Do I need a wetsuit for 72-78 degree lake swim?

Triathlon Forum
1

Race site for my Oct HIM says lake water temp is likely to be 72-78 degrees and wetsuits may not be allowed depending on temp.

Since I don’t (yet) own a wetsuit, I was actually hoping that 72-78 degrees is warm enough to swim in without the wetsuit.

This website seems to confirm that thought: http://www.wetsuit.com/new_advice_and_temperature_guide.html

What’s your two cents?

2

No you don’t need one but it will make you faster.

3

Yes I’ve heard that. So perhaps a sleeveless? Is the key to speed having ankle length to keep me legs/hips up in a more streamlined position?

4

No way, the fine you’ll save may be lost trying to get out of it!

5

You shouldn’t be too cold in those temps. However, a wetsuit can definitely improve your swimming speed. They are typically even more helpful for swimmers with less-than-perfect form and sinking legs.

6

I am that swimmer with sinking legs. Anyone got any idea how much time they saved because of the wetsuit? 5%? 10%? I do hear the comment about time saved vs time lost getting out of the wetsuit.

7

I am that swimmer with sinking legs. Anyone got any idea how much time they saved because of the wetsuit? 5%? 10%? I do hear the comment about time saved vs time lost getting out of the wetsuit.

Unless the swim is shorter than ~200m, or you are truly awful at getting out of your wettie, it will be faster to swim with a wetsuit, than without.
You can remove the top half of the wetsuit while you are running to transition, then slide off the bottoms, and off you go. This shouldn’t be more than a handful of seconds “time penalty” to do so. A little body glide on the bottoms of the legs (and on the back of your heels, and ankle bones) and it should pop right off.

Poor swimmers (hi, everybody!) benefit more from a wetsuit than do very good ones, as they generally have position issues which a wettie helps correct.

8

I am that swimmer with sinking legs. Anyone got any idea how much time they saved because of the wetsuit? 5%? 10%? I do hear the comment about time saved vs time lost getting out of the wetsuit.

It can be anywhere from 5-15s per 100M faster or 1:30-5 minutes faster in a 70.3 but if you are really lousy it could be even more.

9

Do you need one at those temperatures?

nope.

…It would be wonderful to have our lakes get up to that temperature!

10

You will not need a wetsuit to keep warm during the swim. 78 is the standard temp for competition pools so you have probably been swimming in that temp water all along. 72 degree lake water will feel cooler (but not cold) but will be pretty comfy to swim in sans wetsuit.

As pointed out though, a wetsuit may be faster and if you end up having to stand around for a long time before your wave starts on a cool morning, it might come in handy then.

11

No you do not need one.

BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY…

Since you do not own one and have not used one (I assume), then you should just swim without one. The worse situation you will put yourself into is getting into a wetsuit and struggle with it in really warm waters. That is sort of a triple jeopardy you are getting yourself into. I am comfortable using a wetsuit but I would rather not use one if the water is tolerable without one EVEN if I swim a couple of seconds slower per 100 meters without one.

.

12

Unless you are there to compete for a top spot in your AG I wouldn’t wear one. 72 feels FANTASTIC during a race with no wetsuit. 78 and a wetsuit and you can overheat which could effect the rest of your race. I did an OLY last year in about 80 degree water with a wetsuit (because everyone else wore them and I was trying to win) and I fried on the swim. It cost me dearly the rest of the race!

I have pretty good body position and have tested wetsuit vs. non. back to back. I am a solid 10 sec / 100 yds faster in the wetsuit. It’s almost crazy the difference in speed. A wetsuit will keep both your legs and core more fresh as well due to less effort maintaining body position.

13

Another vote to skip it. You don’t own one and when you do buy one, don’t rush into it. I skip it from about 65 on up. Mine fits poor and I swim slower with it.

14

It also depends on where you train too. The pool at my YMCA has been 85-86F all summer and the same air temp. They dropped it to 83F and it almost feels cool now, so 78F might feel freezing at this point.

15

Unless you are there to compete for a top spot in your AG I wouldn’t wear one. 72 feels FANTASTIC during a race with no wetsuit. …

to YOU maybe, it’s chilly for me. 78 is fine of course- and really, too hot for a wetsuit for anything over 500 or 1000m.

I say shop for a wetsuit and practice in it. you don’t need one for this race, but there will be some race in the near future where you’ll want it and it’s best just to have one. There are many nice models out there these days. and of the name brand suits are pretty good. There will be very little speed difference brand to brand, but a huge difference between not having a wetsuit. Oh- the full sleeved ones are faster than the sleeveless.

16

72 may be chilly, but once you get rolling (it is a race afterall) you warm right up. I’m a freeze baby and have swam no wetsuit in sub 70 and once rolling even that feels fantastic.

I can’t even get into sub 60 water even with a wetsuit. I swam in 60 degree water a week or so ago in Sweden. Far enough north that it wasn’t dark at night. It was not comfortable…with a suit! LOL.

17

There are a few factors to consider here, particularly if you’re a sinky legged swimmer (which means either you kick more, or have poor body position). All of these assume that you buy a properly fitting wetsuit and actually wear it once or twice before the race.

  1. A Wetsuit will make you more hydrodynamic (neoprene / certain fabrics are more hydrophobic than skin, even for good swimmers, its why people wear swimskins)
  2. If you’ve got one that is a bit more buoyant in the legs (HUUB’s various 3:5, a few other companies are making similar now) you’ll have better position which should equate to more speed for less effort (particularly in the legs, meaning fresher for the bike / run, less chance of cramping). Time savings vary, but generally the worse your leg position is, the more you save in the suit. You’d have to be doing a 400m sprint, or get caught taking the suit off and fall on your arse, before you’d lose time in transition over not wearing it.
  3. At 72-78 degrees, you don’t necessarily need one for the warmth, but, this doesn’t factor in the air temperature. If you’ve got a day with a 72 degree lake in the morning, and the air temperature has plummeted due to bad weather to 67-68, it’s going to be considerably colder.
18

Thanks. The event is the Austin Ironman 70.3. Looking at videos on YouTube it seems like the water temp can actually drop to high 60s. But the race website says 72-78. I like the idea of the extra buoyancy but am concerned about getting to hot or feeling restricted/claustrophobic in the suit. Perhaps I should go sleeveless? And/or consider a thinner suit vs a thicker suit?

19

Found this useful site. They recommend sleeveless.

http://www.wetsuitrental.com/...man-70-3-austin.html

**Event Date: **10/28/2012
**Swim Venue: **Decker Lake
**Water Temperature: **low to high 70’s
**Temperature 2007: 85 degreesTemperature 2008: 78 degreesTemperature 2009: 70 degreesTemperature 2010: 73 degreesTemperature 2011: 73 degreesPosted Average Temperature: **72-78 degrees