Posted by
hosebelt on Tuesday, July 13, 2010 3:56:21 AM
Before we begin today…. My first run on my Achilles went good, and then the rest of the day it was very angry. So if you see me walking around in “das boot” we are immobilizing it, getting ART and an MRI, just to be sure it isn’t torn. I did tear this Achilles in 2006, so we are being extra cautious. I can still swim and bike, and we will make any major decisions in the next few weeks. No worries, it will work out! I don’t force through injuries, I control what I can control and keep moving forward!
What do I do best when I am handed lemons? I make lemonade. Strawberry lemonade!
Also: I was asked to do the race announcing at A Tri In the Buff this July! I can’t wait! I had such a good time doing it at Keuka and apparently I did a good enough job, they’ve asked me to do it again! I enjoyed it so much that we’ve added it to “things I can do” ! Click here for details! Later on this summer Curt and I are hoping to co-announce an event….. The Curt and Mary show? We shall see!!!!!
I love this sport. I am so grateful that not only has my family essentially been created here, but I have truly been able to live my passion.
Thanks for the questions! Keep them coming! Today’s topic: diving wetsuits!
Many of the most asked questions surrounding triathlon involve diving wetsuits. Throughout my career I have been fortunate to have tried on hundreds… literally hundreds ofdiving wetsuits. Long sleeved, sleeveless, thick, thinner, speed suits, all of them. All brands, all styles two piece, one piece, zip from the top and zip from the bottom.
You will find that purebred swimmers don’t like diving wetsuits. Consider me one of them. I am a collegiate swimmer from the 90’s when we wore paper suits, which when you were a distance swimmer literally disintegrated as you finished your event. I did not wear a wetsuit for my first two triathlon seasons, I hated them.
Yet as I slowly left the swimming world and became a triathlete my mind evolved and so did my body. My legs became more muscular than my shoulders (although I still have the swimmer build!!!) I am also swimming a fraction of the yards I swam in college.
I can swim sub one hour in an Ironman on 6K a week. I currently put in just about 12K per week, which is a far cry from the 12K I used to swim. That’s for all you pure bred runners who think a 40 minute 10K is slow!!! HA HA!
Diving wetsuits differ somewhat in thickness but they do offer flotation properties, which is extremely helpful for those who are not comfortable in the water. Diving wetsuits vary greatly in prices as well. If you are on the Train-This Team or another X Terra sponsored triathlon team you have been enjoying giant discounts on some really well made suits.
Prices typically range from $150-800. It all depends on what you want and how much you are willing to spend. In my opinion there is not a lot of difference between the lowest and highest end suits these days. Years ago… absolutely.
Would you recommend a sleeveless or long sleeved wetsuit?
In my opinion this is 6 of one and half a dozen of the other. I prefer a sleeveless wetsuit. I have both. I find that even a properly fitting long sleeve wetsuit weighs down my shoulders. Now there are people who will swear that long sleeved is faster than short sleeved. But think of this: if I swim with the feeling that my shoulders are being weighed down I won’t swim to the best of my ability. If I swim with full range of motion for my shoulders… I will swim better. So it again goes back to what you are comfortable with. The time difference to me is too small to matter, if there even is one.
What about chaffing?
For some reason I have never chaffed, through all of the diving wetsuits and distances I have competed in, that’s a miracle. I don’t know why that is. In the old days people used Pam non stick cooking spray as lubricant (not the garlic kind). Nowadays products like Body Glide can help reduce the friction and help that suit come off. Typical areas of chaffing are on the back of the neck and the shoulders of sleeveless suits.
I always get stuck on the ankle of my suit, what can I do to alleviate that?
I like to cut 3-4 inches off the legs of my suit. I know…. Taking a pair of scissors to a $400 wetsuit is like taking scissors to a wedding dress (if you live in my world!). What that does is widen the hole that you need to pull your suit through, so as you slide it off you won’t get stuck!
I always feel like my wetsuit is crushing my chest.
I was up in Lake Placid pre race and I was standing on the beach in my Blue Seventy Double Helix Suit. A rep from Blue Seventy approached me from behind, without warning, reached around me and about picked me up from my crotch!
“Sorry!” he said, “But your suit is not all the way on!”
When you put on your suit, get into the water, get some water inside of it and make sure the crotch is at your crotch. Most likely if you are feeling like it’s too tight in the chest; it isn’t pulled up all the way. Get the suit on, get in the water, get water in it, and get it to where it needs to be.
I can never find my strap!
I tuck my strap into the back of my goggles if it is a suit that zips up to the neck. My Blue Seventy zips from the neck down so I just let that strap hang. It will be there!
When is the best time to take my suit off?
I would recommend beginning to peel your suit off as you exit the water. Keep it on until you get to your bike, push it down to your calves and then pull out your legs. With your newly widened leg holes your feet won’t get stuck!
I sometimes get stuck putting my suit on!
A little trick I have seen many folks doing is placing a plastic shopping bag over their feet and then sliding on the suit. (remove plastic bag when finished of course!) That helps your feet slide through without getting stuck!
What are your personal favorites?
My personal favorite diving wetsuits have been: NineTeen, Blue Seventy, Ironman (not around anymore), and this season I am alternating between an Xterra Vortex sleeveless (i won it at Pumpkinman for fastest swim!), a Blue Seventy Double Helix long sleeve, and a Blue Seventy Point Zero Three speed suit. The speedsuit did Ironman Cozumel without me and even got peed in.