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Slide 1: ==== ==== FREE SHIPPING ON YOU FIRST 2 CANS OF OXYGEN click here http://tinyurl.com/7ks9vy4 ==== ==== It is pretty obvious to the triathlon community that triathlon wetsuits are not all created equal. At the same time, it often feels like we have taken the importance of exactly how a triathlon wetsuit is actually constructed a bit too seriously. After all, when it comes right down to it, is really necessary to get excited about a wetsuit because it is a millimeter thicker than the one you owned the previous season? It appears that the goal is to have a creation that is thinner and faster, but still as warm as a wetsuit with thicker construction. IN THE EARLY DAYS In the early days of triathlon the races were few and far between. To make matters worse, in many areas with water temperatures that hovered around 60 degrees Fahrenheit it was a challenge for many triathletes just to avoid hypothermia. There simply were no wetsuits back then except perhaps for the early "Farmer John" type that did nothing at all to keep a person warmer, which begs the question, "what exactly did they do"? Of course a person could always buy a "dry-suit" --that would be impossibly heavy and hot-- at a dive shop, but it would be years before the real triathlon "wetsuits" were available to all triathletes regardless of where they lived. For the Canadian triathlete, it was pretty much almost a certainty that hypothermia was going to rear its head in any triathlon swim leg in Canada back in the eighties unless the race happened to be on the West Coast. The severity of the hypothermia often depended on actual swimming ability of the triathlete. The better a triathlete could swim back then, the sooner the swim leg would be over so it was a simple matter of those whoever got out of the water the soonest were less likely to suffer from the cold as much. EFFICIENT SWIMMING IS THE KEY If a triathlete did not have an energy-saving stroke it was often difficult to retain enough coordination once out of the water to be able to climb on a bike. It was not unusual for it to take ten minutes or more for a triathlete to warm up enough to be able to cycle at all. Some of the early triathletes reached the danger point of hypothermia and were often unable to carry on in the race at all. The wetsuit was born in the mid to late eighties and began to evolve at a quick pace in the decades to follow. Every single year you could pretty much be guaranteed that a new improved
Slide 2: wetsuit would be on the market. Often the new wetsuits came with the promise that it would make you a faster swimmer then ever before. FASTER IS NOT ALWAYS BETTER This philosophy of "faster is better" really sucked people in because they had yet to figure out how little importance swim time really has on the end result of an Ironman. This is especially true of age-groupers who simply want to finish the race any way they can. Still, many triathletes were sucked in over and over again and could spend a few thousand dollars on wetsuits over a career. Unfortunately, it would take years for some triathletes to figure out that swimming faster is not the secret to a successful Ironman. Real success is realized when emphasis is placed on finishing the swim leg of an Ironman with as little energy loss as possible. In reality, success in an Ironman has very little to do with the thickness of a wetsuit, how seamless the stitching, or how stretchy the armpits are. STAYING WARM IS THE KEY Ultimately, the most important feature of a wetsuit for the average age-group triathlete or novice Ironman is the protection it provides from the cold. It is of paramount importance to always keep in mind that if you burn yourself out from the swim because you lack a smooth, energy-saving stroke you will most likely be part of the Ironman "death march". For the beginner triathlete or novice Ironman, the goal should be to get through the swim with as little discomfort as possible and with as little mental, emotional, and physical stress as possible. Any type of stress has a way of contributing to the loss energy that will without a doubt be desperately need later on in the race. This is most especially true to the Ironman because of the sheer distance of the race. The author has been an endurance athlete for over 30 years and has competed in over 30 marathons, 2 --- 50 mile races, 14 Ironman triathlons and countless shorter races. He has also created a website called "Ironstruck." The main purpose is to provide training and racing tips for the beginner triathlete and novice Ironman. Drop by for a visit an you find many more training and racing tips and ideas....... http://www.ironstruck.ca The author also written three triathlon books. Two are for those who have an Ironman triathlon in their future. "Ironstruck...The Ironman Triathlon Journey" and "Ironstruck? 500 Ironman Triathlon Questions and Answers" have been well received by the tri community. The latest book "Triathlete In Transition" is for the very beginner triathlete and is also being well received. If you enjoy this article on Ezine, then VISIT the Ironstruck bookstore or website and you will find a great source of motivation and inspiration as you begin your own triathlon journey.
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