Wetsuit HIM?
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Anton posted 20 weeks ago.
Depends on water temps and your comfort level and swim ability. That's all. Does the RD make a recommendation? Do they quote water temps from past years? Does it say "Wet suits encouraged"?
Are you a good swimmer at that distance? Comfortable in the scrum that passes for a swim start?
If you have doubts...you can always rent a suit or go without and see what happens. Ask around here and see if anyone else has done the race before and good give advice.
"What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?" - Vincent Van Gogh
My Blog: http://agingsuperhero.blogspot.com
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JMA posted 20 weeks ago.
If it's a wetsuit legal race, you should wear a wetsuit. You can rent one to see what a difference it makes...then you will want to buy one once you know. A wetsuit will make you buoyant and will allow you to put all of your energy into moving forward. I rented one from Wetsuit Rentals a couple of years ago and ended up buying it.
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fastdog5 posted 20 weeks ago.
+1. Beyond comfort level and water temp, they do make you faster.
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StephenPDennis posted 20 weeks ago.
I really have to agree with the above posts. I'm, admittedly, not a terribly strong swimmer and my first sprint's .75k swim was more than a moderate challenge for me. After asking a similar question to the forum a few weeks ago I went out and bought a Quintana Roo full-body for about $175. I don't know about the others here, but that's a huge investment for me and it came at the expense of aerobars and/or clip-ins. My logic was that while all the other gear can improve my time, a wetsuit can actually help me literally survive the swim. Remember - you can't just pull over and a take a breather in a deep water start. And what a difference it made! I came in 9th in my AG (of 62) in the swim and like I said, I am not a strong swimmer.
I would agree with the above and say rent a suit in your feasible purchase range for the race. Many decent LBS's will have a small suit selection and sometimes they can let you rent directly from the store. While I can't imagine doing a HIM right now (eventually! Good luck on yours by the way!), I definitely can't imagine swimming that far without a suit, it would be like running a marathon in sandals.
Good luck again! We expect, nay demand, an RR!!!
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xc800runner posted 20 weeks ago.
StephenPDennis wrote:
I definitely can't imagine swimming that far without a suit, it would be like running a marathon in sandals.
Seriously? Like running a marathon in sandals? Not quite. More like the difference between motion control trainers and 6 oz. flats.
If you can swim, and the water temp is over 60 deg, you don't need a wetsuit. Sure, it'll save you 2 minutes in the water, or you can swim more relaxed and save some energy for the bike, but you're looking at a a 56 mi bike and 13 mi run, most of which you're going to cruise at a comfortable pace, so the energy saved isn't all that important.
And if you panic at some point and need a rest, you can grab onto one of the boats, guards on boards or kayaks, whatever they have for race support and rest until you're ready to carry on.
I have a full wetsuit that I'll use to race in so I can save a minute or so in an olympic, but there's no real need for it unless the water is too cold.
2934
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1356 days
Anton posted 20 weeks ago.
" If you can swim, and the water temp is over 60 deg, you don't need a wet suit."
What?
Runner,buddy, maybe YOU don't need a wet suit at those temps...but there are one heck of a lot of people who do. You just can't make a blanket statement like that, since everyone is different and is affected by the cold in different ways.
That's why the USAT allows wetsuits "up to and including 78 degrees." and between 78 and 84, but you won't win any prizes.
BTW, In Europe, and I've seen it here, folks run marathons in sandals all the time. Sure they're running sandals, but sandals none the less. They're almost impossible to find here. Nike made 'em for awhile but then dropped them.
"What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?" - Vincent Van Gogh
My Blog: http://agingsuperhero.blogspot.com
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TriSooner posted 20 weeks ago.
xc800runner wrote:
Seriously? Like running a marathon in sandals?
+1 Rent one. For that distance it will make it easier to swim b/c you are more buoyant. Another more apt analogy might be to compare swimming in fresh water vs. swimming in salt water.
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xc800runner posted 20 weeks ago.
I was picturing someone trotting down the street in a pair of flip flops, clacking along the way.
As for the wetsuit requirement, if the temp is below 60, I believe they are mandatory. But fro
there to 78, you have a choice. Thus, you don't "need" one.
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Anton posted 20 weeks ago.
Ah...got it.
"What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?" - Vincent Van Gogh
My Blog: http://agingsuperhero.blogspot.com
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jsk85 posted 20 weeks ago.
My .02
I'm not a very strong swimmer...but have completed 2 HIM swims w/o a wetsuit (both were wetsuit legal I just didn't have one)
i managed to not be the last one out of the water, which I figure is pretty good...I have one now and wouldn't want to go back now that I've experienced them, but I certainly don't think they're necessary for the events I used them for (water around 70ish for both). The extra energy i had to exert on the swim didn't make a huge difference in the course of the day as far as I could tell since I'm not exactly competing on an elite level.
So I'd say, if you don't want to spend the money and the water is a moderate temp...the answer is you don't have to get one, so you might as well just hold off or save the money for now
im racing my first HIM in a relatively calm lake in 3 weeks. i dont currently have a wetsuit and at this point dont plan on buying one because most of my money has gone into my bike. however, if it seems NECESSARY than i will look into it. thanks in advance for all of your input!!