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1st Tri - To wetsuit or not to wetsuit
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 2005-06-16 10:05 AM |
Master  2249    Colorado |  Subject: 1st Tri - To wetsuit or not to wetsuitMy first Tri is coming up Aug 6th. Temperatures will be very warm, water temp should be ~70. I'm doing the Sprint length (only because I doubt I can run a 10k) and really think I could do really well. My question is this: Would I benefit from wearing a wetsuit? Enough to win? I'm a decent swimmer, strong biker, and am willing to do what it takes to run my ass off to get to the line. I don't own a wetsuit, so I would have to rent one from Salt Lake City, a good 90 miles from where I live and where the race will be. It is an Orca S1, full sleeve, full leg. $36 for the weekend. I'm leaning towards not wearing one for 2 reasons: 1 - the Sprint swim is really short, right? 10-15 minutes? How much time would I really loose by the "bouyancy" advantage of a suit? 2- I'm worried about getting that thing off in transition. I'm wondering if any time I gained by wearing it would be lost stripping in transition, whereas whatever time I lost on the swim because I wasn't wearing one could be made up in a quicker transition. Since I don't have ANY experience and have never even put a wetsuit on, I'm going to need some help from all of you to guide me. I'm super competitive, and even if at the end of the day I come in last, I want to approach it like I could just as easily win. |
| 2005-06-16 11:51 AM in reply to: #175826 |
| Subject: RE: 1st Tri - To wetsuit or not to wetsuit What are distances and what does "decent swimmer" mean to you? If it's 1/2 mile swim, 12-15 mile bike, 5K run and you have proper swim technique and endurance for the 1/2 mile, I would suggest taking a look at the pace charts for running and biking. Are you already running and biking at max speed for you? If you can increase speed in those two disciplines, which are the longer distance events, you could end up shaving more time off than you can with the use of a wetsuit. Also, if you can afford it, rent a suit soon, try it and compare your suit and "suitless" times (swim and transitions), then you will know if the difference is significant enough for you. |
| 2005-06-16 12:03 PM in reply to: #175826 |
Extreme Veteran 333 Québec City | Subject: RE: 1st Tri - To wetsuit or not to wetsuit Depending on the the wetsuit, it can take seconds to minutes to take it off. I used to swim with a surf wetsuit and it took me a couple of minutes to get it off. I now swim with a specificaly designed wetsuit (o'neil full length) which make me lose only a couple of seconds in the transition area (I begin to take it off while running out of the water and the "BodyGlide" helps a lot too !). On the other hand, for a 750m swim, given the fact that you are a good swimmer, have no experience with wetsuits, and that the temp will be around 70, I would probably choose to swim without a westuit... The amount of time you might gain because of the buoyancy effect may be lost while taking (or trying !) the wetsuit off... BTW, Good luck on you 1st tri and let us know how it went ! Christian. |
| 2005-06-16 12:37 PM in reply to: #175826 |
Master 1989  New Jersey | Subject: RE: 1st Tri - To wetsuit or not to wetsuit if you are only concerned about this one race, I would say don't wear one. Don't do anything different than what you do in practice. But, if you are looking at this as a long term hobby, then why are you even concerning yourself about that. Go with the wetsuit. Consider this a "practice" tri. See what works and what doesn't. And certainly don't underestimate the tri. You said you doubt you can run a 10k, but you're concerning yourself about winning? You may want to re-think that. Pace yourself! If you're not a strong runner, then you definitely don't want to start it with all your energy spent in the water and on the bike. |
| 2005-06-16 12:51 PM in reply to: #175826 |
Master 2249 Colorado | Subject: RE: 1st Tri - To wetsuit or not to wetsuit Realistically, this will probably be my only tri this season. My first love is mountain bike racing, and I'm currently fighting for 1st place in the state race series, so it hasn't left me much time to train for much else. Although I got in the pool for the first time in years and had a very decent pace for the 750 meters my first time out. Looking at comparable times, I would probably be middle to front of pack out of the water (granted an open water swim could mean something totally different). My bike time is out front, while my run time is midpack. I anticipate my race pace to be slightly faster on all legs given my nerves and "running scared" mentality during races when I get out front or my "stalk them down" focus if I am behind. Do you think it would be beneficial to do a "mock" tri now, to see where I am at? |
| 2005-06-16 1:37 PM in reply to: #175826 |
| Subject: RE: 1st Tri - To wetsuit or not to wetsuit Considering where you are with training now, a wetsuit won't make or break you. Swim as much as you can in open water (it is different in so many ways) before your race. You've got the bike mastered, so work on the running and on "bricks" (biking to running) |
| 2005-06-16 2:19 PM in reply to: #175826 |
Member 19 Ann Arbor, MI | Subject: RE: 1st Tri - To wetsuit or not to wetsuit I'm training for a first triathlon in July. Its a sprint. I was able to buy a full triathlon wetsuit that fits me really cheap. Even though I've practiced several times I just can't manage to get the darn thing off in a reasonable time. Because of this I don't plan on wearing it for my sprint. Since you say that you are a decent swimmer I wouldn't think that you would need the added boyancy. Its also one less thing to need to worry about during the transition. Good Luck with your Tri! |
| 2005-06-16 2:31 PM in reply to: #175826 |
Member 156 Bellevue, WA/Chicago, IL | Subject: RE: 1st Tri - To wetsuit or not to wetsuit personally, I wouldn't worry about wearing the wetsuit. 70F water might be on the side of chilly, but you'll be fine temperature-wise. I did my first tri sans the wetsuit with 65F water -- it was "refreshing"  but not too bad. And since you haven't/won't have a chance to practice with it totally, I just wouldn't worry about it. Just focus more on getting onto the bike (as you say, you're a great biker) and then finish off with a solid run. But yea, I want to emphasize the pacing in the swim -- your nerves will make you feel invincible...until you hit the run, then you're a mere mortal Additionally, you said sprint -- but what distance is the swim? Not all sprints are the same distances (the first sprint I did was 1/4 mile swim, my next sprint is a 1/2 mile swim) |
| 2005-06-16 2:39 PM in reply to: #175826 |
Expert 615 Littleton, CO | Subject: RE: 1st Tri - To wetsuit or not to wetsuit Given your circumstances, I would probably go without a wetsuit too. I had this question also. On Monday I swam my regular OW course for 2000yds without a wetsuit and my time went from 35 to 44. Some of that difference HAS to be from plain old efforts, but I'm certain part of it comes from the wetsuit. Because of that I decided to wear my wetsuit last night in a duathlon. I figure I went 2-3 min faster on the swim and added 30 seconds to my transition. If you have better body position than I do (very likely) then the difference could be even smaller! Good advice already given (in the preceding posts), and it doesn't seem like you will lose much time w/o a wetsuit. Best of luck with the bike racing too! |
Sounds like your kickin' butt | 2005-06-16 2:45 PM in reply to: #175826 |
| Expert 786 Princeton, MN | Subject: RE: 1st Tri - To wetsuit or not to wetsuit I'd swim in open water first to get the feel for it. Then decide if you feel you need one. I went without a wetsuit in my first tri and regretted it ever since. Ian |
| 2005-06-16 2:50 PM in reply to: #175826 |
Expert 1213 Los Gatos, CA | Subject: RE: 1st Tri - To wetsuit or not to wetsuit It's not just the speed you gain from a wetsuit....if you are not that strong a swimmer you will probably find that a wet suit preserves a lot of energy for the next leg as well... |
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