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Water Temperature for Wetsuit
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 2013-05-27 8:17 PM |
New user  121  Green Bay, WI |  Subject: Water Temperature for WetsuitI've searched that sight but I can't really seam to find any thread on what water temp people believe you should have a wetsuit. I'm doing my first Tri next week(Sprint) and it's been really cold up here in WI this spring. I swam my first open water swim this morning water temp 60 degrees. Needless to say it was a bit chilly. I'm a little worried about panicking next week on the swim given that it's my first event. I'm very comfortable in the pool with the short distance but worried about the temperature/open water element. It's the Green bay Triathlon so it's in in a man made lake but I'm sure it will be very cold given the weather outlook for this week. I guess what I'm getting at is should I make the investment in the wetsuit for next weekend? Thanks for the recommendations in advance. Nussy |
| 2013-05-27 8:36 PM in reply to: Nussy |
Extreme Veteran 1136  | Subject: RE: Water Temperature for Wetsuit You can wear a wetsuit up to and including 78 degrees f. Generally people will choose to wear one if at all possible because they also make you faster. If you do buy a wetsuit you will probably get plenty of use out of it if you race a lot in Wisconsin. Can you swim without a wetsuit in 60 degree water? Sure, but it won't be pleasant! |
| 2013-05-27 9:24 PM in reply to: Nussy |
Extreme Veteran 379 Northern Virginia | Subject: RE: Water Temperature for Wetsuit At 60 degrees I would definitely opt for a wetsuit. If there is a local shop you can rent one from, that might be your best bet for next weekend's race. Many shops will apply some or all of the rental fee toward the purchase of a suit if you decide to buy one afterwards for future races (or training). |
| 2013-05-27 9:31 PM in reply to: 0 |
Pro 15655  | Subject: RE: Water Temperature for Wetsuit Even the Elite draft legal races allow wetsuits up to 68 degrees, and it's 78 for age group, as has been stated......at 60, yeah, get a wetsuit. You'll be really cold without one and, as has been mentioned, you'll be faster with it. At the very least, you don't want to be the person without one competing against those who have them.....you can't win that one. Edited by Left Brain 2013-05-27 9:32 PM |
| 2013-05-30 10:01 AM in reply to: Nussy |
| 1 | Subject: RE: Water Temperature for Wetsuit I'm glad this came up! This will also be my first tri and I was curious what the consensus was on wetsuits. My swim trainer said that she would punish me if I wore a wetsuit for a 400 meter swim. According to her, a wetsuit only saves you about 10 seconds per 100 meters, so the time saved on the swim will be more than offset by the amount of time needed to get out of the wetsuit... which seems to make sense. That said, I'm not a very strong swimmer and will probably spend more time in the water than most and I'd really rather not freeze my a** off ha. |
| 2013-05-30 10:24 AM in reply to: Shepherd25 |
Pro 15655 | Subject: RE: Water Temperature for Wetsuit Originally posted by Shepherd25 I'm glad this came up! This will also be my first tri and I was curious what the consensus was on wetsuits. My swim trainer said that she would punish me if I wore a wetsuit for a 400 meter swim. According to her, a wetsuit only saves you about 10 seconds per 100 meters, so the time saved on the swim will be more than offset by the amount of time needed to get out of the wetsuit... which seems to make sense. That said, I'm not a very strong swimmer and will probably spend more time in the water than most and I'd really rather not freeze my a** off ha. If you practice getting your suit off that is absolutely false. I watch races where athletes are stepping out of their wetsuits while they are putting their helmet and sunglasses on. By the time they are buckled up the only extra time they need is to throw their wetsuit in a bin. |
| 2013-05-30 10:35 AM in reply to: Nussy |
Extreme Veteran 1190 Silicon Valley | Subject: RE: Water Temperature for Wetsuit At 60 degrees I wouldn't go without a wetsuit and I am a very strong swimmer. The time you save will more than offset the time it takes to get it off in T!. For most people that would be the case even over a short distance unless you never practiced getting out of the thing. |
| 2013-05-30 10:59 AM in reply to: Stuartap |
Expert 1644 Oklahoma | Subject: RE: Water Temperature for Wetsuit If it's wetsuit legal I'm wearing one. |
| 2013-05-30 11:23 AM in reply to: Nussy |
| Regular 93 Seal Beach | Subject: RE: Water Temperature for Wetsuit I have never worn a wetsuit except to surf. I've raced open water my whole life. I train in 53-58 degree water, coldest I've raced in was 51.. and I coated myself in vasoline. Worst was the catalina swim.... 21 miles in 55-59 degrees... English channel in a couple years will be worse.. may go for the triple crown with the Manhattan island swim... that's warmer, just nasty water. |
| 2013-05-30 12:47 PM in reply to: 0 |
| Subject: RE: Water Temperature for Wetsuit Originally posted by Shepherd25 I'm glad this came up! This will also be my first tri and I was curious what the consensus was on wetsuits. My swim trainer said that she would punish me if I wore a wetsuit for a 400 meter swim. According to her, a wetsuit only saves you about 10 seconds per 100 meters, so the time saved on the swim will be more than offset by the amount of time needed to get out of the wetsuit... which seems to make sense. That said, I'm not a very strong swimmer and will probably spend more time in the water than most and I'd really rather not freeze my a** off ha. (Edit) your swim trainer is training for different types of races. They have all day to take off a wetsuit so they don't have to get good at it. Plus they can expend all their energy on the swim as nothing follows it. The wetsuit will take less energy to swim in than without if it fits right. If it takes you more than 10-15 seconds total to get out of the wetsuit, you need to practice a couple more times. If the water is wetsuit legal and the swim is over about 200 yards, wear a wetsuit, it'll be faster. That said, I bought a sleeveless for water over 70 degrees because I do tend to get a bit warm on long swims that warm. Full sleeved for me below 70. Edited by DanielG 2013-05-30 12:49 PM |
| 2013-05-30 12:53 PM in reply to: DanielG |
| 260 | Subject: RE: Water Temperature for Wetsuit Don't forget , the cold wont just affect you while you are swimming but your teeth will still be chattering for the majority of the bike ride too. get a wetsuit - it will make your day a more pleasant experience! |
| 2013-06-01 2:26 PM in reply to: Nussy |
New user 121 Green Bay, WI | Subject: RE: Water Temperature for Wetsuit Thanks all for the advice. Ordered an xterra wetsuit Wednesday with overnight delivery. Unfortunately they didn't ship it until Thursday....and then of course FedEx didn't deliver it Friday due to weather. Tried to escalate with them last evening with no success. So I guess I'm swimming without t tomorrow. Lows overnight in the 40's. high mid 60's. guess that's what I get for waiting so long.  hopefully tomorrow goes better then the rest of this week. |
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