Anyone?
I'll be doing the 3km - my first Open Water Swim Event. (There's 800m/1500m/3km/5km options.)
I really do not want to wear a wetsuit, but I do wonder how cold it will be.
Thanks. I'm struggling with this.
The lake is "unusually warm" this year, and we have 4 weeks to go.
But furthermore, the 5k event is NOT ALLOWED wetsuits!! (That really surprised me. I think overheating is the concern. But what about all of those Ironman Tris at 3.8k in warm weather??) I figured if they don't do that in the 5k, then why would I in the 3k, especially considering that I might try the 5k next year?!!
I've never been in a wetsuit. I have 4 Sundays to figure this one out.
Anyone?
I'll be doing the 3km - my first Open Water Swim Event. (There's 800m/1500m/3km/5km options.)
I really do not want to wear a wetsuit, but I do wonder how cold it will be.Good luck!
As for wetsuit or not, it's more a matter of how your cold tolerance is. A quick google search says you're looking at water temperatures in the upper 50's in the nearby sea (www.myweather2.com/.../climate-profile.aspx, so I would suspect the best case scenario in the lake is in the low 60s, but more likely upper 50s since the air temps are ranging from low 50s to low 60s. I know there are lots of tough, marathon open water swimmers who would find that invigorating in a speedo, cap and goggles, but I'd be in a wetsuit and, furthermore, I'd wear an insulated cap (such as www.blueseventy.com/.../thermal-skull-cap). I suspect most, if not all, of the participants will be in wetsuits. The race organizers should be able to give you a better sense what the water temperature is likely to be.
I wimped out of this.
What I have learned in the last two weeks:
-I hate the feeling of wet suits.
-I hate not having a black line to guide me.
-I hate the feeling I get when I am in deep water, far from shore.
-I hate not swimming a very accurately measured distance. (I am OCD in this regard.)
I'm never going to be an open water swimmer. :)
The deep-water thing seems to creep out a lot of people - it even makes me a little uneasy, and I love swimming in lakes/ponds/oceans.
But what about a GPS watch? 😉
I wimped out of this.
What I have learned in the last two weeks:
-I hate the feeling of wet suits.
-I hate not having a black line to guide me.
-I hate the feeling I get when I am in deep water, far from shore.
-I hate not swimming a very accurately measured distance. (I am OCD in this regard.)
I'm never going to be an open water swimmer. :)
So sad. I think you should try swimming point to point along a coastline without a wetsuit, so that you don't have these things to hate. You can have the shore to guide you, you are never far from shore, and the distance can be measured from satellite map.
From all that I see, it was a wonderful event.
I appreciate the suggestions. Thanks. But some of us are just not going to be open-water swimmers. I have great respect for those who are.
Good luck!
As for wetsuit or not, it's more a matter of how your cold tolerance is. A quick google search says you're looking at water temperatures in the upper 50's in the nearby sea (www.myweather2.com/.../climate-profile.aspx, so I would suspect the best case scenario in the lake is in the low 60s, but more likely upper 50s since the air temps are ranging from low 50s to low 60s. I know there are lots of tough, marathon open water swimmers who would find that invigorating in a speedo, cap and goggles, but I'd be in a wetsuit and, furthermore, I'd wear an insulated cap (such as www.blueseventy.com/.../thermal-skull-cap). I suspect most, if not all, of the participants will be in wetsuits. The race organizers should be able to give you a better sense what the water temperature is likely to be.
I really admire this! You gave it an honest try and decided it's not for you - I love open water swimming so of course I'm going to encourage you to give it another try, but at the same time isn't so wonderfully freeing to be an adult and decide, "You know, this activity is just not for me" and never having to do it again if you don't want to?
ETA: apparently I have no idea how to do a quote-reply. This was in response to the OP :)
