I'm just getting back into the sport after a 25 year layoff. Currently I'm just swimming in a pair of board shorts I have that I wear when we go to the beach etc and a pair of cheap half broken goggles that my 9 y/o son uses. My question is should I start out with a pair of Jammers and see how those work? I am a pretty big guy at 6'2 255 so I'm just wondering how they will fit.
My second question is do people see some improvement in times just from not wearing the board shorts which I assume cause a lot of drag?
I am contemplating entering my first Masters Meet on March 2nd after only 5 swim workouts. I figure might as well be training for something!
I don't have access to starting blocks and at my first meet I was shocked how scary the blocks seemed. I used to hop up on those all the time. Now I'm envisioning this: 24.media.tumblr.com/.../tumblr_mg0vejHrYy1r3gb3zo1_400.gif
I agree that this is hilarious. However, I am not absolutely certain that the kid is falling in by accident. When my son was this age, he would regularly fall into pools "by accident" because he wanted to go for a swim.
As far as goggles go, I agree that they are very individual. I finally found a pair that fits my beedy little eyes perfectly, and Speedo immediately discontinued making them. (I stocked up on a few additional pairs so should be good to go for the foreseeable future.)
Anyhow, a local swim suit sales person known as "the goggle lady" gave me some great advice, which is probably on the packaging anyhow, but it really does seem to work.
When you put on a pair of goggles before a race, push them into your eye sockets a bit, almost like burping a Tupperware container, to push out excess air and create a slight vacuum effect. If you can then lightly pull on the little piece connecting the two eye cups, and you feel they are adhering with a suctioning kind of effect, they are working right. With her advice and the aforementioned Sengar goggles (now discontinued, alas), I have been able to skip wearing a swim cap (which I always hated because it makes the aqueous world sound so different that what I am used to) and dive in without worrying the goggles will come off.
Good luck in your inaugural meet, but think gradual rather than overnight improvement, and you'll save yourself the potential for a lot of orthopedic mayhem.
I don't have access to starting blocks and at my first meet I was shocked how scary the blocks seemed. I used to hop up on those all the time. Now I'm envisioning this: 24.media.tumblr.com/.../tumblr_mg0vejHrYy1r3gb3zo1_400.gif
I agree that this is hilarious. However, I am not absolutely certain that the kid is falling in by accident. When my son was this age, he would regularly fall into pools "by accident" because he wanted to go for a swim.
As far as goggles go, I agree that they are very individual. I finally found a pair that fits my beedy little eyes perfectly, and Speedo immediately discontinued making them. (I stocked up on a few additional pairs so should be good to go for the foreseeable future.)
Anyhow, a local swim suit sales person known as "the goggle lady" gave me some great advice, which is probably on the packaging anyhow, but it really does seem to work.
When you put on a pair of goggles before a race, push them into your eye sockets a bit, almost like burping a Tupperware container, to push out excess air and create a slight vacuum effect. If you can then lightly pull on the little piece connecting the two eye cups, and you feel they are adhering with a suctioning kind of effect, they are working right. With her advice and the aforementioned Sengar goggles (now discontinued, alas), I have been able to skip wearing a swim cap (which I always hated because it makes the aqueous world sound so different that what I am used to) and dive in without worrying the goggles will come off.
Good luck in your inaugural meet, but think gradual rather than overnight improvement, and you'll save yourself the potential for a lot of orthopedic mayhem.
