Wetsuit or Not?
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1349 days
emzman posted 19 weeks ago.
Are you racing Hagg Lake too? I was debating whether to wear one also. I guess the water is supposed to be around 70 degrees. This is my 4th year doing Hagg Lake...the hills kick my ass every year. Since you're doing the sprint, probably don't need the wetsuit. I need my wetsuit because I tend to drag my hips. Good luck, whatever you choose!
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523 days
fawcettenator posted 19 weeks ago.
Ya, I am racing Hagg Lake I love the course, but the hills can be painful!! Thanks for the input on the wetsuit, I was thinking along the lines of skipping the wetsuit, but then I do love the added buoyancy.
Tired is a state of mind, exhaustion is a state of body.
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158 days
Dmoney517 posted 19 weeks ago.
I skipped the wetsuit in my last race (actually was told no wetsuits by the RD, water temp 82F). 1000m swim. Regretted it. If you are a strong swimmer you could do it fine I am sure. Swimming is my weakest area and all my training is done in the wetsuit so not having it on was a wake up call.
Will the speed you game from wearing the wetsuit be greater than time lost in transition taking it off? If it is wear it, if not, don't.
444
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Sully800 posted 19 weeks ago.
I prefer the freedom of no wetsuit. Of course I opted for a full suit, instead of sleeveless, which was probably a mistake because it always makes me feel constricted. I've never done any time trials to compare my pace with and without the suit, but in short races I am more comfortable without it so I leave it at home.
For people who aren't as confident at swimming I know the buoyancy of the wetsuit makes them more confident. This change in mental state can affect your race much more than the buoyancy itself or the increased transition time.
In summary, do whatever makes you feel most confident and comfortable because that will end up making you the fastest.
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TriSooner posted 19 weeks ago.
fawcettenator wrote:
I am doing a sprint triathlon . . . the water is fairly warm, so I wouldn't be cold
Someone needs to make a decision tree for this. "Should I wear a wetsuit? Is it a sprint? No."
So you have an 800m swim in warm water. Right off the bat I say, "No." But let's put some figures to confirm or deny such a decision. Assume you swim the 800 at a 1:45 per 100m pace (which at that pace you probably wouldn't 'need' one anyways). Next, let's assume the wetsuit helps you improve your pace by 5% (now you're ~1:40, which is probably a rather liberal improvement). So you have effectively gone from a 14:00 finish to a 13:20 finish. Woot! A whopping :40 seconds. (I'm ignoring the fact that you have to use your legs less while wearing a wetsuit, thus saving them a bit for the bike. I'm ignoring that because the OP didn't mention anything about saving his legs, rather he only mentioned the water temp, time in transition, and benefit in the water - not the subsequent benefits on the bike/run.) So the deciding factor is, "Are you 100% sure you can you get off your wetsuit and store it under your rack in under 40 seconds?"
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fastdog5 posted 19 weeks ago.
Depends on the length of the swim (not mentioned) and how strong of a swimmer you are (also not mentioned). IMO it also depends on your focus in terms of race distance. For example, I do mostly Oly distance, so when I do sprints & have the option, I will wear my wetsuit to practice getting out of it. If it "costs" me some time, that's OK because none of my sprint races are "A" races.
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670 days
gshuldes posted 19 weeks ago.
+1 Trisooner ... this question keeps coming up and the answer is simple ... If you save more time on the swim than you lose in T1 then wear it, if not then don't wear it.
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523 days
fawcettenator posted 19 weeks ago.
Thanks for the input, sorry I wasn't clear enough. I am a strong swimmer and my pace per 100m is around 1:21 for a sprint, which is to my knowledge a 1/2 mile. I understood the fact that if I save more time in the water, than i lose in T1 then I should wear it. That being said, I don't have the time, nor the ability to time myself for this. I thought that some people might know if it is actually faster, or not. Thanks again. 8-)
Tired is a state of mind, exhaustion is a state of body.
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TriSooner posted 19 weeks ago.
fawcettenator wrote:
my pace per 100m is around 1:21 for a sprint
That's wicked fast (for a tri). You have no biz wearing a wetsuit :) At that pace you have far exceeded the point of diminishing returns. As you've noted, the suit isn't going to help you - when you're already an FOP swimmer - nearly as much as if you were a BOP 'floater'.
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670 days
gshuldes posted 19 weeks ago.
My point is that it totally depends on how much time YOU will save on the swim ... so no one else can decide that for you. Strong swimmers (like you) usually benefit much less from a wetsuit than weak swimmers do. If you search around you'll see time savings per 100m ranging from 2 to 15 seconds or more. You will be on the low end of this range, so you might only save 16 seconds per 1/2 mile while a weaker swimmer who saves 10 seconds per 100m would save 80 seconds per 1/2 mile.
So I am doing a sprint triathlon this weekend, but I am wondering whether or not I should where a wetsuit. I have a new Orca Equip wetsuit that I have worn in a few races. I have a tri suit made by speedo, it has a sharkskin outside "pattern" to it, so it is supposed to "Glide" through the water. The water is fairly warm, so I wouldn't be cold. Should I save myself some time in transition and skip the wetsuit, or is it more of a benefit in the water than it is a detriment in transition? Thanks in advanced for the feedback 8-)
Tired is a state of mind, exhaustion is a state of body.