Just an update for anybody who is doing the Halfmoon tri this weekend, so far the water is about 74 degrees.
Wow!! I re-checked the web site and wetsuit cut off is 78. Now I have to decide whether to wear it or not, although if it keeps hitting the 90s, that decision may be made for us.
Unless you are a good swimmer I would wear it up to the 78 degree mark. Thursday and Friday are suppose to cool down some. Should be OK.
Among the tri crowd, I’m a pretty strong swimmer. I have to balance whether the time lost not wearing the wetsuit is greater than the time lost getting it off in T1.
Among the tri crowd, I have to balance whether I want the search and rescue people to be able to easily find my body or not.
If it is like Seahorse it should be pretty comfortable with a full wetsuit. Pretty miserable without one. I think Half Moon is relatively shallow so the temperature changes either way rapidly. It should be a good swim.
My husband will be doing the race as a duathlon. He is not allowed to do open water swims for that reason exactly:)
Personally, I think they need to lower the cutoff temp. 78 is too warm. I get pretty hot in a full suit, and end up trying to let in some water during the swim to keep from overheating.
There is some strength to this argument. I had my suit on for a while before the start of the race at Seahorse and by the time I lumbered out of the water I was plenty ready to take that thing off.
That is another reason I like the T1, it is a little “cooler” than some other full suits. More water seems to enter and I like that for temperature control reasons. I doubt it slows the suit down any. They are just so damn fast. So was the Aquaman Metal Cell I used. I liked that suit. I am bringing both to Ann Arbor. I’ll decide which one to wear depending on the temp.
This will be my first tri since 1988. I’m too cheap to buy a wetsuit just yet (at one tri every 16 years my commitment to the sport is somewhat in doubt) so I am very glad to hear the water is warming up.
No one wore a wetsuit in the last tri I did. I’m curious, what % of participants in an event with this water temp and distance of the swim (1/2 mile) will likely be wearing wetsuits?
This will be my first triathlon, and I am far too cheap to buy a wetsuit when I may never do another (not the plan, but life can throw you curves). I only bought the tri-shorts because I knew that I could use them to ride my bike even if I ended up never doing another triathlon.
Anyway, I am very glad to hear the water is getting warmer. I was a little concerned when I got that E Mail blast a couple days ago saying the water is usually in the mid-60s after the website said average temp is usually 76. But, my HS pool was usually around 74 so that I know that should not be a problem.
If you look at the photos from several years of previous Ann Arbor Triathlons I would say at leat 85% of the field (or more) used a wetsuit. In the photos of the wave starts it seems like 100% are wearing one.
They take pictures and post them on the web??? That changes everything. Now I’m going to have to swim in a T-shirt.
Agreed. I thought the point of wearing a wetsuit was to keep one warm in cold water, not as a performance aid. There is nothing scary about 78 degree water! I did an Oly distance swim a few years ago in 66 degree water in a pair of lycra shorts, and while I was cold at the start (standing around in the water, plus chilly air temp), I warmed up quickly on the swim. Seems like the cutoff should be more like 72 or at least 74!
I’d be amazed if Half Moon goes over 78 by this weekend. I believe there are some springs which help feed the water level and readings change dramatically out from shore. Keep in mind that most temps are taken in less than 12 inches depth along the shoreline where the water temp is always significantly warmer than 100 yards out where the depth may be 30-50 feet+. USAT regs aside, and making no assumption on the method used by Elite, I never could figure out why most RD’s or swim coordinators rarely head out and take several readings around the course and average them out to essentially come up with a true reading. Shoreline temps just don’t reflect what we really slosh through.
Your’e right about Halfmoon being spring fed. If we had warm nights and 90 degree days until then I could see it happen. But I don’t think that will be the case. I measured my temp about 2’ under water approx 20’ from shore (end of my dock).
USA Swimming rules state that pool water for competitions must be kept between 78 and 80. So - triathletes get to wear wetsuits in water that is only 2 degrees colder than the WARMEST water an 8 year kid is supposed to race in wearing just a bathing suit!
Heck with my depleted wallet excuse - I’m going wetsuitless this weekend on principle.
LOL Exactly! That’s what its all about…your choice. When I did Chicago, in '95 I think, I was the only one in my wave without a wetsuit. I stood out like I don’t wanna tell ya. But I didn’t give a hoot since I was having a blast. I was terribly slow on comparison to everyone else in the group…but flying for me based on I could have done 5 or 6 years prior.
What’s fun is to try to convince your health club to keep the pool at 78 - 80 degrees so you don’t overheat while working out. Too many blue hairs complaining if it’s not over 85.