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?
Thanks to every one. The problem I have is when I was young cold was OK. No cap no wet suit no problem. Now at age 70 I get cold easily. "The older the colder." Think it will depend on the distance, air temp, and water temp. Thanks again for all of the information.
OK, that's pretty funny right there.
I even hear that there are "noodle" waves now for triathletes.
Race directors want $$$, so they allow wetsuits to keep the numbers up for their events. It obviously also allows a greater number of people to be exposed to events that they wouldn't otherwise do thereby promoting the sport.
During the old IMSA pro days the only thing you were allowed to have was a suit, goggles, one cap (silicone/latex), and ear-plugs. Part of what separates an OW event from everything else is how you can deal with the conditions as well as the distance. My hardest swims were 15K ocean training sessions before the English Channel. The first day the water was 50 and the second day it was 48. I froze my ass off, but came out of it hard as nails.
True OW marathons will greatly reward the tougher swimmers; not necessarily the fastest.
Look at the shear number of people at the starting line for any Ironman event and compare it to the beach before the Tampa Bay marathon swim. Wimps need not apply.
I'm not a fan of wetsuits. At all. And, of course, the pull buoy thing is an abomination.
But, in defense of my triathlete buddies, I have to say: I don't see how you could get on a bike after swimming 2.4 miles sans wetsuit in cold water. You'd either have a l-o-n-g transition, or you'd freeze (maybe literally) on the bike.
When I was training to do a half iron distance triathlon in 2009 I dropped down to 168 lb. I did a nearly 2 hour open water swim @ 60° along with a single and double Alcatraz @ 59°. I definitely felt cold after I got out. I was in great shape overall and pushed myself hard which generated a lot of heat. This year I did a 5 1/2 hour swim in 59° water and never got cold. I was 200 lb. I was swimming much faster, but arguably not in as good shape. I also barely noticed the 65° water on my Catalina crossing, or the 5° drop at the upwelling near the mainland, and I can assure you I was swimming slow.
As you might imagine, I think the extra fat helps. I do believe that as you get older you lose muscle mass so you can't generate as much heat. I also strongly feel that much of people's problems with swimming in cold water can be overcome through proper mental preparation. You need to learn the difference between feeling that the water is cold, and feeling that you are cold. The former needs to be identified and ignored. The latter needs to be addressed.
PS: I wore a wetsuit when racing in triathlons for the speed advantage. I was not going to give up the advantage that WS provide.
Whats so bad about wetsuits?
There is absolutely nothing wrong with wetsuits, the problem is with the people who wear them.
(I honestly have no problem with people wearing wetsuits in OW swimming, so long as they are in a separate categorie than the non-wetsuit swimmers. The more people who participate in the sport, the better. Please google SARC INT if you don't know what it means.)
