Open Water/Wetsuit Question

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Okay Ladies,

I am contemplating signing up for the Santa Cruz Sentinal Tri in Sept (Olympic Distance). I don't know WHAT the heck I'm thinking as my very first tri will be a sprint down in Solana Beach in July... but, my DH works out of Santa Cruz and we are originally from that area so I'm thinking I could get a decent cheerleading crew going! Plus ya'll scared me about the heat in Tempe and the Timex Tri...

Okay, here's my question.... I'm VERY cold blooded :eek: and that water up there is 55 degrees on a good day (DH used to surf there every weekend). I looked this up in the USAT Rule book and didn't see anything BUT, I am wondering if there are any rules about putting one of those little heater packs (like I use when diving) in your wetsuit???

I'm such a baby, but I'm afraid I will be so cold that I'm unable to function!

Thanks!

Tracy

[crazycanuck]

Hi tracy

NO idea about putting the heat thingies in your wetsuit but would it
damage the material in any way???-(this is just me thinking aloud and probably talking a bunch of hooeey...) Clueless on wetsuits as i've not done a long tri yet...need to work on swimming style when i speed up & confidence really...

Anywho..how is your training going???

c

[Nanci]

4.9 Illegal Equipment.

Any swimmer wearing any artificial propulsion device, including but not limited to fins, gloves, paddles, or floating devices of any kind shall be disqualified.

Info@USATriathlon.org

It doesn't appear to be listed, but I would write to clarify that.

Crazy, no, it won't damage her wetsuit. They are made for that, plastic heat packs that, I think, you boil, cool off, then click this metal disc thing inside it that makes it heat up when you want it to. Then you re-boil it to reset it? That's the kind I've seen, anyway.

Nanci

[Lise]

I, too, am talking from no experience. BUT...I know that people naturally heat up in wet suits. That's why they ban them in races where the water is > 74 F. Seems to me that keeping your head warm with a neoprene cap or "squid lid" would make a difference. You might overheat with a heating device. Let's see what Denise has to say when she gets back from Las Vegas. I think she's done surfing in cold waters.

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the heating thingys I'm talking about last about 30 minutes, you pinch them and they create heat, they are thrown away after one use. I used to dive in Monterey quite a bit and I get very cold in that water so I wanted to ask about this. I did see that "propulsion" info in the rule book - nothing on warming packs though!

Thanks Ladies! :p

Tracy

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okay, I just e-mailed the USAT, I guess we'll see what they say! Or if Denise or Melisa know that would be great too! :)

T~

ps. Lise, yes, peeing in the wetsuit does help but not enough for me ;) hee hee hee

[Lise]

ps. Lise, yes, peeing in the wetsuit does help but not enough for me ;) hee hee hee
Ha! I hadn't even thought of that, but, true enough!

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Here is the response I got back from Kathy at USAT. Plus, that is Jayne's favorite race too. I'm still not sure I'm up for getting ready for that length of tri but at least I know I won't FREEZE burrrrrrrrrr!


Hi Tracy,

Yes, those are allowed. Be sure you discard them properly (at T1 or in a garbage receptacle on the beach) so you don’t receive a penalty for abandoned equipment J

Have a great race, the Sentinel is a classic!

Best regards,
Kathy

Kathy Matejka
Director, Event Services
USA Triathlon
1365 Garden of the Gods Rd.
Colorado Springs, CO 8097

[Running Mommy]

Hey- I'm baaccckkkk....
I would get a squid lid for sure! Blue seventy sells quite an assortment of cold water gear now. They sell booties and gloves too, but I'm not sure how many races will allow them. It's wierd cause they are marketing them to triathletes? :confused: All I know is at IMAZ we were not allowed to wear the booties or gloves. But in the cold ocean they may make an exception.

And Santa Cruz.... That was *my* old surfing grounds.... waaaaayyyy back in the day! OY! I'm old!! :rolleyes:
Pleasure point BABY!!! Long board heaven!!! :p

I think as long as your noggin is warm you'll be ok. But if it makes you feel better to use a heat pack, by all means...
Where is the race held at? It's not at the boardwalk is it? Or is it in capitola? I thought one of the races was in capitola. I LOVE it there!!
Anyhooo..... Look at YOU!!! Big bad ocean tri mama!!! :D

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Anyhooo..... Look at YOU!!! Big bad ocean tri mama!!!

Not sure what you're thinkin'?!?! :eek: Here's the link to the Santa Cruz Sentinal Tri

http://www.sentineltriathlon.org/index.htm

Also, Jayne does this one every year and proclaims it as her favorite. Basically its a swim around the Santa Cruz wharf then a bike and run on the west side (past the lighthouse). So, its relatively flat and my only issue is the temperature of the water. I am SO cold blooded; heck, I might be just fine but I want to be prepared. I used to dive in Monterey and I'd be fine for the first few minutes but then be completely miserable the rest of the time. But, diving wetsuits are thicker AND you have full head foot and hand coverage too. Now, granted, I will be swimming much harder at the tri but just knowing I have a little extra warmth will help me stop worrying about it! ;)

So, there ya go... still not sure I have the guts to commit to an Olympic Distance Tri though... help!

Glad your back Denise! Did ya win any money??? Massage??? or is it stayin' in Vegas ;)

Trac'

[triflor]

I swim in the wonderfully chilly lakes of Ontario and Quebec, and I must say they get cold. However, on an Olympic swim you're going to be working up a fair amount of heat, so be careful you don't over heat. Peeing in the wetsuit is standard works pretty well. Get in the water a bit before the start to do some warm up so you aren't starting the race with the water in your wet suit still cold. Try to swim in water the same temp as you're expecting a few times first to experiment. Trying the heating packs in a race if you haven't swum with them in before in those temps could bring some surprises.

