I am beginning to wonder if wetsuit swims are holding me back - I'm putting this question out there to gather some feedback and generate some discussion.
In the pool I am currently in what I would guess is the 18:1x area for a 1500 SCM, at IMTX without a wetsuit I swam a 52:5X - and it felt like the most relaxed swim of my life - yet at a recent Olympic distance I swam 20:0X to the beach - and to swim much faster it would have taken a serious effort and negatively impacted the rest of my race.
In OWS I notice a lot of extra fatigue in my shoulders that I don't in the pool and my kick simply isn't what it is in the pool - I've begun to wonder if they are interrelated. In short, I can't remember the last time I felt "good" in an open water wetsuit swim - I feel like I am frequently getting blown up by guys I swim with well in a pool. But I don't feel like that in non-wetsuit swims (Kona/TX)
In some recent pull sets, I've noticed that my shoulders feel very similar to how they feel in a wetsuit swim.
This leads me wondering - am I wearing the wrong wetsuit (Xterra Vendetta) - lacking flexibility in the shoulders, and too much lower body float and something different would be a better choice. Or if I simply need to pull more and "swim" less.
Discussion is welcome!
In the pool I am currently in what I would guess is the 18:1x area for a 1500 SCM, at IMTX without a wetsuit I swam a 52:5X - and it felt like the most relaxed swim of my life - yet at a recent Olympic distance I swam 20:0X to the beach - and to swim much faster it would have taken a serious effort and negatively impacted the rest of my race.
In OWS I notice a lot of extra fatigue in my shoulders that I don't in the pool and my kick simply isn't what it is in the pool - I've begun to wonder if they are interrelated. In short, I can't remember the last time I felt "good" in an open water wetsuit swim - I feel like I am frequently getting blown up by guys I swim with well in a pool. But I don't feel like that in non-wetsuit swims (Kona/TX)
In some recent pull sets, I've noticed that my shoulders feel very similar to how they feel in a wetsuit swim.
This leads me wondering - am I wearing the wrong wetsuit (Xterra Vendetta) - lacking flexibility in the shoulders, and too much lower body float and something different would be a better choice. Or if I simply need to pull more and "swim" less.
Discussion is welcome!