Who Wants to Get Active--Belle: The Wetsuit Dilemma

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Who Wants to Get Active--Belle

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The Wetsuit Dilemma

Posted by Active Belle on Apr 16, 2008 5:12:31 PM

Gale~

The Tri-California site lists the water temperature for Wildflower between 65 and 68 degrees. The Air temp right now is 71 degrees. Would you recommend that I use a wetsuit? Please keep the following in mind:

1) I have never been swimming in a wetsuit.

2) I don't own a wetsuit and prefer not to purchase one.

I could rent one however is that a good idea when I have never used one before?

Thanks

769 Views Tags: training, swimming, triathlon, swim, tri_training, triathlon_training, open-water, wetsuits

Comments (7)

Apr 17, 2008 5:36 AM

Manti says:

Depends on how long the swim is and how strong a swimmer you are. If you are a strong swimmer and this is just sprint TRI, than probably wouldnt worry about a wet suit as it will take you as much time to strip out of it as you will realize in time savings from wearing it....

However, if it is a longer swim, or you are not a great swimmer, than the bouyancy you get from the suit will benefit you greatly and is worth the rental (or ask around, someone you know is bound to have one that will fit you).

Apr 17, 2008 7:48 AM

Gale Bernhardt says:

Hey Belle ~

I agree with Manti's comments. Additionally, if you are a cold water weenie (like me) then an Olympic distance swim in 65 to 68 degrees is miserable. Where I live, it is possible to rent one (or maybe you can borrow one, as Manti suggests). If you borrow or rent, be sure you have enough room in the shoulders and neck. Of course you don't want too much room either. If possible, try out the rental or loaner before race day.

On your dry run (or would that be wet run?) with the wet suit, try to notice any hot spots where the wetsuit rubs. Typical areas are around the neck and around your arm where the seam of your business blouse has the sleeve attached to the main body.

Let me know how the wetsuit testing goes.

Apr 17, 2008 9:25 AM

Active Belle says:

Thanks guys! Based on your comments I am going to rent (possibly buy) a wetsuit. It's not a sprint and I am absolutely, 100 percent a cold-water weenie!

Apr 17, 2008 11:11 AM

Diana says:

hey Michelle, you can use one of ours (we have a shorty that will fit you and I think a few longs that you can choose from) ((the warmth and buoyancy are totally worth the time to strip))

Oct 28, 2008 7:56 AM

lifrunner says in response to Active Belle:

Hi!

I am in the same predicament that you were back in April. How did it go? Did you rent one?

Oct 28, 2008 10:02 AM

Active Belle says in response to lifrunner:

Hey, I did rent one and I'm glad I did.

I live in San Diego so I joined the San Diego Tri Club which costs $65. With the membership, I was able to get a free wetsuit rental from a local shop. It normally would have cost around $45. So for $20 extra I got to join the tri club too. You can also check out wetsuitrental.com

The water was pretty cold and shocking so it was nice to have but I had not practiced with it so the first few hundred yards were stressful as the neck felt tight and restricting.

It's hard to practice with it if you are renting it so I would suggest taking a few strokes the morning of the race, just to familiarize yourself with how it feels.

I did another race recently where the water was 65 degrees but I was only doing a supersprint~~less then 400 meters~~so I went without a wetsuit. The water was super cold but it was a swim start so I was able to get over the initial shock before I had to start swimming, then I was perfectly comfortable with the temps by the time I got out of the water.

I hope this helps. If the race is any longer than a supersprint, I would recommend the wetsuit.

Good Luck!

Belle

Oct 28, 2008 7:08 PM

Manti says in response to Active Belle:

I am going to change my opinion from earlier in this post... and say... yes the wetsuit is worth it! I would say I am a strong swimmer and as you can see from this forum (http://timbermantri.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2304) I seriously questioned if it would be worth wearing a wetsuit for the Timberman Sprint TRI. As you can see from my tests (in the forum post link above), wearing a wetsuit seriously cut my time down even in a short quarter mile swim.

On race day... I shaved my swim time from 10+ minutes in Timberman last year to 7:46 this year... mostly from wearing a wetsuit (a small bit of the improvement might have been from fitness).

If you are not a strong swimmer... the wetsuit will make an even more dramatic change in your time... plus give you confidence in the water from the flotation it provides.

Belle is a little active but she wants to get more active. Follow her through videos and blogs as she works with help from Active Expert Gale Bernhardt to prepare for the wildflower triathlon next May.

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