Friday, May 18, 2012

Triathlon speed suit: Do you wear one?

I've been obsessively tracking the water temperature for the Choptank River since Eagleman is only a few short weeks away. I'm fully prepared for the fact that it will not be a wetsuit legal race since the water temperature is currently 71 degrees. Ironman rules state the water temperature must be 76.1 degrees or lower to be wetsuit legal.



Because of this, I've been exploring the whole speed suit thing and I'm not sure exactly what the benefit of one is and if it's worth the cost to get one. Here are my questions:

Is a speed suit legal in ALL water temperatures?
Is there a benefit swim-wise for wearing one?
Is that benefit worth the cost?

What are your thoughts/opinions on the matter?
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1 comment:

  1. PatrickMay 18, 2012 at 8:08 AM

    I've never swam in one, but here is what I know, wetsuits provide an advantage mostly because of the added buoyancy. Speed suits advertise decreased coefficient of friction. As a science teacher, I can tell you that there isn't much of a coefficient of friction between human skin and water, so any gains you're likely to see using a speed suit are going to be minimal. The do look cool though.

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