Having quite enjoyed the last Swim Super Series 1500m swim 4 weeks ago, as Mr Tuna was away again this weekend, I thought I would head over again, even if it did mean heading down the M40 twice in one day (I was attending Tuna Friend Fiona's wedding in the afternoon, held on the Thames!).
This time it was A LOT warmer, and with lake temperature of 22C, there was no way that I would be wearing a wetsuit. I was fascinated by the difference that not wearing my wetsuit made in the race, both to my overall speed and to the position in the group of the swimmers - last time I was between the first pack and the second pack, this time I ended up at the back of the second pack.
Because I was further back in the field I struggled a lot in the race with positioning, it made it a lot harder to get around people at times, but I managed to get past someone at the end to beat her by 7 seconds into 3rd place. A much slower time than last time: 26:26 (but someone else felt that the course was a touch long...). I won another pair of goggles...
Not sure what the answer is. I'm planning to only swim skins next year, but I don't want to lose out on the podiums that I've had this season :-/ I guess I will have to focus on BDLSA [British Long Distance Swimming Association - no wetsuits permitted] events, although I think those events can be pretty speedy! Wetsuits obviously improve buoyancy, and probably streamlining as well so I could probably do with a proper racing swim suit.
I absolutely love my wetsuit and can't imagine doing an event without it! Although I've heard it's looked down upon to wear one during "normal" swim events, I'd probably rock it anyway; I am a wannabe swimmer after all. ;)
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