it has a time trial start.

My first real mass start at IMAZ 09 taught me that there is absolutely nothing comparable to an IM mass start. IMFL 10 confirmed it. You will get pounded, there will be no space, and you can't avoid it no matter what you try. Make friends with it now and train for it. Also appreciate it, because its one of the best feelings to get the swim over with!

On another note, I had a horrible long run today. 17-18 on the schedule and had to go #2 3x before I packed it in. Only ended up with 8 miles. I think I over-ate in prep for it and paid for it by carbo-unloading. At least there is still Thursday to get it done. Trying not to berate myself for it too much as I should know better and my fitness is right where it needs to be. Just got greedy yesterday... BOO ME! Hope you all are training wiser than me.

I like the term "carbo-unloading"

I don't at all mean to insult anyone's intelligence, but I found the following article pretty helpful when I was wetsuit shopping and getting into a full suit the first few times:

???http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/features/Wetsuit_Demo.shtml

It's more because it is very difficult to swim diagonally across the grain of the main swim pack (not to say people don't try... very annoying).  In general if you start out wide you'll have to swim mostly straight then square off to get to the turn point.

It isn't much farther but I don't see a lot of benefit to starting wide.  You swim farther and you spend more time swimming, and you're still going to be in a pack of people!  Watch the race coverage and study the helicopter view of the swim and you'll see what I mean.

IMO you're better off starting lined up normally and just wait a few seconds for the aggressive people to get out of the way before you start - unless you're fast enough to get ahead of course!  If you're close to the buoy line you'll pile up at the turn point, but in a wetsuit you just sort of float there and slowly work your way around the corner which gives you a breather.  If you started wide you swim all the way around.  Both take about the same amount of time.

None of that matters by lap 2 of course because it's all stretched out by then.

That's just my experience with it... but I'm also pretty oblivious to contact swimming, so take it with a grain of salt

I'm fully aware that my issue with a full suit and mass start is something that needs to be settled between my ears and not in the pool or with a different suit.  Hopefully with all of the open water events I have planned over the next 90 days (3 races and 2 group practices) I will get over my mental block.     

I think I just found my new tag line.