I know that this is an oft-debated topic, but I'm rethinking registering in the wetsuit division of the RCP Tiburon Mile in September.
I've only recently returned to swimming after two years of doing only cycling. I have about 10 weeks to train for the swim.
But...
I tend to run warm. On the bike I often seem to be wearing far less than most riders on cold days. And the attached picture is me, swimming in the North Sea in 2005. All I was wearing was a thermal cap and and ordinary jammers. I stayed in the water for about 15 minutes. I only got out because my wife was waiting on the shore and getting impatient, and I thought I saw a jellyfish.
I'm not so much worried about the cold so much as not having the stamina to make the crossing without a wetsuit. I know that a wetsuit will allow me to stop if I need to. But is that a legitimate concern? I can swim a mile without stopping, or at least be able to by September. The current is forcasted to be pushing us about a quarter of a knot or so.
The water should be a little over 60 degrees. And I did the swim in 2004 with a wetsuit. I told myself that I'd do it next without one.
Right now my distance pace seems to be around 2 minutes per 100 yards.
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I think its very individual. I did Donner a couple of years ago and it was about 63 degrees. I didn't think it was that cold until the last 20 minutes. When I got out I was shivering.
I didn't have as much trouble with the cold until I started running a few years ago, and burned off most of my body fat. My bouancy changed, and I started to get cold in the lakes.
I guess what I am saying is that the cold can sneak up on you. It is there waiting for you to get tired, or to slow down, and then it nails you.
I have not used a wetsuit myself, I can't afford one. But I think I would want one in the Bay.
Advice? I don't know. If you have a wetsuit, why not try it? If not, well, you'll probably survive, its only a mile!
I think its very individual. I did Donner a couple of years ago and it was about 63 degrees. I didn't think it was that cold until the last 20 minutes. When I got out I was shivering.
I didn't have as much trouble with the cold until I started running a few years ago, and burned off most of my body fat. My bouancy changed, and I started to get cold in the lakes.
I guess what I am saying is that the cold can sneak up on you. It is there waiting for you to get tired, or to slow down, and then it nails you.
I have not used a wetsuit myself, I can't afford one. But I think I would want one in the Bay.
Advice? I don't know. If you have a wetsuit, why not try it? If not, well, you'll probably survive, its only a mile!
