first wetsuit swim

[silver]

I just tried out my rented wetsuit tonight in the pool and I have some questions.

Is some water supposed to get into the wetsuit? If not, what does it mean that it does?

It did seem like a good fit, but this is all new to me.

[kelownagirl]

Oh I was going to post about this today. I get to borrow a wet suit tomorrow and I really want to try it out but didn't know if I would look dumb doing that at the pool.

So did people look at you funny? I am so self-conscious sometimes... :rolleyes: :o

I think I remember someone saying to let water into the wetsuit as soon as they get in so it warms up. I'll be curious to see what the answer is.

[silver]

hey kg, yeah, I was a little nervous about doing the wetsuit in the pool thing but figured I had to give it a try. Ended up there was only one other person in the pool and she never acknowledged my presence.

I kept telling myself, "I look like a cool triathlete"

I'm so glad that I did try it. I'm going to try for a couple more times hopefully.

The first length across that pool was freaky, but I became more comfy as time went on.

[kelownagirl]

hey kg, yeah, I was a little nervous about doing the wetsuit in the pool thing but figured I had to give it a try. Ended up there was only one other person in the pool and she never acknowledged my presence.

I kept telling myself, "I look like a cool triathlete"

I'm so glad that I did try it. I'm going to try for a couple more times hopefully.

The first length across that pool was freaky, but I became more comfy as time went on.


Well I just gotta remember that no one can recognize me anyway with the swim cap and goggles. I KNOW I will feel terribly self-conscious though. Especially trying to get the thing on in the change room. But now that you said you did it, I will do it too.

[Zen]

I think I remember someone saying to let water into the wetsuit as soon as they get in so it warms up.

Divers sometimes urinate in their wetsuits for that purpose.
Sometimes ya gotta do what you gotta do...

[rocknrollgirl]

It will smell, and it is tough to get out. Don't worry about looking silly in the pool. I tested mine out in the pool last year when my new one came. It is the smart thing to do.

The water should fill up the wetsuit. That is part of what keeps you warm. You just want to make sure it fits well enough that you do not have gaps of material behind your knees etc where big pockets of water form.

Do you have anywhere nearby that you can get in open water?

[lph]

fwiw - the only one wearing a wetsuit at our local pool is the swimming instructor. She looks really cool :)

[Tri Girl]

RNRGirl is right- some water is OK. It's your layer of insulation. You'll definitely get more comfortable at it the more you wear it. Just don't forget to body glide your neck. I've chafed there a million times from my wetsuit (where it velcros). Yeeeouch!
And I HAD to pee in my wetsuit during my IM. I mean- where else was I going to go when I was into my second loop with almost a mile left to swim? :p Plus, the water was cold (I had on a sleeveless), and I was starting to get REALLY chilly. It warmed me up and made me not have to do the "I gotta go" dance. :rolleyes: When I got home 17 hours later, I washed it out really well and it hasn't smelled yet (and that was 2 years ago). Sometimes nature calls in the most inconvenient places...;)

[rocknrollgirl]

OK, so iron girls are excused and allowed to pee inthe wetsuit, all other triathletes...NO PEEING IN THE SUIT!

[silver]

ok, not planning to pee in the RENTED wetsuit. gross. I sure hope the last gal didn't.

The wetsuit that I used last night is a 2xu. It's the second one that they sent me, cause the first one had a hole in the leg, but now that I know that some water is gonna get in there, I'm going to try swimming in the other (an orca) it seemed a little more flexible.

The 2xu seemed a little tight across my artificial chest :rolleyes:

and no, Im not gonna get to do an open water swim. I'm really bummed cause my team has a time scheduled but I had already signed up for one of my training classes for the same time. And I CAN'T miss that. :(

[HillSlugger]

I tried my suit in the pool three times before my triathlon. I definitely got some looks but nobody ever said a thing. I only felt self-conscious the first time.

I can feel water moving around in my shoulders/arms while I stroke. I think that means my suit doesn't fit quite right.

[Running Mommy]

I laugh at the no peeing in the wetsuit thing... I was a surfer back in the day, and it was a good way to warm up in the frigid pacific!:D

[Tri Girl]

OK, so iron girls are excused and allowed to pee inthe wetsuit, all other triathletes...NO PEEING IN THE SUIT!

awwwww c'mon, Ruth. Not even a little bit- even if I have to go really bad- or when I'm too lazy to take my wetsuit off???? :confused: You're no fun! hee hee
I was just trying to make an excuse for why I wet myself. When you're 4, it's allowed, but somehow when you're in your 30's you have to make some good excuse for why you did it.

[rocknrollgirl]

No, No, No...no peeing in the suit...yuck....now that being said, I had to pee so badly during a race last June, I thought I was gonna die. I held it for 2 1/2 hours. If I was not wearing a tri-suit, I probably would have hit the woods on the run. The truisuit I had on zipped up the back and even with a tether, I could not zip it myself. I have since purchased a front zip.

