[4boysmom]

<p>FINAL race of the series is Sunday.  All I have to do is finish to win the championship, otherwise I probably wouldn't do this race.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It has gotten COLD.  Air temp at race start is 49*, finish 61*.  Clear to partly cloudy, 7mph wind.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Not sure what the water temperature is, but guessing it's in the 70's since it's jsut recently gotten cold.  However, from last year I know there is a cold current.  I do have a full sleeve wetsuit, however I haven't used it since I nearly drowned with it last season.  I just am not comfortable with it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Do I dare just go with long sleeve UnderArmor?  I have swum with that before, but never had to deal with cold temps after a swim.  TIghts too?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>HELP!!!!!!!!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Son1 and I are leaving this afternoon.  We're working the woman's race tomorrow morning.  Camping all weekend.  Oh joy.......</p>

 

[jenotter]

<p>Wow! That's chilly! (spoken like a true native Californian)</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Are you saying you'd wear the long sleeve shirt under your wetsuit? I think you might get really overheated if the water temp is 70. Just my two cents, of course. What about short sleeve top with arm warmers at T1 and have the long sleeve ready to throw on if needed?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Good luck in your race!!!</p>

 

[4boysmom]

<p>I'd prefer to NOT use the wetsuit.  I've swum in long sleeve/tights in the spring when water temps are still chilly, but air temp is usually in the 70's.  Should I consider throwing on a fleece top for the bike?  Last weekend we started our ride in the 60's with shorts/long sleeve and I was chilly 'til the sun came out.  Years ago I was pulled off my bike due to hypothermia and I'm scared to death of getting cold.</p>

 

[1Topodope]

<p>Good luck!  I look forward to hearing about your race!  My last tri is next weekend and I have feeling I will be in the same boat... <span><img alt="rolleyes.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/rolleyes.gif" style="width:16px;height:16px;"></span></p>

 

[SpartyGirl]

<p>You're probably better off without your wetsuit mentally (no worrying about panic) - I would throw on something thick enough to keep you warm during the bike and then strip it all off for the run if you're dry.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Good luck - go get that championship!</p>

 

[rollingrock]

<p>4bm:  i did an oly today in the maryland mountains.  it was 45 degrees and windy at racetime, i thought i'd faint standing on that beach shivering and looking at that water...howEVER...the good news is the water felt <em>almost</em> like a bathtub when we got in (it was not really that warm but felt very comfortable to us).   I wore a l/s wetsuit.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>on bike i wore a l/s tech top, no tights or leg warmers, sox in the shoes,  full gloves and i wish i had worn a headband under my helmet.  the wind was killer and my ears were cold the whole way thru, we had nasty wind gusts.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>i kept l/s top on for run but took it off in mile 4, sun was starting to break through.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>long story short:  i was horrified at swimming in that cold weather but the 'cold' became a non-issue when i got in the lake...so odd for me, a cold hater!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>good luck.</p>

 

[4boysmom]

<p>I FROZE MY FAT AZZ OFF!!!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I ended up sleeping in the van rather than the tent.  I could do without the cold wind all night, thank you!  Ended up rolling out of my sleeping bag at 6:30--only to find that son1 had taken down the tent.  Uh, where am I going to get changed???  While I got changed in the team camper son1 set up my transition.  First, I went with long sleeve under team jersey.  Then, minutes before the first wave went off, went back into the camper for a wardrobe readjustment--long sleeve over jersey.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Feet went numb waiting for my swim start.  Actually, that was kinda nice.  I had slammed my foot in the van door and it was hurting pretty bad.  Once I started my swim I did warm up nicely.  Still a nasty cold current though.  Once on the bike, I got COLD.  I mean really, really cold.  I had opted not to add any layers.  Legs cramped badly.  Climbing?  Not happening.  Everything hurt.  I actually dreaded the downhills.  Roads were bad so you had to be careful about picking up speed.  And, they were into tree lined shady areas.  Cold, Cold, COLD!!!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I finally did warm up towards the end of the bike.  I opted to shed my long sleeve in T2.  I was almost comfortable, plus the last mile into T2 was along the run course.  Everyone else was stripped down to tri tops/short sleeve.  Plus, the sun had broken through.  I was very comfortable temp wise on the run.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>In the end, I posted the fastest time of those in my AG that showed up.  And, with a finish, snagged the championship win.  Kinda a hollow victory though.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Son1 had a similar experience.  He opted for long sleeve over jersey.  He shed in T1, fearing that he'd get colder with a wet long sleeve, where the team jersey would dry quicker.  His hands were numb in T1 and had trouble with his shoes and helmet.  In T2 he had trouble with the helmet buckle.  He has elastic laces so basically just jammed his feet in his shoes and hoped for the best.  He had a good race, snagging 2nd AG.  Not bad, considering he had raced the elite race the day before, snagging a division win!</p>

 

[MBannon]

<p>Nice work!  I remember doing an oly race a few years ago where my feet went numb before the swim start and never got feeling back until halfway through the run.  Pretty annoying - glad you fared better than that!</p>