At what temp do you bag the wetsuit?

bfritton

Doing Musselman this weekend, for Sprint this morning temp at start was 77. Right now temp is 78 and it is hot today, so will be close tomorrow at best so may not have a decision at all for the race. But assuming temp is wetsuit legal at what point is it wise to just not wear one? At Eagleman it was borderline but I feel wearing the wetsuit may have contributed to my dehydration later in race. I am a decent swimmer, never done swim without wetsuit but confident in my abilities, wetsuit swims at IM distance 1:15 at HIM anywhere from 34 to 37 min.

Any advice appreciated.

 

Thanks.

 

Bill

Joseph Lombardi

 Bill - my opinion is if it is wetsuit legal...wear the wetsuit....it is not only a time saver (10-15sec./100yd) but a physical energy saver...I doubt it contributed to you dehydration....at the higher temp range of wetsuit legal it might be nice to have a sleeveless..but definitley wear the suit.

Paul Hough

For a 1/4 mile sprint swim you will lose more time getting it off than going without ... Unless you have a shorty. You just can't go wrong with a shorty when the water is barely legal, and you won't risk overheating in one.

bfritton

Thanks guys. Paul just to be clear the race is tomorrow and it is a half. If it was a sprint there is no way I would wear one.

Paul Hough

So how did the race go and what did you do about the wetsuit?

bfritton

Race was great except for the thunder, lightening, and torrential downpour for about 15 miles on the bike. The water was 78.9 at the start so wetsuit optional. I chose not to wear the wetsuit. Swam in 40 min flat only 2 minutes or so slower than normal for that race and I really took it easy. PR on bike by 2 minutes and PR the run by 9 or so minutes so overall very happy. Thanks for asking and for the advice.

Paul Hough

I don't think I would like the lightening part, but at least it was COOL during the rain. Hope there weren't too many turns during the downpour. Congrats on the PR!!