I'm gonna try the Tri-It option at Mid-Summer Tri on Sunday(a bit nervous! ).

Would like some opinions from those that know better about the water temps at Blue Lake and given
the shorter swim distance of the novice option whether a wetsuit would be needed for 1/4 mile.
Perhaps this is a silly question, but I am after all, a silly newbie.

Any comments would be appreciated.

Regards,
Kenneth.

At this time of year, you should be absolutely fine without a wetsuit at Blue Lake. Have fun!

Especially is your heritage is Norwegian like her. She swims at the "Coast" if that tells you anything...

Not trying to scare you or nothin'

Doug

Aside from the bit of Nordic ice that runs through my veins......(why, I oughta.....) you should be fine for that distance as far as temperature and time of year is concerned.
You may want to wear 'the suit' for added buoyancy if that helps you mentally. If you have not done many open water swims that could be an issue. Otherwise, it won't do much for you other than force your body into a prone swimming position (a good thing) and potentially eat up time in the transition (a bad thing). Whatever you decide to do, have a great time!

I am glad someone posted this. I came here for the same purpose. I am doing the sprint distance on Saturday at the Luna All Women's Tri at Blue Lake and they are claiming water temps around around 70 degress and wetsuits are options. I've done most of my training in a pool so am debating whether to wetsuit it or not. I was curious how much the buoyancy factor and positioning in the wetsuit helps though. Not to mention good practice for future triathlons.

Marion

My personal opinion is the buoyancy factor is often more mentally assuring for some who are not overly confident in open water. The downfall there is wetsuits are not always allowed although that is not usually an issue in the Northwest. Wetsuits are constructed to place you in a good body position but it won't make you a good swimmer. If you are a mediocre swimmer you won't don a suit and suddenly become an Olympic hopeful. But there is benefit in the elements of less resistance etc.
Getting them on and off can be tricky and should be practiced like any other portion of the event.
I have a link somewhere to an article in Triathlete magazine on wetsuits that addresses this. I will locate it and paste it in shortly.

....later....Sorry - could not locate the article. I've seen you swim Marion, you're very strong. You'll do well either way. Good luck to you (both).

The buoyancy factor is quite noticeable with the right fitting suit and construction. You can almost float unaided in a wetsuit. That's where the confidence factor comes in for the weaker swimmer.

And the fact that you'll look like all the other seals to the sharks...well what are the chances they'll pick you over the others? Oh, yeah...lake swim. Nevermind!

Thanks so much for the info on the water temps and such.
I ended up doing the swim without the wetsuit and did just fine temperature wise.
At the start, they announced the water was 67 degrees. Getting in it seemed quite
cold, But with just a little bit of warm-up it didn't seem so bad at all - even
a little bit warm.
The swimming was another matter. I noticed right away that I was struggling a
bit with the swimming. Did not have much ows training so that was definitely
an issue. Did breaststroke thru to about halfway until I decided to try freestyle
like I had done in the pool - just swim with eyes closed. For some reason this
helped me get into a pretty good groove thru to the end of the swim. This must
be a mental thing because the visiblity was prolly just a foot or so.
I got thru the bike and run(mostly walking) without further excitement..just slow.
Ended up waay BOP(second to last). oh well, I am very glad I finished.
This was fun but also a challenging experience for me. I'm gonna have to do
more cross-training to be better prepped for future tri's.

One thing that happened to me before even starting was that after I unloaded my 10-speed
and wanted to top-off the air pressure. My tire went flat with a mighty woosh
as I pulled the nipple off the presta stem(it tore where stem connects to tube).
Just an aggravation to have to change a tube before the start, but oh well.
Maybe the moral of the story is to bring a spare for your spare..just in case.

Thanks again for the tips!
-Kenner.

Good Job, Kenner!!

Congratulations on your finish. Sounds like you had a pretty decent first-time experience and also learned that anything can happen on Race Day.

One thing you might check to prevent the tire from repeating that drill is to look at your rim tape around the Valve hole. It might be warn out if it's been in there for awhile. Over tightening the valve-nut is another way to put added stress on the valve base. You want it tight enough to make sure it doesn't unscrew off, but you don't want to tighten it so much as to pull the valve too tight against the valve hole. The edges of the hole can be pretty sharp. It may have been time to change that tube, too.

Hope you can get another race in before the end of the season.

Doug