My first great ocean swim - with NO wetsuit!

The Redondo Beach pier

It was a lot busier today than this pic I got from the web

I joined the LA TriClub for their weekly beginner swim today at Redondo Beach. I've only been in the ocean one other time prior to today, and only briefly during that day. I've only worn my full length, full-neoprene BlueSeventy Energie wetsuit 3 times total, and each time, I've really struggled with the restrictive movements of my arms.

If you read the race report of my first triathlon last November when I made the rookie move of going with the brand-new wetsuit without any practice as well as no practice in open water, you'll see how I struggled so badly that I almost DNF'd that race. I finished 59th/60th in my AG during that race - and I definitely saw somebody backfloating the entire way. At the time, I really felt that my horrific performance was due to my wetsuit, as my arms fatigued out within 1-2 minutes, whereas my arms never fatigue in the pool, even after hour+ swims. Still, my rookiness made me doubt whether it was my wetsuit, as the experienced salesperson at TriathlonZombies (a well regarded tri-specific store) insisted that my suit fit my perfectly, and that it just needed some breaking in.

Well, today was the third time in my wetsuit. Myself and 20 or so other beginner triathlete swimmers got together at Redondo Beach for a short and safe ocean swim. 2 separate 250m swims. In a pool, I'd be able to swim that in about 5 minutes, and pretty much hold a sprinting swim pace for that entire time. I had my doubts in the ocean though, as I've severely struggled every time I've gone in.

Painfully, I got into my wetsuit, and as usual, it was super, duper tight. Especially in the armpits and shoulders. The group swam out past the surf, and then we took off toward the pier. This time, I had no hyperventilation issues in the water, but the usual arm fatigue kicked in after 1-2 minutes. I could still swim hard, but it felt very wrong, and much harder than my pool efforts. For sure, I was going slower with the wetsuit - whereas most people swim substantially faster with a wetsuit due to the buoyancy effects.

I didn't time the swim, but it took longer than I'd expected. I finished in the rear pack of swimmers, but made it out without major problem. My arms were pretty toasted at this point. 

We prepared for our second 250m swim, and this time, I shed the wetsuit entirely. Most of the swimmers looked at me like I was bonkers, as beginners are usually told to keep the wetsuit on for buoyancy, but I knew I had to go for it and see truly if I could swim well without it.

I dashed into the surf with the group, and fortunately, today was a warm day, with warm ocean water. Still chilly on entry, but no problem once I got moving. Immediately, I noticed a huge difference without the suit. Swimming felt exactly like it did in the pool (go figure), which meant I felt strong and balanced. No arm restriction to speak of, and no buoyancy problems either to my surprise. It was such a magnificent improvement that I felt like cheering for myself, but we hadn't even started the set yet! We had just swam out past the breakers, and now we were ready to take off.

We got started, and I went to my long-distance stroke pace, which is a easy, relaxed pull. It felt great, just like the pool. I could do this for an hour+ for sure. As my confidence grew, I picked up the pace, and easily pulled ahead of the pack. Within a few minutes, I was way out in front, swimming strong. I ended up finishing 2nd out of the water, and outpaced the group I had previously been swimming with by a huge margin. And they were all wearing wetsuits!

I'm now convinced that my horrific open water swims were due to my wetsuit, and not my pool training, which was more than adequate even for my first triathlon. I'm sure I'm no better than a rear-middle-of-pack swimmer in a race at this point, but for the first time, I've got a lot of confidence that with a properly fitting suit and a bit more training, I can easily finish a mile swim in open water and even finish in the middle of the pack. This is a HUGE revelation for me - my horrendous performances in open water swims have even limited me from signing up from races this summer because I feared that I would be unable to complete the mile open water swim. (Even though I routinely swim 2 miles nonstop in the pool!)

I will likely get a new wetsuit without sleeves to avoid the restriction problem altogether. As for my current suit, it will likely go onto Ebay, nearly brand new, and I bet I'll get no better than 1/2 to 1/3rd its original $300 price. It's a bummer, but that aspect is far outweighed by my happiness at seeing a direct translation of my pool experiences to my open water reality, as opposed to the previous situation of a complete disconnect between the two.

UPDATE: I promoptly ordered a $150 on-sale Xterra sleeveless "long john" wetsuit and wore it out to the LA Tri Club Wed AM ocean swim. It worked great - swam an entire mile without any difficulty to speak of, and finished easily with the main pack. It's amazing - my entire fears of open water swims and ocean swimming have been completely annihilated with one simple change of equipment. I'm actually looking forward to the swim leg of my next race now!