SO MUCH BETTER!!! Lily at Fleet Feet showed me the proper way to put on a swim wetsuit - basically, put the suit on, then lean over so your torso is at a 90 degree angle from your legs (think sun salutation), and then grab the wetsuit near your hips and pull upwards. Repeat again and again as you inch your way up your torso until it feels like the wetsuit is up to your ears. Then slowly stand up. The wetsuit around your chest and shoulders is now somewhat loose and you can inhale and exhale deeply. Use the same grab and pull technique on the arms and you'll have even more range of motion in the shoulders. Lily said 75% of women during their first open water wetsuit swim don't pull the wetsuit up far enough and they feel constricted. That is exactly what happened to me! I felt like I was swimming in a straight jacket which didn't help my overall panic breathing any. This time I had full arm motion and I could inhale and take a deep breath - wonderful!
Another difference was my starting position strategy. At the first Stroke and Stride, being a newbie, I started in the back of the short course group and was way behind from the get go. I hate to be the last one in anything, it just seems futile. This time, (as a seasoned pro - haha), I lined up in the front line of the long course group and even though people passed me, I knew I wasn't the very last one. It made a world of difference to my motivation and I was able to focus on swimming and appreciate the forward progress I was making in the water. I swam freestyle about 1/3 of the way and swam the breast stroke the rest of the way. I remembered to set my watch this time so I got an accurate time. I was surprised that I actually did it in 20 minutes!
I ended up buying the rental wetsuit so I can practice with it some more. I've come so far and I'm not going to let a piece of neoprene stop me:)
Another difference was my starting position strategy. At the first Stroke and Stride, being a newbie, I started in the back of the short course group and was way behind from the get go. I hate to be the last one in anything, it just seems futile. This time, (as a seasoned pro - haha), I lined up in the front line of the long course group and even though people passed me, I knew I wasn't the very last one. It made a world of difference to my motivation and I was able to focus on swimming and appreciate the forward progress I was making in the water. I swam freestyle about 1/3 of the way and swam the breast stroke the rest of the way. I remembered to set my watch this time so I got an accurate time. I was surprised that I actually did it in 20 minutes!
Da Beast
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