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Good Point Triflor! I will definately be there the day before and try it out. I'll have practiced open water swimming this summer but down in SoCal and the water is warmer down here. This Triathlon is pretty much the same area where I used to dive but I will not have gotten into it w/a tri-wetsuit. I thought about the fact that I will be working hard and probably creating heat too; I'll just have to experiment! At least I know that if I do need the heat pack, I won't get into trouble using it! :D

Tracy

[Nanci]

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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I tell ya, that's what it feels like to me anyway ;) At least that person probably has a dry suit on!

T~

ps. Since I'm on the fence, I went ahead and signed up for the tri because it does fill up - I figure I'm risking the entry fee but I'd be more mad if I wanted to do it but can't get in! ;) I keep re-reading Jayne William's race report and it seems almost doable!

[Running Mommy]

Nanci is that YOU in that ice hole?? :eek:
Ok, missy- and I'm talkin to YOU Tracy..... You CAN and you WILL do an Oly. If I could go from spriints to the big dance, you can do an Oly. Just work on the swim - distance wise. I found it easy to go from 1.2 to 2.4 miles in the pool, but going from sprint half milers up to the mile was a bit harder. Wierd? I dunno... maybe I'm a freak...:confused: Oh yeah, I AM!!!! :D
Maybe if I'm lucky I'll get to come see you in Santa cruz. I love it there!

Vegas was fun. It was windy though, and I'm still tired. I really didn't get to relax. I did play some roulette though. Walked away up 44 clams all total. I won't complain.. I took Terrie to the hofbrauhaus. I LOVE it there! I've been to the one in Munich so it brings back fond memories.

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IS that you Nanci??????

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Glad you had a good time! I haven't been to Vegas in eons - wow, must be over 10 years.

Logically, I should be able to do an Olympic distance but I've really been struggling on the bike to increase mileage and I'm wondering if I'm biting off too much.

I just wrote a whole bunch about why I think I'm struggling and then realized I should probably just start a new thread... ugh!

Tracy

[Lise]

Dear Tracy,

The first tri I did was an Oly. I knew nothing about it. My friend, Nic, did all her training on a bike in the gym. Our first STOP (of many) on the bike portion of the race was to teach her how to fasten her helmet. As Denise would say, OY! It was insane. Yet, we made it across the lake. We made the bike distance. (We stopped 7 times for Nic to catch her breath, use her inhaler, etc.) We walked 6.25 miles. We were dead last across the finish line. Our picture was up on the website, the only picture up for two weeks. "Congratulations to all the first timers", it read.

You can do this. Maybe not as fast or as gracefully as next year or the year after that. But of course you can do this. Take a deep breath. Keep training. And don't worry. It's there to be done. L.

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Lise,

Did I ever tell you that I just CAN'T WAIT to meet you in person!!! ;)

T~

[Nanci]

Yes, that's me! I got trained to ice dive the first year I was certified (what else is there to do in MN in the winter) and got the drysuit for Christmas. Plenty of people ice dive in wetsuits, though. I don't know how!! Yikes, we'd go out some days when it was -10F. We had these big tents with porpane heaters to get dressed in. At the end of the season, the ice would be so thick you couldn't get through it with a 36 inch chainsaw blade.

[Running Mommy]

HA! I knew it was you!!! :D
You are one crazy woman, that's all I have to say!! And I LOVE you for it!!!!:p

[Nanci]

If you really loved me, you'd move to Florida! (really missing my best friend I left in MN eight years ago...)

Nanci

[Lise]

If you really loved me, you'd move to Florida! (really missing my best friend I left in MN eight years ago...)

Nanci
OK, let's all go to Florida. Nanci needs us! :)

Oh, heck, I want to meet all of you! An excuse...we need an excuse...

[Grog]

Ok, ok, my parents have a condo in Fort Lauderdale about 5 minutes from the sea.

It's not extremely far from Nanci's place if I'm not mistaken (anyway anywhere closer to 400 k from Nanci's is close for her, just a bike ride away).

Maybe we should meet there?

[Lise]

It's not extremely far from Nanci's place if I'm not mistaken (anyway anywhere closer to 400 k from Nanci's is close for her, just a bike ride away).

Seriously. Who's doing IMFL again? Is that Melisa? In Nov?

[mommelisa]

Seriously. Who's doing IMFL again? Is that Melisa? In Nov?

Yep, it's me, I'm doing it. :eek: November 3rd. I'm the Iron-wanna-be for now... :)

[Grog]

I just realize that the Ironman is on the West coast of Florida, not on the East. :(

[mommelisa]

Grog - yep, its in Panama City which is on the gulf side.

[Lise]

Yep, it's me, I'm doing it. :eek: November 3rd. I'm the Iron-wanna-be for now... :)
You're the Iron-gonna-be! I am most psyched that we have someone else to cheer for. We of the TE board must agree to space out our Ironman races throughout the year (like how I say "our" IMs? As if I were going to do one? Ha! I laugh! Haha!), so that there's never a lapse in training or cheering! Thanks, Denise and Melisa, for naturally doing that already.

:) L.

[Running Mommy]

Ok, so what excuse can I think of to go to FL???? hmmmmm... There has to be SOME excuse somehwhere!! :D
You know the funny thing is I'm TOTALLY free this weekend! Tony and the spud will be in nor cal. I've been looking for something to do.... hmmm... I WISH!! If I had the resources (read MONEY) I'd be there in a HEARTBEAT!
I sooo want to go to IMFL, but NYCM is either that weekend or the next. And I have to be there for Terrie. God knows she was for me! But if for some reason plans change- I'm there sister!!
Oh and I'll def. be in the land of the mouse in Jan for the mary. I gotta get my mouse ears!! :D