You’ve chosen the right wetsuit, tried it on, and it fits. But do you have to practice swimming in your wetsuit before your triathlon?
If you’re planning to wear a wetsuit for your triathlon, don’t leave it until race morning to put it on. Practicing in it before race day is an important part of your preparation. A wetsuit changes how your body sits in the water. It can affect your stroke, your breathing, your body position, and your overall comfort in the water.
Before race day, you need to know how the suit feels over the course of a swim, where it causes chafing, and how to efficiently get it on and off.
When You Get Into the Water on Race Day, Your Wetsuit Should Feel Familiar.
Nothing New on Race Day
One of the simplest rules of race preparation is also one of the most useful:
Don’t introduce something completely new on race day.
This applies to nutrition, race strategy, and gear like clothing, shoes, and your wetsuit. A wetsuit might feel perfectly fine on land, but you need to know how it feels and interacts with your body during a swim. Once you’re actually swimming, you’ll dsicover how it feels on and how your stroke feels.
If you have a full sleeve wetsuit, you may notice that your stroke feels a bit more restricted than what you’re used to. You might find that the neckline rubs against your skin. THese are the things you want to learn during training, before race morning.
What Should You Practice?
You don’t need to spend every single swim in a wetsuit. But you should use it enough that you know what to expect when race day arrives.
Your practice swims should help you become comfortable with several things:
Getting the Wetsuit On
Putting on a wetsuit takes some practice. The neoprene needs to be positioned correctly and you want to avoid damaging the material. Practice putting it on when you’re not in a rush.
Learn the best way to work the suit up your legs and torso, get the shoulders positioned, and close the zipper. Develop a routine that works for you and it will make the whole process much easier.
This is especially important on race morning when you could be dealing with cold temperatures, wet skin, nervousness, and other athletes around you.
You’ll find the right routine and details that work for you, but here’s one way to get started:
- Use plastic bags
Swimming In Your Wetsuit
A wetsuit changes your body position in the water because the neoprene provides buoyancy. For many athletes, particularly those whose legs and hips sink in the water, this will make swimming feel noticeably different.
You will feel higher in the water, which may make your stroke feel different and your legs lighter.
Give yourself time to adapt to the new feeling.
If your stroke feel restrictive, don’t assume you just need to get used to it. There could be several reasons for it:
- You may need to make an adjustment to get more room in the shoulders. Try lifting material up from the torso.
- You could have the wrong fit.
- You could have the wrong style. A sleeveless might be better choice for you.
Open Water Skills
Most triathlons are in open water (lakes and oceans), so your practice should include that. Rather than just following a line and swimming straight, learn how your wetsuit feels when you:
- Sight regularly
- Turn around buoys
- Swim at different intensities
- Breathe on both sides
You don’t need to recreate the entire swim leg of the race every time you get into the water. The goal is simply to make the experience less unfamiliar so that on race day you will know what to expect.
Know Where The Hotspots Are
One of the biggest reasons to practice in your wetsuit is to discover where it rubs.
Having time to swim in your wetsuit will tell you exactly where the hotspots are and whether you need to adjust the suit or where you need to apply an anti-chafing product. Once you know where those spots are, such as the back of the neck, underarm, etc., apply a generous amount of ant-chafing product before putting it on and before swimming.
Practice Taking It Off
Don’t overlook being efficient at taking off your wetsuit. This is actually extremely important in saving you time in T1and requires practice. This is one of the reasons practicing transitions is helpful.
To remove your wetsuit:
- Unzip your suit as soon as you exit the water
- While running to T1 and after unzipping your wetsuit, take off your cap & goggles. Keep them in one hand while you peel off your wetsuit down to your hips and leave them behind in the sleeve.
- Alternatively, you can leave your cap on, bring your goggles up to your forehead and leave them there until your remove your wetsuit and are at your transition area.
- If you’re doing an Ironman, wetsuit strippers will be there to help you remove your wetsuit. Follow their instructions for the quickest removal. If you don’t follow their instructions, it will lead to a slower and more chaotic wetsuit removal. Generally, the process is letting them unzip your suit, peeling it down past your hips, sitting or laying down (don’t sit down too early, wait for them), and then let them peel the suit off your legs. They’ll then help you up and hand you your wetsuit.
Should You Practice in a Pool or Open Water?
Whenever possible, you should avoid using your wetsuit in a pool. Chlorine deteriorates the wetsuit, so try to stay out of the pool and use it in open water.
Open water is also a better choice since it’s more race specific and you’ll prevent overheating which could happen in a pool.
If you can’t get to safe open water locations, follow the manufacturer’s guidelines for care.
Regardless of where you swim, be sure to rinse your wetsuit thoroughly with fresh water after each use and hang it on the appropriate wetsuit hanger to dry completely before putting it away.
Wetsuits are an important piece of triathlon equipment. When choosing a wetsuit, not only do you take into account personal preference, but also your swimming ability, water temperature, and your own temperature tolerances. So be sure to read how to choose the right wetsuit for more information.
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