Another wetsuit thread...

Ok, so a friend gave me her tri wetsuit since she's decided not to do any more races. It's the full body kind and fits well, but I noticed yesterday during my second practice in it that I felt the fatigue in my shoulders really fast. I'm assuming it came from having them be confined by the rubber on the shoulders- I tried changing up my stroke but I still felt tired in the shoulder area after just a short distance. Has anyone else experienced this?

I'm going to go swimming again at some point this week wearing the suit again to make sure it wasn't just a one off thing because I didn't notice it the first time I wore the suit -but that was a really short swim.

The thing is that I'm strong swimmer (I used to be on a swim team/life guard yaddayaddayadda), but I really don't like water where I can't see the bottom. It just absolutely freaks me out and my race this Sunday is in Lake Erie. I don't think I'll need the suit for the water temps (73 degrees) more of a security blanket thing- the extra buoyancy is comforting especially since I'm not sure how the waves are going to be in that area.

It's a short race (about 400 meters), should I just chuck the wet suit?

Crap, sorry for being so long winded.

For 400 meters, and your being a strong swimmer, the time gain compared to the time loss in transition is not worth it.
Sure you can't brave the murky depths for the what, 7-8 minutes you will swim? I can't decide for you.

Make sure you pull it up well enough - ALL the way into your crotch and then ALL the way into your armpits to avoid restricting shoulder movement which tires you.
There are guides online from the manufacturers on how to don a wetsuit correctly.

Perfect, chucking the suit is exactly what I expected to hear. I just like to have some backup on my thoughts from more experienced Triathletes.

I can certainly do the time in the water, I just hate it. It's totally in my head and completely irrational- I'm working on getting over it. Hence the swim in Lake Erie.

You probably do not have it pulled up enough. Work the suit up from the bottom and make sure it is all the way up under your armpits.

And just for the record, I always swim with a wetsuit if allowed, yep a 1/4 mile swim is short, but you are still faster.

I was thinking about this and of course it is up to you, but you might want to get some more time in the suit. It does position you slightly differently and I think with all the other excitement (tightness, big lake etc) it may take some time to just goof around in it before swimming and letting the suit do what it can do. At least that worked for me... I have not had arm fatigue since the first time I tried it (in Cape Cod bay!). This asumes it does fit you.
I do like racing with mine.