I’m racing a sprint in Wisconsin this weekend, and had planned on the water being cold, as Lake Mich. has been. But then I read in an email that the water temp was 74 degrees. My wetsuit is full, and the race is only a sprint. Should I swim without considering it is so short? Or just suffer through the heat to make up the time? what would you do?
thanks
josh
no wetsuit unless you just want to practice with it. It will end up costing time for that short of a distance anyway. Have a fun race!
Depends. I always wear my wetsuit, if allowed, no matter what the temp. I have paniced attacked in rough water, so, I consider it my safety gear. Now, I also have the aquaman suit which has the legs cut high so getting it off is super fast, so I lose no time.
Dave
Wetsuit. I’m a good swimmer, usually top 10% out of the water, but I tested my wetsuit in the pool and I am a full 15 seconds per 100 faster in my wetsuit!!! Do the math. It takes me less than 10 seconds to get out of my wetsuit, so the wetsuit is a no branner. Last chip timed T1 was 34 seconds including wetsuit removal (faster than several top guys that didn’t wear wetsuits). Did an Oly 1500m swim 2 weeks in 78 degree water with my full. I was getting warm, but far from uncomfortable. As long as it is legal I say, but then my wetsuit is soooooooo comfortable.
my wetsuit is pretty comfortable. I have never had any real irritation or anything wearing. The other thing is though, that I have been swimming in water that I don’t think has been above 60 all summer. This race is only a quarter mile swim, which is why I was thinking no wetsuit. But I know I am faster/feel safer with it. So…
If its less than 1000M I would go without, if its more than 1K I would go with a sleeveless wetsuit.
Dave in VA
74 Deg is a bit shallow. Try going 78 degrees. You will swim much faster and it will make you more hydrodynamic.