I am doing Timberman this weekend, and I’ve never done a race with wetsuit strippers. I’m pretty fast at getting my wetsuit off, but I am wondering what people recommend. Use them or not? It seems like lying down on the ground would add a lot of extra time. Do they hand you your wetsuit when they are done? If you come out of the water with a lot of people are there enough people there?
There are wetsuit strippers at Timberman this year? I’m not racing but did last year and there were no wetsuit strippers. Checked the athlete guide and didn’t see anything either, unless I missed it. Anyway, getting on your back and having them strip it off was no big deal for me at IMAZ, it was the quickest it ever came off for me.
I too read they would be there for the sprint also. Personally (especially in a sprint) I am not going to trust someone else to do what I know I can do in about 4 seconds, maybe faster now that I am using the anti sticking spray Spam.
Also, as menial as it sounds, I dont feel like laying on my back and having to get back up again wasting energy.
For the uncoordinated amongst us, it is pretty nice. You strip to the waist, flop on the astroturf, and they grab it and whoosh off it goes and they hand it to you as your are getting up. I would say 10 to 15 seconds max. They work in pairs and there are quite a few pairs. I use a lot more energy getting out of the suit by myself than I do flopping and then getting back up.
While it’s nice to have strippers at races, they are slower then taking it off yourself.
They had wetsuit strippers at Mooseman and I loved them. I figured I would use them if I saw them and there were people free. There were plenty free and my wetsuit was pulled off nice and fast. The lying on yoru back is no real issue at all.
“While it’s nice to have strippers at races, they are slower then taking it off yourself.”
I’m pretty postitive in my highly untrained case that is not currently true.
Just one of the many things on the list to address at some point in the future.
It all depends upon how much you are willing to pay.
While it’s nice to have strippers at races, they are slower then taking it off yourself
You really think?
While I can remove my wetsuit pretty damn fast, theres also an effort involved. I enjoy taking a suit down to the waist, running to the end of the line of strippers, laying down and having it jerked off my feet. I don’t think it’s any slower that’s for sure, not to mention I don’t get that head rush of leaning over, slipping it off my heels and attempting to run to my bike.
There is a reason why 90% of pros skip the strippers.
Personal evidence which is N=1 so take it for what it is worth, although it races =7 or 8. I’ve had 3 races where I moved up 1 or 2 slots in my AG by skipping the strippers. Both races I ended up first in my AG at the bikes and first in my AG on the bike course. The other swimmers got stripped, I skipped the stripping. I;ve also watched enough races to see that some strippers are good and some are less then good. For me, being a the FOP of the AG race in most races, it’s not worth chancing it on someone I don’t know. I trust myself to get out of my wetsuit quickly, I don’t trust someone else to do it quickly for me.
There is a time cost to getting stripped. While I’m moving forward, you are stopping, laying down then getting stripped, then standing back up then moving forward. I’m running forward, getting the suit below my hips, get to my bike, putting on helmet + sunglasses while kicking my legs out of the suit. About 50% of the time I need to reach down and get the suit over my ankles, but that is still less time then stopping and starting.
yup, we’ll have wetsuit strippers for both the sprint and 70.3. After you leave the beach, and head up the ramp, they’ll be there. The mat is carpeted for the flop down:)
Wow, you can get your wetsuit off faster by yourself??? I wish I could say the same for myself…
part of the secret is having the ankle holes big enough (by cutting them…), then you can get the suit off as Brian describes…barely have to touch it.
Kurt
participating in Timberpaloosa?
nope, racing www.urban-epic.com me v. CCF smackdown:-)
well, everyone has to make that mistake once, I guess:)
I’m sure Urban Epic will be a great event! But, I’m pretty partial to that little race on Lake Winnipesaukee that’s coming up this weekend…Good luck!
Trukweaz…tell them the real reason you are skipping Timberman…you are fearful all the good advice and training you have given me this summer will result in my whipping your butt :)…kidding of course.
Not that I actually care, but, just to be argumentive, wetsuit strippers shouldn’t exist. Why not add helmet bucklers that put my helmet on me while I’m putting on my shoes or a shoe fitter who slips my shoes on my feet while I remove my helmet? If using a stripper makes your overall race faster then it shouldn’t be any more legal than drafting on the bike should it?