So, I signed up for an early triathlon and it is in a very cold lake - somewhere at or under 60°. I have a wetsuit - sleeveless - and tried to get in it twice yesterday for a test swim and didn’t last a minute. I am going to borrow a suit from a friend but it is a dive suit. I figure at least this way I’ll have the longer legs and my arms will be covered. The race is in conjuction with a duathlon so they said that if the water temp is too cold they can switch everyone to that race. If they don’t, any suggestions about swimming in freezing water? I thought about wearing both suits and just fighting through it…only 550 yards.
It is this Sunday (03-22) and I don’t think it will be warming up much by then.
I wouldn’t swim in a dive suit. You will chafe in places you didn’t know you had. They simply are not designed for that motion. I would look into renting a full suit made for swimming. Cost is about $30 for a weekend and well worth it. Also swim booties and a neoprene cap (called squid lids by triathletes) are nice to have.
I went for a dip in a local lake last weekend at 54 degrees with booties, lid and long suit. It was cold in the begining but it was tolerable.
I have done 60-62 degrees in a full wetsuit and it was kind of cold at first but really pretty comfortable once I got warmed up. Probably a little colder in a sleeveless suit. I don’t think I would use a dive suit unless I had tried it out first. Sometimes my hands feel like they are going to cramp in cold water but I have not had any problems.
Agree with the other advice. You could chafe badly in a dive suit, even in a short swim. Those suits aren’t designed for the overhead movements of swimming.
When I lived in Chicago, I would get out in Lake Michigan in June with a sleeveless when H2O temp was around 60, I could barely survive it. In a fullsuit with booties and neoprene cap, you should be fine to mid 50’s. If race day temp is still 60, I’d expect that you’ll be doing the duathlon.
You can tough it out in the sleeveless. Many people do. The swim is very short.
Another option would be a tight underarmour top under the suit (yes, a hassle in transition) and of course use 2-3 caps and cotton in the ears.
If you can get back in the lake this week and can get in for a quite a few minutes before the race, that will help. It’s taken me years to get used to sub-60 degree water, but once you do it makes 60+ feel balmy.
If the choice is between doing the 550yd tri swim with a dive suit or doing the du; I’d choose the du.
If the choice is to do the 550yd tri swim in a sleeveless or doing the du; I’d choose the tri in a sleeveless.
Don’t get me wrong, I still think 60 degrees in a sleeveless will be cold but for 550yds I’d do it.
My $0.02
Rob
If it were me, I’d opt for the du given the choice of a dive suit or a sleveless. Though I did 2 tris in NJ early last season where the temp was 57-58, and it’s doable. Not particularly comfortable, but you’ll survive, at least in a full tri wetsuit.
Hey Fred,
The water was 60 last week so we may luck out and it will go up a few degrees. I raced Trophy Man last year and it was 62, once you get over the initial shock and get going your body gets used to the water and with it being such a short swim you should make it ok in a sleeveless. I may know a few team-mates that could you loan you a full suit if need be. Feel free to pm me with what size and i will see what we can do.
Perhaps it is because I spent a lot of time swimming in Lake Tahoe (the water temperature near the surface generally cools to 40 to 50oF (4.5 to 10oC) during February and March and warms to 65 to 70oF (18 to 21oC) during August and September) but I would never wear anything but what I planned to wear on the bike.
That’s just me…perhaps I am really warm blooded. Then again it is only 550 yards.
once you get over the initial shock and get going your body gets used to the water and with it being such a short swim you should make it ok in a sleeveless.
i agree. i’ve had experience with this very thing in my first worlds. i was fairly chilly and it was a bit on my mind, but not foremost. race situations tend to do that for me.
as above, sleeveless or full suit, i think the pre-race immersion is key. there’s a race close to me that is cold, no matter what the outside temperature. and it’s only 400 yards. getting in beforehand for at least 10 minutes has done this: take me from brainfreeze to hand freeze-but-swimming, to swimming and cold, to used to it. then i get out and even if the race start is many minutes away, i still seem to be fine/used to it when the swim starts.
in sum: it’s short. i’d go with the sleeveless.
peggy
IMCdA was 55 at px swims and warmed to 59.5 on race day in 2008. I wore full suit, bootie, and cap. The 55 was freaking cold, but the extra 4.5 degrees made a huge difference on race day. I was fine during the swim on race day. Some people did wear sleeveless. Hands were numb during the 55, but okay on race day. I also wore those wax ear plugs and seemed to help. Air temp was in the high 40’s or low 50’s at race start with sun mixed with clouds.
Up until the 55 degree px swim, coldest water I swum in was around 64. I’m from the south and wear a wetsuit when legal.
I think you will be fine as long as the air temp is okay. Be sure to kick the last 50 - 100 meters to get the legs moving. It is hard to run on cold legs and you need to get blood flowing through those legs before running to T2.
Skip the dive suit. Might want to wear a tight fitting shirt under the suit, but try this before race day. It might just be enough to get the arms warm.
I am in yours. This will be my second race this season, I did an indoor, and third ever. You finished about 100 spots ahead of me in our age group at MIM last year.
I am thinking about heading out there today after work to get a feel for that first hill.
I did the Spirit of Racine last year and the water was ~55. It was definitely the coldest water I’ve ever swam in, and I was shocked to see a few guys in just spandex shorts or a speedo. That being said, I wore a sleeveless wetsuit with extra sleeves from wetsuit.com and was cold, but OK. I’d also recommend a neoprene hood and booties like some people here said - blue seventy makes some I think. Those helped too. It’s definitely cold when you jump in, but once you get going you start to warm up, and it’ll be over before you know it.
Yeah, the bike starts on a pretty steep incline for the first mile or so until you get up onto the main road. THe rest of the course is up and down fairly consistently and will actually be a rather nice ride. At one point we’ll pass between two lakes and that is a neat section. Obviously the finish is just the opposite of the beginning and the down hill section is steep and a bit curvy. I know I’ll be taking that easy.
The course map takes you to mapmyrun and within that you can see the elevation through-out the course.
(by the way Tex, you’re in the wrong forum)