commendatore wrote:
I think wet suits should be banned above 70 degrees. And even then... If the swim makes you anxious or you don't think you can handle it without a wetsuit you need to quit fooling yourself and swim more. Five days a week if that's what it takes. Look into masters swimming or a dedicated swim coach if you're still not getting anywhere. The wetsuit reliance that plagues some triathletes is ridiculous. If you couldn't head out on your bike without falling over, what would you do? Put training wheels on?
I spent years swimming with some very talented and not so talented swimmers. That includes a lot of dedicated athletes who were never going to be fast, but any one of them could hop in the water make the iron distance swim without batting an eye.
I think people who don't know WTF they are talking about, should stop talking.
When wetsuits were not allowed for LP in '11, I, like the majority of those who went w/o, spent a half hour before the race stading around and shivering.
I was cold for the entire swim (being cold was the least horrible part of it), and it took me :30 mins of vigorous biking to finally shop my teeth from chattering.
Given that I'm a Kona finisher (and got thru the non-wetsuit CF at LP), it is evident that I can indeed make the iron distance swim sans wettie.
(it just takes me a lot longer than my normal, lame swim splits)
Kona was a lovely swim, I really enjoyed it.
LP was the worst experience of my entire multisport career.
float ,
hammer , and
jog