I am looking at doing my first Ironman in 2011. Have thought about signing up for CDA. However, I don't have a lot of experience in cold water swimming. Looking over the CDA site, it reported the water temp is usually 63-64 degrees..Is this a problem for anyone? Or, I am just being a little timid here; no guts. Of course, I have a LS wetsuit and have done a couple sprints in it but nothing like that water temp reported for CDA.
You should have no problems,
You should have no problems, I did this race in 2007 and the biggest challenge we had was waves and chop from the very windy conditions. You can also try a neoprene cap if you are worried, I used one in Oceanside 70.3 and it saved my life :)
I did Cda 2006 and am going
I did Cda 2006 and am going back on 2010. When there in '06, I did a pre-swim Saturday and it was cooooold. But come race day, "Hhhhhm, it was colder yesterday" (ie, you won't really notice 63-64 on race day [b]if you are wearig a full[/b].
I did CDA in 2008 and the
I did CDA in 2008 and the water temp was in the high 50's. I think on Friday it was 56. I remember it being damn cold, but like others said come race day it didn't seem that bad. Maybe it was the adrenaline rushing through me. Don't let water temp make your decision on which event to do or not do. At worst you are only in it for 2hrs.
CDA is about the right time
CDA is about the right time of year for me as far as training. Living in Texas the summers are tough to train through. Of course, seems I read somewhere that that run can be hot there. Appreciate the good feedback on this.
I had hypothermia at T1
I had hypothermia at T1 during IMC 2008.
I had only a farmer john suit and my bare arms and shoulders shed a lot of heat.
I got to the first turn in 30 minutes and felt cold. At that point I knew I wasn't going to warm up because I was already swimming as fast as I was able, so I just had to grit my teeth and bear it.
I shivered all the way to McLean Creek climb before I warmed up.
It was a rare occasion. There had been a storm and high winds mid-week and it had churned up cold water from the lake bottom. It has only happened the one time in the 20 years I have been in Penticton for IMC.
The most important thing I did to protect myself from the cold water was to wear ear plugs under my swim cap. It hurts my inner ears a lot if I get cold water in there.
PoC
It was about 53F for the
It was about 53F for the California 1/2 Ironman in 09. I wore my old Xterra full suit and a neoprene cap. I did not feel too cold. At first, it's chilly but with the swim, I felt comfortable. I would opt to go with just my normal swim cap instead of dual layering a 3mm neoprene cap... the chin strap felt uncomfortable to me. My hands and feet were pretty cold but not in a painful kind of way.. I could have done a 2.4mi in that water temp without too much discomfort.
As long as you are wearing a
As long as you are wearing a full wetsuit, you should be fine. I did a HIM in 54F water and it was cold to begin with, but quickly you got used to it and I could have gone a lot longer after I got used to the water. A neoprene cap and neoprene socks helped, but I could have gotten by without them.