Working Out the Kinks

My triathlon last weekend pointed out some things I need to work on. My number one problem during the race was my wetsuit. As I complained about at length, I couldn't get the wetsuit off over my calves. The wetsuit that I rented was a couple years old and had reinforced knees. This area wasn't very stretchy and resulted in me being frustrated during T1. In my own defense, I don't think my calves are extra large. I thought that the numbers on my arms and legs were cool, so Mike took a picture of my calves. Here's a picture so you can judge for yourself:

See? I think my calves are a pretty normal size. If you think they are big, I would appreciate your keeping your thoughts to yourself, thank you.

Living in Minnesota, the temps are still dropping into the 40's at night. It's going to be quite a while before the lakes warm up enough that I'm going to be happy swimming without a wetsuit. During the race, I noticed how much easier it is to swim with one. I like the extra safety that the buoyancy adds, too.When I returned the rental on Monday, it also happened to be my birthday. I decided that it was time to buy my own, proper fitting wetsuit. So here it is, my new swimming partner:

This Blue Seventy is not only girlie and cute, but it is super flexible. I was able to get it off in the changing room in 30 seconds. Yeah! For my birthday, my parents gave me a super cool Blue Seventy triathlon bag. Us girls love it when our accessories are coordinated!

I'm going to try it out for the first time tomorrow with a lake swim with a friend. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will keep me warm and afloat. This will be my first real open water workout, so I'm a little excited and a little more nervous. I'll let you know how it goes!