Lake Geneva Wetsuit-less

Keep in mind that you'll be a little lower in the water so you'll have more trouble sighting and you'll probably swallow more water than everyone else. It might be a good idea to sandbag the swim a bit to make up for that.

Good luck with your first tri.

If you want to borrow one, i've got a spare farmer john (sleeveless with full legs) that's a little too tight for me since i bulked up in the chest and back over the winter, and i haven't been motivated enough to try unloading it yet.  it's an older Body Glove tri-specific model, size medium.  I'd say it would fit someone 5'10-ish or shorter who's under 160#. 

I'm heading down to the area Friday.

I swam in Lake Geneva in a wetsuit today and the water was cool, but we easily acclimated.  More concerning was the heavy fog we experienced when we first got there at 8am. You could not see past the buoys on the beach. Given that most of us start at 6:15am on race day, I hope we don't have the same experience.  Siting would be impossible...add waves and it would make for a long swim for me.

If there is a shot you could test and wear a wetsuit for the race, it might be worth it. Lake Geneva is a big lake and weather, chop an cold water has been a problem in the past.  If you are a great swimmer then maybe it isn't an issue for you. It would be for me.

PS I did the 10K run as well. YOWZA. I knew about the front end hills, but they treat you with two more on the back half, Ravinia is unfun!  And to think we get to do it all twice.

VB- Thank you so much for the offer; however, I am 6'1" and right around 2 bills! Maybe I could use your suit for one of my legs. Seriously though...thx!

SSMin- I hear ya about that lake's water temps. I have spent many years competing in bass tournaments so I've spent many hours on that lake. Geneva can easily be 5-10 degrees colder than most of our other inland lakes. Also, just as you said, the lake can get nasty once the sun gets over the tree tops!

As far as my swimming goes, well I am by no means an excellent swimmer. But I do think I am OK. I have been swimming in Browns Lake 3 days a week and tonight swam over 800 yds without putting a foot down. It was all freestyle and the only breaks are about a 20 second doggie paddle at each end when I turn around. I followed that up with an additional 600 yrds (200 yds intervals). I have been swimming very hard the last two months in hopes that KNOWING I can easily go the distance might reduce the chance of a freak-out like I read about so many 1st timers doing. I still have 4 swims scheduled between now and the tri. I also know this is not popular, but I will NOT be tappering my swim. I quit swimming for 5 days once and it was like I had to relearn when I got back in. Even if it's light I know I'll be swimming Thursday before the tri to stay in my comfort zone.

Thanks for all you guys and gals help...You all are class-act!

I will be standing there next to you without a wetsuit.    As this will be my first "tri" also I just couldn't justify the cost of a purchase or a rental unless I stay as addicted as I am now!  I spend the last hour of the day at work just waiting to get my workout in.  Maybe next year if I don't lose the motivation!

Good luck...maybe we can kick each other on the swim? 

D-nort,

I swam the course a couple of times this morning without a wet-suit with no problems what-so-ever, it was cool but nothing that is going to affect anybody for the rest of the race.  Actually, the air was colder coming out of the water than the water was.  The water was very clear and easy to sight and see also.
Hope that calms some fears! 

Drove the new updated bike course also...lots of rolling up and down and a couple of RR crossings that look like they could eat a tire or two.

Good luck to everybody next weekend.

Awesome...thanks! Now there are three of us wetsuit-less because my buddy J-Buzz is also going skinless. Him and I rode the new bike course last week and are planning on riding it again this Monday morning. I think we're going to do the swim first also.

Does anyone know the swim course for the sprint? Do you just swim around the swimming area bouys?

According to the Water Safety Patrol (www.watersafetypatrol.org), water temp as of 9/3 was 72 degrees.  Just an FYI.

