Last time I did IMMOO, I wore a full wetsuit, and I swear I was dehydrated when I got out of the water cuz the water was so warm (and, uh… maybe I pushed too hard on the swim). This year, the water, is high 70’s, I hear.
Does anyone have an opinion on the advantages of wearing a wetsuit (buoyancy, faster times) being counteracted by overheating in warmer water?
Thanks!
Pat
You’ll give away a lot of free speed by taking off the wetsuit. It’s like intentionally slowing down during a downhill section of the run/bike. Take advantage of the free speed. Maybe the last time you got dehydrated it was a combination of the swim and pre-race nutrition strategy? I’m thinking to get that dehydrated during the swim has to be more than just the wetsuit in upper 70’s water temps.
I agree.
The first and best option for an IM swim is always a full suit as it’s going to be faster and for this long a swim can save a good chunk of time and or energy over even a short-sleeve suit.
One key is being sure that you are well hydrated the morning of the race before the swim starts and then make it a priority to get going on the hydration plan as soon as you settle in on the bike. Typically what happens is that people get out of the water, in say 1:30, they may feel a bit queezy early on in the bike and then delay the hydration/nutrition program on the bike and they may now be beyond the two hour marke of the race and by this point, now they are right up against the wall and if things are further delayed, they more or likley will start to become dehydrated. How to solve this - do some swim/bike Transition workout where you go from a long hard swim, right to the bike. Get settle in on the bike and get going with the hydration program ASAP.
My feeling is that this is less of an issue of wetsuit choice and more an issue of not staying on top of the hydration/nutrition as I have described above.
OK, thanks guys. I think u r correct re: nutrition/hydration. I stopped drinking at about 6:00 or so cuz I didn’t want to have to pee non stop while in my wetsuit… also, I didn’t drink until about mile 10 or so of the ride.
Phew, I thought you were asking about whether or not to wear a condom…
On a more serious note, I find that a wetsuit has always been faster and i’ve conserved more energy than without, plus the amount of water that I swallow is definitely take care of dehydration. Just my two cents…
E
For me the answer was the Speed Tube at the Vineman full where the water was 76-77F. I most likely gave up some time but got much of the wet suit advantage but I was cool and comfortable. That will be my short distance and warm water choice from now on.
Dave
If the sum of the water temperature and the dew point at the start of the race is going to be more than 150, it might be worth going without because you’re talking serious heat/humidity issues you’re going to be fighting all day.
If not, wear the suit.
Wear the wetsuit definitely. I wore one in the same temp water (if not only a bit warmer) last yr in MiamiMan in November and had no problems (not that everyone’s the same but I dont think it would be considered dehydrating maybe just a bit suffocating). This also agrees with the idea that it was pre-nutrition or just too hard coming out of the gate.