[Wahine]

Ya know, the pros not only pee in their wetsuits, they pee on the go riding and running.

[divingbiker]

Y'all better never become scuba divers--we pee in our wetsuits all the time! One learns the method of yanking on the leg to get more water flow in there to rinse out the pee.

And the suit doesn't don't smell if you run it through the washing machine on the gentle cycle.

[rocknrollgirl]

Ok, so I will never surf cold water, be a scuba diver or a pro triathlete...I can live with that! :)

And I cannot fathom putting my wetsuit in the wash, not even on gentle, ....I have poked holes in it just putting it on.

[paytash]

Hmmmm-
My swim shop told me to NEVER swim in the pool with my wetsuit....Chlorine pools cause the material it's made of to disintegrate. Salt water pools I'm not so sure of because we don't have any here. I only use mine in open water.

[Wahine]

Chlorine does damage neoprene but not for a test swim or two. You wouldn't want to swim in the pool with it all the time. I have an old wetsuit that I use for working with clients in the therapy pool. I've worn it in there at least 5 or 6 times and no signs of accelerated wear as of yet. And those pools are really heavily chlorinated.

[silver]

this is a salt water pool. (And I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!!!)

I'm liking the orca better than the 2XU. It's a little more flexible. I tried it out today. it's a little shorter on the arms and legs but the body seemed ok.

overall, I'm not really very happy with the whole wetsuit thing. why did I say I would do this tri:confused::confused:

[rocknrollgirl]

Silver,
I think everyone, or most people feel that way about the wetsuit in the begininng. Once you get used to it, you will love it. Given a choice between two races, one that allows wetsuits and one that does not, I would always go with the wetsuit.

My DH is a sinker and he will not race without one. I hated it at first, and now I love it. Well, I still hate getting in to the thing. Give it time. Wait until you get in the open water.

[kelownagirl]

I tried on a wetsuit for the first time today. Now THAT was an experience. It was a size too small but I really had no clue because I know they fit tight. I got it from another teacher so it was dropped off at work. I had a prep so I went into the washroom and changed right then and there - I was dying to try it on. OMG. It was so hard to get on! But I managed to zip it almost all the way up. Then I got worried that I might split the zipper or something so I went down to the office, barefoot, in a wetsuit, and got the secretaries to take a look at the back and make sure I was wasn't hurting it. They zipped me up and the vice principal walked in and laughed that I was wearing a wetsuit in school. It was pretty funny. My class was in music at the time so of course, I had to go in and interrupt music to model it for them. I looked SO skinny in that thing - it held everything in tight. Unfortunately, it also cut off the circulation in my wrists and that my hands started to turn purple so I had to take it off. Ah well. A perfect Orca wetsuit, one size too small. Better luck next time...

[teawoman]

I'm going to have to rent one this summer for at least one tri (first ow swim), so this is all of interest to me! :cool:

[HillSlugger]

Try to make sure to pick it up ahead of the triathlon so that you can try it on in the water and try a swim in it. I hope you'll get a chance to practice OWS between now and then.

How long will the swim be? How cold will the water be?

[kelownagirl]

I get to try on another wet suit tomorrow. This one is supposed to be bigger. Again, I have to try it on at school. More people want me to give them a fashion show. I might have to start charging for it though. :rolleyes:

[Bron]

And all of the children will be telling their parents "guess what our teacher was wearing to school today....."

I have my new wetsuit. It's a bit snug, so I hope it will be ok to swim in. DH certainly thought it was amusing watching me get into it.

[rocknrollgirl]

At our house we call it " doing the wiggle"

[Wahine]

We affectionately refer to it as "The wesuit dance."

[kelownagirl]

Well the girl who was letting me try hers forgot to bring it today but I did get another one in the inter-school mail. It was a sleeveless suit, with capri length legs. I don't think I really want a sleeveless suit but I figured I may as well try it.

I don't know. I tell these people my height and weight but they are TOO SMALL! I know they are supposed to fit tight, but this one was so tight, I really couldn't get it on. I finally managed to get it most of the way on but I couldn't zip it, at least not myself. Argh. I assume the next long sleeved one will arrive tomorrow and it IS supposed to be bigger that the first but I'm starting to wonder. Maybe I need to try on a medium at a store and see what THAT feels like. I'm not that big! What do the women who wear these tiny suits look like???

[kelownagirl]

And - Tri question. I was reading all the rules of the tri I am hoping to do next August. The swim starts at 7:15, you have to get body marked before that. So I guess you don't wear your wetsuit there eh? SO where do you put it on anyway? Out in public? :eek: The wetsuit wiggle dance, in the transition area?

[Bron]

yup. Along with 200 odd other triathletes, all trying to get into theirs. If you´re lucky maybe some appropriate music will be played.

