Need Advice Re: OWS in Cold Temps

According to an email from the race directors for Saturday's triathlon, the swim WILL take place, unless there is thunder. (Thunder is not forecast, although rain is. And the air temps will likely be in the highs 40s-low 50s at the start of the race.)

Water temps will be around 58 degrees.

Any advice for me? I've never been in water that cold. I tried on DH's Blue Seventy swim socks today, and they fit. (I don't know if they are legal and I have emailed the director about them.) I purchased a neoprene swim cap at a local swim shop, too.

I'm heading over to REI to look for some kind of shirt I can wear underneath my wetsuit.

DH did IMCdA and IMSG in cold temps and thinks I will be fine. However, I am the type of person who is cold most of the time. (I use a space heater in my office year round because the A/C makes me miserable.) Folks were hypothermic and near-hypothermic at IMSG and he was all, "That was refreshing!"

I am going to an OW clinic tomorrow at a different place where the temps are approximately the same, so I can try out the cap, socks, etc. Swimming is not allowed at the lake where the race will be held. They are making an exception for race day only.

Any advice you can offer is much appreciated!

If you have problems with cold, wear the neoprene cap at least. It makes a big difference. I'm not sure about the booties, I haven't had to wear mine in the water yet, though I have them just in case. ;) Maybe you could use a rash guard under your wetsuit? I'm not sure how easy it'd be to put your wetsuit on over full length sleeves, but that would add some insulating value.

There were definitely a lot of people pulled out of the water a couple years ago at IMCdA when it was around 56 or whatever it was. I wore my neoprene cap then. Last year the water was more like 60, and I didn't need it. I don't like it because it insulates my ears so I can't hear what's going on around me, and I have a "thing" about my ears (probably from repeat continual ear infections as a kid). Though, a guy I work with had to sit in a hot tub in T1 after last year's swim he was so cold. Some people just don't dig the cold water! ;)

It's an excellent idea to get in the water ahead of time and see what your tolerance is. I probably wouldn't have got the neoprene cap had I not done so, and I think it made a big comfort difference.

How long is your swim?

I did a sprint tri (750m swim) last weekend and the water was 60F (air temp was also 60F). I was really worried about it beforehand but it was fine. I didn't have a neoprene swim cap but I wore my silicone one under the regulation latex cap. It was not comfortable getting into the water but once I was swimming, I was surprised to find it wasn't anywhere near as bad as I had expected.

To put this in perspective, I am a huge cold water wuss and inch my way into the heated swimming pool every time I go.

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Originally Posted by Alex

According to an email from the race directors for Saturday's triathlon, the swim WILL take place, unless there is thunder. (Thunder is not forecast, although rain is. And the air temps will likely be in the highs 40s-low 50s at the start of the race.)

Water temps will be around 58 degrees.

Any advice for me? I've never been in water that cold. I tried on DH's Blue Seventy swim socks today, and they fit. (I don't know if they are legal and I have emailed the director about them.) I purchased a neoprene swim cap at a local swim shop, too.

I'm heading over to REI to look for some kind of shirt I can wear underneath my wetsuit.

DH did IMCdA and IMSG in cold temps and thinks I will be fine. However, I am the type of person who is cold most of the time. (I use a space heater in my office year round because the A/C makes me miserable.) Folks were hypothermic and near-hypothermic at IMSG and he was all, "That was refreshing!"

I am going to an OW clinic tomorrow at a different place where the temps are approximately the same, so I can try out the cap, socks, etc. Swimming is not allowed at the lake where the race will be held. They are making an exception for race day only.

Any advice you can offer is much appreciated!

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I have raced in water that cold, the swim was 1500 meters.
A full suit with two caps and I was fine. I do not think you will need all the extra stuff. Just remember, it is going to be shockingly cold when you first put your face in. Once you get going you will warm up.

I love my BlueSeventy booties. They help some with the cold and they make it much more comfortable running to the transition area. Mine come off very easily and quickly. Put them on first and then put on the wetsuit.

I'm also a big fan of the neoprene hood for cold water swimming.

If you have the chance, before the gun goes off for your wave, start splashing the water on your face to start getting it used to the shock.

I tried my wetsuit over a long sleeve Under Armour compression top; it was a little hard to get the sleeves on but not too bad (my wetsuit sleeves are pretty tight). The suit came off easily. If the air temp is cool you can then just start riding with the top on.

Thanks so much for the advice! You all rock!

At the swim clinic tonight, I wore the neoprene hood with another cap over it, put in some silicone ear plugs, wore a tight CWX half-sleeved top underneath my wet suit, and wore DH's Blue Seventy swim socks.

They had us get in to about our waists and then counted down (3-2-1!) and told us to swim to a buoy. Well, I like to warm up a bit, so I hung back to sort of ease into things. And, yes, it was shockingly cold on my face! :eek: After swimming to the buoy, we did various things like swim over and towards one another, practice sighting, practice rounding buoys, etc. I am not a big fan of the full body contact stuff, so I sort of hung around the back of the melee. It was a very big group tonight.

After we were done, I went back in for a bit, just to be able to swim by myself and practice some smooth strokes without getting kicked, etc. That was so much nicer! I plan to start near the back of the pack on Saturday because I am not fast enough to be in front. It's a 750m swim.

When I finally got out, my hands basically wouldn't work. I had a heck of a time getting my wetsuit off and putting on my shoes and socks. I drove all the way home with the heat on full blast and was still cold. I finally got warm after taking a 30-minute hot shower.

I think the swim will be fine once I get going, just like all of you have said, but I am worried about being really cold on the bike. I plan to take the time to put on some extra layers and full-fingered gloves.

Thanks again!