My advice is if you do not have a kayaker you swim between the buoy line either at the beach or where the boat's go in.  It is going to be a zoo on Monday so be careful.  We swam last Tuesday and the boat traffic was manageable, but the guy manning the landing said the weekends are horrible.  Be safe.

d-nort...no worries about not tapering your swim! Its non impact, and since this is your first tri...you need to do whatever it takes to increase your confidence!!! Welcome to the madness!! Might see you there!!

edit...though I don't think I'll recognize you before the swim, since you won't have on your sunglasses. do you really have such a big mouth and lips??? giggle...

Edited by pjgrande 2009-09-06 9:50 PM

add three more guys without wetsuits for the race. Coincidentally, we all are about 6'1" and around 200lbs.

Personally, due to illness and training catered to other running races, I haven't swam since June. I plan on getting in the pool tomorrow just to brush up on form. In the past, I have found that the swim is the least important leg. I can train like crazy and not get that much faster compared to improvements I can achieve in the run and especially the bike. Form in the swim is much more important than fitness or time spent training.

Until I start getting times that put me close to placing (or there's a cash purse for the clydesdale division) I'm going to continue to do the swim without a wetsuit. It adds to the adrenaline of it all.

aw, geez, am i going to be the only guy there under 6'?  I better call out djdavey for backup.

Will there be a clydesdale division for this? The last two days my scale has been hitting 199 so I better eat some brats today. 199 is awesome for me since I was 227 June 6th when I started my training.

This morning my buddy and I biked the sprint course then made the run. Awesome morning!

Oh, look for the lips! They're a dead give away...haha!

How where the railroad track crossings?  They looked brutal when I drove the course this weekend?

Track #1- The tracks are in good shape; HOWEVER, the angle is bad! It would definitely be a good idea to angle into these as perpendicular as you can. Unfortunately, you will need to streer into the oncoming lane. There is a really deep gap between the track and the black rubber section that looks as if it could eat up some rims. It is also a pretty fast section so you will be hitting these with some speed.

Track #2- These are in bad shape and on a fast section! I can hit these around 22-24mph. I found about a 1 foot wide lip in the middle of the right lane that you can use to sort of jump the tracks. Seriously, from what I saw this is the only section that is decent (I'm using decent VERY loosely). The rest of the tracks are like hitting two deep ruts which are 10" deep.

Track #3- Unfortunately, these are just as poor as Tracks #2 but with no secret spot to cross! I have not decided if I'm going to bomb these and hope nothing breaks or if I'm going to slow down. These will be the slowest of them all, but you will still be carrying 18+ mph across them.

Other than that, the only other bad stuff I saw in the 3x I rode it is in the last 2 miles. The last two miles are a lot of fun bc of the rolling hills, but some of the downhills include some pavement patches with hard bumps. These bumps at 30+mph hurt...

Good luck!

The rolling hills at the end of the bike could be a lot of fun, but when I was riding them I was held up several times by traffic.  I was really frustrated when traffic came to a stop at the the bottom of one of the hills.  Hopefully there will be fewer cars out while we are racing on Saturday morning.

I am curious...

How often do trains come through and how fast are they going? 

Wow! I never thought about having an actual train cross the tracks. That would suck! Imagine losing 5 minutes because of a train!

Keep your ears open. The crossings don't have a "train approaching" signal. They have stop signs, but we won't be observing those.

it happened at the Paper Valley Duathlon a couple years ago - tripletmom01 knows all about that (you can see it in the movie "The Distance").  i don't recall whether the race director adjusted finish times to compensate...

OH, MAN - speak for yourself, here!  I always observe stop signs, even during a race - my tradition is having pancakes AFTER the race, not being turned into one DURING.



Edited by Vitamin_B 2009-09-08 2:05 PM

Looks like at least one might by race day - i got this from a different forum.  I think the crossing being referred to is on Hwy B between miles 33 and 34:

ooops, repeat of my previous post...I managed to make a double post with more than 3 hours in the middle!

Edited by mchally 2009-09-08 3:16 PM