[Tri Girl]

Ahhh... the wetsuit wiggle dance in transition. I can't wait for tri season to start!:p
At most races I've been to, you get body marked as you're taking your bike into transition. Then, while waiting around for the race to start, you do the wetsuit wiggle in transition with everyone else. I actually love that part. Not the sqeezing my sausage butt into a rubber glove, but just the camaraderie of everyone struggling through it with you and all those pre-race jitters.

Hopefully you can find a suit that fits you soon. :)

[silver]

OK, so I rented my suit from wetsuitrental.com. They have been great! The first, the Orca had a hole in it, so they sent me the other, the 2xu, which was "constricting.

I ended up wearing the Orca with the hole, never noticed it. Felt great in the swim. So I asked to buy the Orca and they sold it to me. now I need to look into getting the hole repaired.

Yeah, everybody was doing the wetsuit wiggle! (Actually the water temp was only 74 and i was surprised at how many people didn't wear wetsuits)

wetsuit rentals is a great company!!!

[kelownagirl]

Whoo hoo! I bought a wetsuit. This one fit well and was not hard to get into Can't wait to give it a quick try in the pool tomorrow. (And I'll rinse it well I promise!!!)

[silver]

What did you get?

[kelownagirl]

A 2005 Orca Speedsuit.

[jesvetmed]

KG: How did it go?! I have mine hanging in the closet, unused. Need to get out there and try it. I was worried bout the pool b/c they told me to NOT put it in a chlorine pool. Can't wait to hear what you thought!

[kelownagirl]

Sigh, I didn't make it to the pool today. I had a lousy sleep last night and my legs are still aching from my ride TWO days ago. We had to bottle beer at noon and then race to Penticton to test ride bikes so it was just going to cutting things too close to hit the pool as well. And now I can't try it out during my two weekday swims if I have to ride my bike there this week. Might have to wait until next weekend. Maybe I should wear in the bathtub? :p:rolleyes::D But hey, my hot tub's not working right now and it's not heating - not above 75 degrees. I've let the chemical wear off to. I wonder if I could get a feel for the wetsuit floating in the hot tub (it's 7X7).

Is there anyone out there who thinks I should absolutely NOT put my wetsuit in the pool, even once, if I wash/rinse it really well after? Just 200-400m? The lake will be too darn cold until the end of June at the earliest.

[teawoman]

Try to make sure to pick it up ahead of the triathlon so that you can try it on in the water and try a swim in it. I hope you'll get a chance to practice OWS between now and then.

How long will the swim be? How cold will the water be?

The swim is 1000m. I don't know how cold, but I talked to some ppl who had done this particular tri, and it's def. a wetsuit swim. Apparently the water is also kind of ooky. I called one of the tri shops that rents wetsuits and they have lots avail. I need to go in there and try them on, tho, because not a clue what size I am exc. that I am largish. Fortunately I have access to a saltwater pool, but I don't think they allow ow practice in the actual lake until a couple of days before the tri.

I'll see how I like it. Right now not having access to a wetsuit is limiting the number of tris I can do in a summer, but we still have some tris with pool swims.

I would like to lose a bit of weight before I buy one. I need to lose about 30 lbs more. Presumably that would make a diff in how the suit fits. Otoh, I've been stuck at the same weight after losing 25 for almost 2 years. Oh wait...I think I'll call that maintenance...:o

I'm in Canada, so I'm hoping for a kinder, gentler, more polite ow swim. :D:eek:



Maybe I should wear in the bathtub? :p:rolleyes::D :D:D:D

[kelownagirl]

I'm in Canada, so I'm hoping for a kinder, gentler, more polite ow swim. :D:eek:


:D:D:D

Where? and what Tri are you doing?

[Wahine]

I'm in Canada, so I'm hoping for a kinder, gentler, more polite ow swim. :D:eek:


:D:D:D

My swim at IM Canada last year was the most brutal I have ever experienced in 13 years of triathlon. But I'm sure it was all the foreigners kicking and swimming over top of me.;);)

[teawoman]

My swim at IM Canada last year was the most brutal I have ever experienced in 13 years of triathlon. But I'm sure it was all the foreigners kicking and swimming over top of me.;);)

:D:D No doubt! There goes that small sanity-preserving delusion!

Kelownagirl: I'm on the prairies. Don't hold that against me. :p

[kelownagirl]

:D:D No doubt! There goes that small sanity-preserving delusion!

Kelownagirl: I'm on the prairies. Don't hold that against me. :p

I did my time on the prairies. 4 years in Canora SK. Where are you?

[kelownagirl]

I got to try my wet suit in the pool today - whoo hoo, I love it! I can just lie there and float if I get tired. I usually swim 50m in 1:10, today I swam it in :50 and :55. If I can knock even :20 off every 100m, that'll mean doing the tri swim 2:30 faster than I do right now. :D