We are putting together an 11k lake swim (7 miles) in a Canadian summer (lake temperatures around 24 degrees Celsius (78 degrees Fahrenheit).
The swim style is *** stroke only and the swimmers will be relatively strong but as it is not a race the pace is moderate. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to wear (wet suits, everyday swimming gear, rash vest / lycra suits)? Also what time frame would it take to swim 11ks at a moderate *** stroke pace? Many thanks.
Thanks for the information. We are doing a charity marathon for *** Cancer awareness that is why we are doing breaststroke (Breaststroke for *** Cancer). We have support boats and fully expect it to be a long hawl. I was just not sure what to wear given the distance and time in the water. Regards.
If anyone does decide to use a wetsuit, the "shorty" style is probably best. There was one ***-stroker on the Swimtrek tour I did last fall, and she couldn't get on with a full-length wetsuit, finding it too restrictive, but managed with the short sleeve/leg suit she'd brought with her. That's another thing - anyone using one had better practice a few times beforehand.
You might want to bend the rules a little and permit dolphin or scissor kick. I think people could get really sore knees from 11k of whip kick.
I second the 4 hour gestimate.
I figured 2 min /100 with out walls and also rounded up to a full hour. I would be surprised if someone does it faster than 3.5 hours.
I also think the water will be warm enough to just wear your regular suit. when I wear my wetsuit I feel like I am on top of the water, and tried taking a few strokes of breaststroke, felt weird on my legs, and I felt my neck getting stiff from fighting against the suit.
Good luck
You may want to check out some of the race results for events in the UK. They often have a breaststroke division even in some of the longer races.
Start here:
http://www.bldsa.org.uk/
-LBJ
