Can someone give me an idea how much of a time loss am I looking at (on average, everyone will be different) racing HIM swim in a Velocity++ vs. full sleeve suit. I had 2 swim splits last year 30:45, 1 at 28:45, all full sleeve suit. This year in similar form with pretty decent stroke mechanics and not dragging/ sinking legs.
I swam today OWS in Helix and was badly overheating, felt major shoulder fatigue as the suit is just not letting me have my long stroke. Overheating was making me almost sick. Water felt warmer than at the pool, even though the official water temp report is about 71F.
Racing next weekend and leaning towards the skin rather than a suit. No sleeveless and no intention of buying one now.
Any help with info on this is appreciated.
Thanks.
Anyone, maybe tested suit vs. swim skin time loss? Maybe, anyone?
I swam today OWS in Helix and was badly overheating, felt major shoulder fatigue as the suit is just not letting me have my long stroke
I can’t comment on the over-heating - that’s an individual thing.
However, you should not be experiencing significant “shoulder fatique” if you are in the right wetsuit for you. One or all three the of the following are off:
- Wrong brand
- Wrong Size
- Suit not fitted to you properly
I go over all of the above in more detail in this blog post.
http://stevefleck.blogspot.com/2009/05/its-all-about-fit.html
Hope this helps.
Thanks Fleck. I have been suspecting that all along. I will have to address that at the end of the season. For now it’s either that suit or a swim skin for this coming Sunday. I am an ok swimmer, not a speed demon,but am very comfortable without anything. Just wondering if I can quantify the time loss, so that I can scale my time goal back and be mentally prepared for it.
I will have to research and try suits. I bought 2008 B70 Helix online. You know how that goes wright. Well, I did it and got a “good deal”. Now, I will have to get another one. Pay me now or pay me later. It will cost more now.
I am 5’9", 155lbs, 39.5in chest, 29.5 in waist, large thighs and calves. I am built like a hybrid between a swimmer and a cyclist. I will have to look into manufacturers that make suits close to my body proportions.
Thanks for your help.
The swimskin will get you up to 1 second per 100, the wetsuit between 6 to 10 seconds at your speed. So you can do the math and figure out what your times should be with each. Transition time to get each off should be close, but I think the swimskins take a couple seconds longer…
Thanks for the info.
You might also want to look at the two piece wetsuit for your build. If you are having trouple fitting your top and bottom half, it allows you to get different sizes for each to make sure that both top and bottom fit the way it is supposed to… As to you heating problem, just flip off your swim cap at the start of the swim, that will make all the difference inthe world at to overheating…
When I took the cap off, I swear I thought you could do eggs on my head. It was like someone turned the stove off. When I took the suit off, my body was screaming hot, I instantly gulped two bottles of water.
Water temp must have been over 80F+. You know when it feels like a bath tub when you step in it. You know how hot it will get half way through the swim.
I will look into all options including Desoto suits. It make sense on two piece.
Thanks for your advice.