Is this pool swim close to a 1hr IM wetsuit swim?

Triathlon Forum
1

Previously I have managed 58:30, 1:01 and 1:00 for IM swims. This year I don’t think I have been in the pool as much but have tried to work on technique a bit more.

Last night went down and swam 4km in a 50m pool, open turns, with a pull buoy, in (conservatively) just under 1:09. With the number of times I stopped in the first km to fix leaky left lens I can safely say it would have been sub 1:08:30. For the 3.8km therefore it would have been just over 65mins (I was pacing off a beep timer each 25m).

A recent post had the general consensus that a wetsuit gave approximately 10sec/100m. Noting that I used a pull buoy thus got better body position (partially counteracting buoyancy benefit of wetsuit) my legs don’t normally drag too badly, as a coach recently said when I had video analysis.

Anyway the 10 secs/100m (380 secs for 3800m) on paper takes it downto around or just under 60mins. I’m hoping the open turns partially offsets the pull buoy benefits in terms of straight line time. Anyway would you say this is pretty close. Prior to this swim I was thinking that (given the same conditions on race day) my lack of volume might have me around 1:02-1:03 or even worse, for a wetsuit legal swim.

2

I would say that open turns no pull boy, take your 3.8K swim pool time and it is in the range of your IM time. If you add the pull boy, then you have a wetsuit, so you better be faster.

3

Seriously? I wouldn’t say I am noticeably quicker (if at all) with a pull buoy. I hope you’re wrong, because I’ll be gutted seeing 1:05 on that overhead clock! :slight_smile:

4

I find that a 25m swim time equates directly to an open salt water wet suit swim. You added a pool buoy. In my instance that 65 pool swim with pool buoy would see a 65+ time.