Swim Practice..

[Tamara Dantzer]

Just a quick question wrt swim practice in open water.
Would it do any harm to practice without my wetsuit?
It is such a pain in the neck to put on and now that the water is toasty I am just as happy to swim without it.
I understand the benefit of having it on- practicing with equip I will use on race day- but I was thinking for at least some of the swims it wouldn't harm to not have the suit on..
Any thoughts??

[Andrew]

As long as you get some good swims in with the wetsuit, to ensure you can deal with the breathing restriction, and slightly different body position, there is no harm with doing some of your lake swims in "free spirit" mode. Keep in mind, despite the warm temps, you will still get cold if you are out there too long, so plan these ones with that in mind, and make sure you have appropriate clothes, hydration and fuel waiting for you on the beach.