wetsuit swimming

[KidStardust]

I put down I was a beginner swimmer thinking they meant OW swimming and not just swimming in general.
Think I've shot myself in the foot there tho as the first wave at tatton starts at 7.15 and i like a lie in lol

last year the first wave was for the quick people. i know from bitter experience 'cos i ended up in it somehow and was almost last out the water. on the plus side, i had plenty of clear water pretty much from the start.

[kathleenp980]

This question comes up quite a bit... and I'm afraid the answer is pretty much 'it varies'.

As others have said, a wetsuit may increase your straight line speed by correcting your body position. But if your position doesn't need much correction then you won't get any benefit. On the other hand it may restrict your movement and slow you down...

Here's all the +ves and -ves I can think of for wetsuits and OW generally.

You are faster in OW because:
Wetsuit corrects your body position
Wetsuit is better hydrodynamically (less lumps and bumps and very smooth)
Wetsuit keeps you warm enough to actually do the swim
You can get your head down in OW and settle into a rythmn

You are slower in OW because:
Wetsuit restricts your shoulder movement
Wetsuit makes you over-rotate
Wetsuit bouyancy can effectively make your kick powerless
You don't get a push off the pool side (this is worth many, many strokes)
You will be unsettled because of the guy next to you repeatedly hitting your head
You can't swim straight and/or sighting interrupts your stroke.
There may be a current, waves and/or wind to slow you down.

There's probably a lot more. Here's a funny thing: in a 25m pool I do 14 strokes when I'm cruising. In a 50m pool I do 32-34 strokes at the same pace! That push off is worth a lot of speed and stroke and you're missing out on 60 of them in an OD race.

All these factors will affect you more or less depending on your ability and experience. I have friends who are noticeably quicker in their wettie in OW. Personally, I'm a little bit slower in OW.

I reckon that putting apart the very fast and the very slow your OW swim speed is about the same as your pool speed.

Now, let's talk about OW swimming when wetties are banned.

Thanks you for the post.
Hi guys, Im a newbie. Nice to join this forum.


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[fire tri]

"last year the first wave was for the quick people. i know from bitter experience 'cos i ended up in it somehow and was almost last out the water. on the plus side, i had plenty of clear water pretty much from the start."

OOO good might get a lie in then, dont fancy starting at 7.15 lol
you doing it again this year?