Refusing to wear a wetsuit without even trying one on.
Refusing to wear a golf glove despite mounting evidence (ie. blisters) that perhaps I should.
My friend Jeff started writing a comment on my 'stubborn' blog which quickly morphed into an entire blog post singing the praises of the wetsuit.
Jeff has given me a lot of advice in the past few years. About running, cycling and swimming as well as about type 1 and race day diabetes management. I have yet to disagree with anything he has said to me. It's always well thought out and supportive yet he gently pushes me out of each comfort zone that I dig myself in to.
Jeff likes wetsuits. Jeff competes in wetsuits. Jeff thinks I should have a wetsuit.
Damn him.
Thanks to his convincing arguments I've gone from hating the idea of a wetsuit to being open enough about it to wonder where I would put my insulin pump.
In fact I'm already wondering whether I should try one with sleeves or one without sleeves. A full suit or a shorty.
Yet again he pushes me out of my comfort zone just enough that I feel safe enough to walk a few more steps into the unknown.
Did I mention that he does half-ironmans and has got me thinking that they're not so bad either?
Damn him.
I'll say a few things:
ReplyDelete(1) Good for you for considering it!
(2) If you do get one, it's important to be open-minded until you actually get into the water for the first time. I tried mine on at home before my first race, and I was pretty sure I was going to hate it (for all of the reasons you described). The experience of moving around in a dry wetsuit is quite unnatural, and (compared to normal clothes) is constricting. When you're first getting used to the idea of a wetsuit, that might seem bad. When you're in the water, though, it's a totally different thing.
(3) Go sleeveless and full length in the legs. Sleeves are good for approximately two weeks in May and then too warm the rest of the time. Having as much neoprene on your lower body as possible means that you will have better swim mechanics.
(4) You mused in your comment on my site whether I'm a shoulder angel or devil. I prefer to think of myself as a bit of an agent provocateur. :^)