Are Triathletes worth the dues they pay toward Masters Swimming?
I say we force all Triathletes to spend one day a week in the sprint lane, one day a week doing stroke (i.e. IM) work, and then make them focus on their starts and turns.
This invasion needs to be controlled.... :-)
John Smith
:)
One positive aspect of the surge in triathlon popularity is the spillover into open water swimming popularity. Now we swimmers just need to convince the tri crowd to lengthen the swim leg. Consider the time difference: a 2.4 mile swim takes 40 mins or so. A marathon run is at least a 3+ hour slog. Equitable?
Hopper
http://www.swimvacation.com
I agree that the swim leg should be lengthened in a triathlon. It's just an inequitable warm up at present.
I'm all for OW swimming as well. I'm all for anything that gets people exercising and excited about exercising. And I admire distance swimmers, as well as all endurance athletes. (I agree with Geek though -- no wet suits please!)
But, and I'll probably get killed for this, I wish OW swimming didn't come at the expense of pool swimming. I sometimes feel like masters swimmers default to OW because it's easier than doing 4 strokes in a pool. Watching beautiful strokes in the pool is utterly amazing ... just as good or better than watching people battle and conquer the waves. When triathletes sneer at real swimmers -- and they do -- I find it vaguely offensive. Mutual respect would be preferable.
One positive aspect of the surge in triathlon popularity is the spillover into open water swimming popularity. Now we swimmers just need to convince the tri crowd to lengthen the swim leg. Consider the time difference: a 2.4 mile swim takes 40 mins or so. A marathon run is at least a 3+ hour slog. Equitable?
Hopper
http://www.swimvacation.com
I agree that the swim leg should be lengthened in a triathlon. It's just an inequitable warm up at present.
I'm all for OW swimming as well. I'm all for anything that gets people exercising and excited about exercising. And I admire distance swimmers, as well as all endurance athletes. (I agree with Geek though -- no wet suits please!)
But, and I'll probably get killed for this, I wish OW swimming didn't come at the expense of pool swimming. I sometimes feel like masters swimmers default to OW because it's easier than doing 4 strokes in a pool. Watching beautiful strokes in the pool is utterly amazing ... just as good or better than watching people battle and conquer the waves. When triathletes sneer at real swimmers -- and they do -- I find it vaguely offensive. Mutual respect would be preferable.
