Tried my new wetsuit out at the Y. Water temp around 80. Works very well, but too
warm to do much of a workout. Question: What water temp would be the line for wetsuit
or no wetsuit? Is there a temp set by the event?
Whats so bad about wetsuits?
Nothing. There is just this purist holier than thou attitude among some OW swimmers (all present company excepted, of course :) ) who see a wetsuit as a crutch. I do tris and OW swims. Most OW swims forbid wetsuits so I don't wear one. All west coast tris allow them (and some rightly so for some, just did Oceanside 70.3 last weekend at 58 degrees). Do some triathletes suck and wear it for assisted buoyancy? Yup. Is wearing a wetsuit in too -warm wter stupid and poentially dangerous? Yup
But OW swimemrs I guess don't really realize that OW swimming is a different sport than a triathlon, where you have to get out of the water and do something other than sit on the beach sipping water looking at the girls (OK, that's what I do in OW swims). Not only is it a buoyancy issue, and thus speed, but an energy conservation issue. Takes a lot of energy to immerse yourself in 58 degree water. Then you have to ride for 2-3 hours and run for 2 hours.
Westuits are an allowed tool in the sport. Just as disc wheels, aero helmets, blah blah blah. Use them if you are smart. Don't use them if you want to stand on principle. And the more you beat without wearing a suit, the stronger you can thump your chest.
Long story short, you use the tools that are available to you to gain whatever advantage you can. I bet every swimmer here would have used the now banned speedsuits if they were still allowed (and they could afford them). Funny how that works.
ETA - All (most) of the west coast swims here take place between July and Sept, when the water temps go mid 60s or above, so no wetsuits are necessary, even though allowed. Despite my post above, I would never enter the newly added wetsuit division of our biggest 2 mile pier to pier (added after the non summer of 2010 caused lo water temps and a number of DNFs and hypothermia cases), because it's just wrong for that race. :)
Whats so bad about wetsuits?
Nothing. There is just this purist holier than thou attitude among some OW swimmers (all present company excepted, of course :) ) who see a wetsuit as a crutch. I do tris and OW swims. Most OW swims forbid wetsuits so I don't wear one. All west coast tris allow them (and some rightly so for some, just did Oceanside 70.3 last weekend at 58 degrees). Do some triathletes suck and wear it for assisted buoyancy? Yup. Is wearing a wetsuit in too -warm wter stupid and poentially dangerous? Yup
But OW swimemrs I guess don't really realize that OW swimming is a different sport than a triathlon, where you have to get out of the water and do something other than sit on the beach sipping water looking at the girls (OK, that's what I do in OW swims). Not only is it a buoyancy issue, and thus speed, but an energy conservation issue. Takes a lot of energy to immerse yourself in 58 degree water. Then you have to ride for 2-3 hours and run for 2 hours.
Westuits are an allowed tool in the sport. Just as disc wheels, aero helmets, blah blah blah. Use them if you are smart. Don't use them if you want to stand on principle. And the more you beat without wearing a suit, the stronger you can thump your chest.
Long story short, you use the tools that are available to you to gain whatever advantage you can. I bet every swimmer here would have used the now banned speedsuits if they were still allowed (and they could afford them). Funny how that works.
ETA - All (most) of the west coast swims here take place between July and Sept, when the water temps go mid 60s or above, so no wetsuits are necessary, even though allowed. Despite my post above, I would never enter the newly added wetsuit division of our biggest 2 mile pier to pier (added after the non summer of 2010 caused lo water temps and a number of DNFs and hypothermia cases), because it's just wrong for that race. :)
