I know this may come off as sounding like a whiny excuse for a bad race but for me it’s a real problem.
At Nationals on Saturday I wore my wetsuit like everyone else. I’d worn it twice this year in sprint races with 500 yard swims. In both instances after swimming about 200 yards or so I became short of breath and felt anxious. I then had to resort to swimming back stroke and trying to relax but never could.
I just assumed that it was because in addition to nearly drowning as a kid I was just not comfortable with open water swimming. I didn’t consider it to be a wetsuit related problem at all. I figured I’d came to grips with this problem and in 2 Olympic non wetsuit races in August and September I swam pretty well (for me anyway).
So I had no qualms about using a wetsuit on Saturday at Nationals when the temp was around 70. Unluckily for me it was De ja vue (sp?) all over again at the swim start.
I felt ok during the very brief warm up, but as soon as I got about 200-250 yards I started losing it. I struggled with swimming and breathing and even unzipped my suit half way down for more comfort but that didn’t work, just increased the drag.
At about the half way point I take the suit completely off with the help of a volunteer in a canoe. He was a nice old guy but before pulling the suit off my leg asked me if I had any “drawers on” under the suit, I did.
I left the suit with the old canoe guy never to see it again, which is more than fine with me.
After ditching the wetsuit I swam great, but finished the swim about 7-8 minutes slower than I thought I should have. Race over for me as I just went through the motions to finish way off the back in 2:36.
My real question is this: Will I likely feel claustrophic no matter what suit I wear or did I just simply have the wrong size suit? I bought the suit by what the wetsuit sales guy told me based on my body size.
I’d rather freeze my butt off in a swim rather than go through that ordeal again.
Ok, couple of questions for ya… Have you ever had anxiety issues during non-wetsuit swims? This sounds like a performance anxiety issue that a couple of people i know have. They start hard and fast, and burn out 200 yards into the swim, get short of breath and panic. the 200 yards seems to be a link between all the stories i’ve heard. if you haven’t had issues like this, another issue could be: Have you ever trainedin a wetsuit?
If you haven’t trainied in a wetsuit, it’s no wonder you’re having issues. I had similar problems the first race I did in a wetsuit. It also happened to be the first time i swam in it too. 200 yards out, i had a hard time catching my breath, i positively freaked, and did back and breast stroke the rest of the swim. After having trained in the second skin, i got used to how it felt, and how to adjust so that I didn’t choke to death. Now, I swim more comfortably in my wetsuit than i could have imagined on that first day.
The only other option is, yes, the suit is too small… but if that were the case, it would be uncomfortable on dry land as well. (constricting, difficult to breathe, etc)
For me it’s a problem as well! I have the same symptoms, hyperventilation, anxiousness, fear of drowning, etc.
The first suit I had was an Orca (which run tight anyway) that was supposed to be the right size for my height/weight. Way too tight in the chest and neck. Gave it to my brother in law, and got an IM Stealth one size larger than recommended.
Was a bit more comfortable, but I still have the same problems. I just fight through the fears and after about 1/2 of the swim I settle down and am fine.
I have always been a bit claustrophobic and have a thing about my neck being constricted. So I think it is just a personal thing. Maybe over time I’ll finally get used to it.
But for now, while everyone else around me is hoping the water is cold enough to be wetsuit legal, I am praying for just the opposite.
I had the same problem! I’ve done 3 tri’s now with the exact same issues you had in the first 2 that I did.
Here is what I did to overcome it for myself:
To make a long story short (don’t have to read my whole post) : Put the thing on and swim in it as much as possible for a week or two you will get used to it and see the results.
Ok long version!
Pay close attention to how you put it on!
When I put on my wetsuit I leave about 1/2-1 inch of skin between the wetsuit and the start of my wrist. This allows for the wetsuit to be pulled up further. I do the same thing for my legs I make sure the wetsuit is pulled up slightly.
I start by placing my feet in and pulling the wet suit up my legs. I pull the suit up nice and tight to my crotch and then give it several extra tugs to make sure I’m pulling up as much as the suit as possible within my comfort zone =)
When I’m finished I’m usually alittle baggy around the shoulders and the suit is not tugging on the front or back of my neck. For me it was all about giving my chest / neck room to breath and my shoulders room to move.
I had joined a masters swim class and was really confident going into this last tri until about a week before hand. I had decided to do a session in my wetsuit in the pool and I immediately started experiencing shortness of breath and some of the other symptoms that I experienced in my races.
So my solution was to swim every day leading up to my race 200-300 yards. I got a ton of practice putting the thing on and taking it off + I got comfortable in it. I learned to use it for it’s benefits and avoid it’s negative “features”.
I swam the race for the first time! No floating on my back doing the snow angel move =)
I have to disagree. I have a de Soto dos suit, and I really like it. However the first sprint that I did, I had trouble with shortness of breath. Since the T1 suits are two-piece, there are not one layer of rubber, but two that are stretched across your chest. It took a few races to get comfortable with this, but clam and deep breathing seemed to help. I have done up to a 1/2IM in it so far.
The advantage of the T1 suits is that you can size the top and bottom seperatly. Therefore you don’t get a suit that fits in the lower torso, but not the chest (or other way around).