Wow, never thought it would get that warm that quick, was 70.7 a few days ago. So, as of right now, it is non-wetsuit by half a degree...

Overnight cooler temps and rain will definitely help drop the temps in the lake.

I guess it is what it is......we did a 4km non-wetsuit lake swim yesterday, was a good 8 minutes slower than I would expect with a wetsuit...lol, but confident I won't drown. :)
I do wish I had a speed vest desoto top, gonna be a hot swim if the temps are legal but close to limit...

Goes to show how hot this summer has been in the northeast in general. With the overnight temps in the forecast I think it will still be legal. Even if it is remotely close to being non-legal I wouldn't be surprised if the officials drop the thermometer a little deeper in the water to ensure a wet suit swim. I remember doing eagleman a few years back and they did just that, the entire week leading to the race the water temps were in the upper 70's and then miraculously on race day the water dropped to something like 71 degrees making it legal.

 

not really addressing OP in particular, as i've seen this sentiment many times.

i am puzzled by the desire to have a wetsuit when the water is not cold. why? its uncomfortable, hot, annoying in transition, very annoying pre-start. why on earth would one WANT to have to choose to wear one on a hot day, vs the rules prohibiting for all?

I like your comment - I swam on a hot day last week with my ws on and it was brutal. Felt quite overheated when I got out of the water. The next day was even hotter and I just swam in the jammers.

If the air temp is in the high 50s low 60s and water temp is around 70, I find a wetsuit to be very comfortable.

It all depends on air temp/water temp/time of day/ sun vs cloudy... etc.

Anyway, IMMT has ws strippers so wearing one vs. not wearing one the time lost is only a few seconds.. 15 at most.

Same here. I would prefer a wetsuit legal race, but have no desire to wear one if the temps are that high. Did a lake swim recently in 26C (cutoff being 24.5) and was roasted after 2km..

for me its very simple. I'm a BOP'er and not the strongest of swimmers. buoyancy gives me a little extra confidence and also if I need to stop to catch my breath, holds me up a little bit. I have a speedsuit, which will help a bit I guess but i'll pack it just in case.

This lake has too much volume for rain water to make a big change. I am sure you guys are safe. I swam there 2 days ago and the underlying water layer is still cold. All you need is a strong northerly wind and it will churn up the lower layer. You can feel the colder water just treading water

I did IMMT in 2016 when the weather was much cooler, I couldn't imagine doing a 4K swim w/o my wet suit, I don't mind the warmer temps as I am a 2:15/100m kinda swimmer so the heat wouldn't bother me as much.

2016 was probably the roughest the water has been there. For more experienced swimmers it was probably no big deal, but I didn't particularly enjoy it lol. But figure whenever it is a bit rough like that, it will probably churn up the cooler water and be wetsuit legal.

Wasn't the turn around on the swim just lovely? never felt so nauseous on a swim.

The first turn to the right was like swimming through a washing machine (IMO). The second turn to head back was better chop-wise but swimming into that wind really sucked.

That turn around was ridiculous- i kept looking for a boat doing donuts around us

LOL

I did IMMT in 2016 too, I honestly thought my swim was just plan crap and didn't realize other MOP swimmers thought it was choppy as well. Hopefully this then means redemption and a much faster swim!

Yup, exactly. First time in like 10 WTC events I turned myself onto my back for a quick breather and calm down, only to be toppled back over by a wave of some sort...lol. I can laugh at it now, but felt in trouble at the time. I think I literally doggy paddled across the lake to the second turn, then was fine on the way back. Came in at 1:18, about 6 minutes slower than usual for me.

2016 IMMT Swim was white cap city after the first turn. Thought I was in the Atlantic. Let's not forget about the 5-6hours of wind and rain on the bike too.

If you look at the Pro results from 2015 to 2016 definitely affected by weather.

1/2/3 out of the water in 2015 is under 50:30
1/2/3 out of the water in 2016 is 54:26 and under

For a lot of repeating Pros it looks like an 8-12 minutes difference from year to year as you go a little deeper into the stats.

I may be wrong, but wasn't 2016 also non-wetsuit for the pro's? That would have affected the times as well.

I don't remember... but yeah, if it wasn't your right.

I was looking a Mz. Honeybadger's time and she was 10 minutes slower on the swim 2015 to 2016.

At Lake Placid 2012 ,the water temp was just over wetsuit legal, and the race directors decided to allow athletes to choose to race with or without a wetsuit. The only caveat was if you chose to wear a wetsuit, you could not qualify for AG awards. Seeing as I had zero chance of an AG award, I decided to wear the wetsuit and just focus on bettering my 11:58 LP time from the year prior. Needless to say, I overheated during the Swim and found myself sitting on the side of the ride 5 miles into the Bike overheated and cramping. It was my first and (hopefully) only DNF at the full distance. And I was better trained than the year prior!!

So, yeah, if the lake temps are over 76.1 at IMMT this year, I'm going shirtless with Roka Sim shorts to keep my hips up, and I'll throw my Kiwami kit on in the tent.

Good idea, hadn't thought of that, I have a pair as well.
That said, I'm willing to bet it will be wetsuit legal.

That water temp is "fake news", the temps have been around 73 the last few days and suddenly jump 3 degrees overnight, thats literally impossible.

I don't think IMMT has ever been non-wetsuit for the AG'ers and with the lack of any super hot days in the forecast and relatively cool nights I'll be shocked if it isn't wetsuit legal.

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