Yes - one more time it's about the suit:
Here is a comparison to 2004 and what it took to make top 16 (top 8 for the 400) over the first 7 events:
2004 listed first then 2008 then the approx. % drop
400 IM - 4:24.8 to 4:21.0 1.5%
100 Fly - 1:01.29 to 59.97 2%
400 Free - 3:55.0 to 3:51.4 1.6%
400 IM - 4:49.57 to 4:43.2 2.3%
100 Br - 1:04.0 to 1:02.36 2.5%
100 Bk - 1:04.12 to 1:02.31 2.6%
200 Free - 1:51.1 to 1:48.76 2.2%
Ok - to be fair, people are getting faster, but I would guess at least a 1.5% drop across the board for the suit -- that is net time !
As Glen Mills pointed out and I discovered first hand testing a BlueSeventy last week the "flotation" that it provides as a significant impact on body position...
Paul, I did read what you wrote, what Glen wrote, what Fortress wrote, and what SVDL said in her interview. It was a little contradictory: you felt a major difference in body position. Glen did not, but felt it helped his underwaters a lot (you said the same). Fort disagreed with that, saying it didn't seem to help her SDKs. And SVDL didn't feel any different and swam slower than with the FSPro.
I think relying on feel is subjective and can be misleading. I've had some fast swims when I've felt terrible in the water, and some mediocre swims when I felt great. Ultimately it is about time, not feel.
Speaking of times: George brings up a good point too. Through four days, we've had some nice and exciting swimming...but no real jaw-dropping WRs, as we saw with the 50 free when the LZRs first came out. Phelps was slower with the LZR than a year ago in the 200 fly and free...is he more than 2% slower now than a year ago? I don't think so. His 400 IM saw a 1-second improvement, but this isn't 2% and his WR was set at the END of a long World Champs schedule while this swim was at the beginning and he was pushed by Lochte. I don't think the LZR was the cause of the improvement. Other WRs were incremental improvements over past ones. Add a 2% correction and Piersol and Hansen are quite a bit slower than they have been in the past.
I will indeed give the B70 a try this summer (no way was I going to get the current generation of LZR). But if I go faster than last summer, I can't be sure how much is the suit or not, since I'm swimming faster now than I was back then and I was also recovering from a broken hand.
The next time I taper/shave for a meet in trials and finals format, I'll compare the B70 to briefs or jammers to see the difference...much as I did with the FSII, finding no drastic difference. This is, I think, the only true way to test the suit: rested and shaved under race conditions, keeping everything else the same. Your experience in practice is nice and I enjoyed reading it, but it isn't the same.
As Glen Mills pointed out and I discovered first hand testing a BlueSeventy last week the "flotation" that it provides as a significant impact on body position...
Paul, I did read what you wrote, what Glen wrote, what Fortress wrote, and what SVDL said in her interview. It was a little contradictory: you felt a major difference in body position. Glen did not, but felt it helped his underwaters a lot (you said the same). Fort disagreed with that, saying it didn't seem to help her SDKs. And SVDL didn't feel any different and swam slower than with the FSPro.
I think relying on feel is subjective and can be misleading. I've had some fast swims when I've felt terrible in the water, and some mediocre swims when I felt great. Ultimately it is about time, not feel.
Speaking of times: George brings up a good point too. Through four days, we've had some nice and exciting swimming...but no real jaw-dropping WRs, as we saw with the 50 free when the LZRs first came out. Phelps was slower with the LZR than a year ago in the 200 fly and free...is he more than 2% slower now than a year ago? I don't think so. His 400 IM saw a 1-second improvement, but this isn't 2% and his WR was set at the END of a long World Champs schedule while this swim was at the beginning and he was pushed by Lochte. I don't think the LZR was the cause of the improvement. Other WRs were incremental improvements over past ones. Add a 2% correction and Piersol and Hansen are quite a bit slower than they have been in the past.
I will indeed give the B70 a try this summer (no way was I going to get the current generation of LZR). But if I go faster than last summer, I can't be sure how much is the suit or not, since I'm swimming faster now than I was back then and I was also recovering from a broken hand.
The next time I taper/shave for a meet in trials and finals format, I'll compare the B70 to briefs or jammers to see the difference...much as I did with the FSII, finding no drastic difference. This is, I think, the only true way to test the suit: rested and shaved under race conditions, keeping everything else the same. Your experience in practice is nice and I enjoyed reading it, but it isn't the same.
