Water temp

[Veronica]

How cold is a sleeveless wetsuit a good choice?

I'm thinking about an event with the swim in San Pablo Bay -a chilly 57 degrees!

V.

[Tri Girl]

57- yikes! I guess it depends on how much cold you can stand. I did a tri in June in Colorado and the water temp was 61. I had my sleeveless on, and once I got full immersed and moved around a little bit, I was just fine. I didn't even notice the cold while swimming. The worst part for me is getting my face used to the cold. Everything else can go numb as far as I'm concerned, so long as my face still functions fine.
57 is a whole world away from 61, tho...

[Veronica]

Yeah, that's kinda what I was thinking. That's darn cold! And in the ocean! Sort of. I'm thinking about the inaugural Marin County Tri in late Oct.

I grew up swimming in lakes and rivers, so the OWS so far has been a piece of cake. (Don't hate me for that - I suck at running!) But one does not swim in the ocean in Maine - unless one has a wetsuit. Children who grow up on welfare, don't have wetsuits. The beach was strictly for wave hopping.

But it's close enough that I can go practice. And I'm not on welfare anymore. If I want to buy another wetsuit I can.

V.

[rocknrollgirl]

It was 57 degrees when I raced in Tahoe last September. You will want a full suit, even if the swim is short.

[colby]

It was around 57 for my Ironman (and colder during training, down to 54-55) - some people were in booties and at least half were in neoprene caps. The cap might buy you some more comfort, but unless you're warm blooded and tolerate cold water very well, I'd say you need a full suit. There were a handful of people with shorties or sleeveless suits... out of 2200.

If you think you can do it and can go try it in similar conditions, try it without buying a new suit, but make sure someone's with you just in case you're cold and need help. It takes a few minutes to adjust no matter what, and the "OMG my face is freezing" first feeling is a lot stronger in the colder temps.

[kelownagirl]

Does being in a wet suit help at all with general warmth once ou're on the bike? I'm wondering if you would be less liekly to freeze once you're riding if you'd been warmer on the swim? I guess it woudl depend on air temp as well...

Me? I suck at swimming and hate cold water. I'll always use a wet suit (long sleeved), as long as they're allowed. Our lake temp was in the low 70's the other day....

[Wahine]

I would say that you likely want sleeves. I bought a little jacket and neoprene cap from Promotion that allow me to use my sleeveless in all weather, cheaper than a full sleeve but not as sleek. Even if you could tolerate the water you would lose a lot of energy trying to stay warm.