Hi there! I've recently joined USMS after about 16-17 years out of any serious training. I'm feeling pretty good in the pool so far but out of the loop otherwise. Can anyone from eras past fill me in on the following subjects:
1. Racing Suits (female) - OK so the last racing suit I owned was a Speedo S2000. God I HATED that thing. I'm glad newer suits seem to have a less strangling neckline, but now they have legs. Makes me want to get a chin strap for my swim cap. How are those comfortable? Do you still get wedgies? ANYWAY....what do you all wear for racing these days in terms of small meets? I assume a technical knee suit for big meets, but are knee suits the norm even for smaller meets? Where can I find a paper suit....lol?
2. Caps/Goggles - Two caps.... really? Seems headache inducing, but silicone seems to be in vs. latex now. Do my swedish goggle strap tails cause that much drag? Or is it more to secure goggles (which I've never had a problem with)? Do people even still wear swedes any more? I see none on my team, so I'm assuming goggles have gone all techy now too.
3. Paddles/Fins/Bouys - I still have my old square Han's paddles, Zoomer fins, and white bouy with straps. No one has looked at me funny yet....but everyone has cooler looking stuff haha. Is there anything better out there that I should try?
Finally, what do they call the new fangled back to *** turn? Looks fancy and I need to learn it. Also the underwater pull with fly kick? If someone could link me to some good vids or tutorials that would be super.
Thanks in advance!
Parents
Former Member
At our local meets there is a mix of workout suits and tech-suits. I wear a kneeskin for racing, because it holds more wobble in than a standard tank.
I prefer a silicone cap, for me I just wear one, but keep this one just for racing. They tend to stretch out a bit with use and can slide off on starts and turns after a while. They're not too $$ so try out whatever combination works best.
I have a 12 year old kickboard, about 9 year old pullbuoy, 8 year old fins and some small paddles. They still do the job, so why change?
As fas as the back/*** flip, I can do it sometimes in practice and think I have done it in a meet once or twice on a 100 IM. However when I swam the 200IM I decided I needed air more than the flip. I find I need to push myself out from the wall as I touch to avoid becoming a crumpled mess with feet in the gutter. And I haven't dared do the fly kick on the *** pullout yet....
At our local meets there is a mix of workout suits and tech-suits. I wear a kneeskin for racing, because it holds more wobble in than a standard tank.
I prefer a silicone cap, for me I just wear one, but keep this one just for racing. They tend to stretch out a bit with use and can slide off on starts and turns after a while. They're not too $$ so try out whatever combination works best.
I have a 12 year old kickboard, about 9 year old pullbuoy, 8 year old fins and some small paddles. They still do the job, so why change?
As fas as the back/*** flip, I can do it sometimes in practice and think I have done it in a meet once or twice on a 100 IM. However when I swam the 200IM I decided I needed air more than the flip. I find I need to push myself out from the wall as I touch to avoid becoming a crumpled mess with feet in the gutter. And I haven't dared do the fly kick on the *** pullout yet....
