OK, I admit that I'm not that tough when it comes to cold water, but would love some advice. I'm doing a splash 'n dash this weekend in Tempe -- 1500M swim and a 3KM run. The current water temp is 71 and the air temp during the time of the swim will likely be around 65. Most of the people in the race will be triathletes, so I'm assuming they'll be wearing wetsuits. I'm mainly doing the race as a warmup for a 2.4 mile swim in the same lake the following week.
It seems a waste of time to put on a wetsuit only to have to strip it off for a 3KM run ... especially as I'm not a triathlete and therefore not experienced in transitions. Two questions:
Am I being a wimp to think that 71 degrees is too cold to swim without one?
Am I putting myself at a significant disadvantage vs. the wetsuit-clad triathletes to not wear one?
Patrick,
71 degrees should be no problem for most people (though I recall you have a lower body fat than me, so I dunno...). I did a Lake Placid 2-mile swim with a similar water temp but a much colder air temp -- and rainy -- and the water actually felt pretty good. Getting out, on the other hand...!
I've done a similar race -- but with a 40k bike leg instead of a run -- and I do feel that most of the time you make up by wearing a wetsuit is lost in the slower transition.
But Rob Jones -- fast, experienced OW swimmer -- estimates that you'd be about 1 min faster per mile of swimming with a wetsuit. I don't think you'll need one minute to remove a wetsuit in transition, so based on his guess you'd be better off with the wetsuit.
Ultimately it is a personal choice. I like having one less thing to mess with, if possible. So -- if it were me -- I would base it solely on temperature. If you were doing a LONG run after, I would say wear it to conserve energy, but I think you'd be fine with only a 3k.
Good luck in the race.
Patrick,
71 degrees should be no problem for most people (though I recall you have a lower body fat than me, so I dunno...). I did a Lake Placid 2-mile swim with a similar water temp but a much colder air temp -- and rainy -- and the water actually felt pretty good. Getting out, on the other hand...!
I've done a similar race -- but with a 40k bike leg instead of a run -- and I do feel that most of the time you make up by wearing a wetsuit is lost in the slower transition.
But Rob Jones -- fast, experienced OW swimmer -- estimates that you'd be about 1 min faster per mile of swimming with a wetsuit. I don't think you'll need one minute to remove a wetsuit in transition, so based on his guess you'd be better off with the wetsuit.
Ultimately it is a personal choice. I like having one less thing to mess with, if possible. So -- if it were me -- I would base it solely on temperature. If you were doing a LONG run after, I would say wear it to conserve energy, but I think you'd be fine with only a 3k.
Good luck in the race.
