Triathlon Swimming Q&A: Wearing a Pace Watch in a Swim

February 8, 2010

Q: Will wearing a pace watch on my wrist make my swimming slower?

A: Here’s what happens when you wear a pace watch.  You place added resistance on that arm as it enters the water for each stroke.  The resistance will slightly slow the arm down and create bubbles, which make for a less effective pull.  The flipside is if the watch’s face is pointed in the direction of the palm, it actually adds to your pulling surface area, making you slightly faster.  This is good, because you want the watch to face your palm so you can see it when you are in the aero position on the bike!  If you wear a thin enough watch, all of the forces counteract, and the net effect of wearing a watch in water becomes zero.  Wearing a full wetsuit where the sleeve covers the watch makes it even less of an issue.

The bottom line is, if you need the watch to pace your bike and run, it is best to wear it during the swim.  You lose little if any time in the swim with the watch on, provided it isn’t too big.  If you don’t swim with it, you will waste precious seconds in transition to put that watch on.

View previous triathlon swimming tips.