I am just back from the SPMA meet where all the top finisher were wearing the latest generation tech suits,mostly B-70s(or were named Jeff Commings.)I have here to for been in favor of the suits,but now I am not so sure.First,they eliminate the old bench marks.I went my fastest 100m BR in 5 yr in my LZR,but it was only .3 sec faster than I did untapered 5 wk earlier in my first swim in the LZR.So was my swim good or not,I'm not sure.Also,instead of focusing on technique or pace I found myself ruminating over aspects of the suits,how many more swims did the suit have,is it the right size,was the reason I didn't get better results from my B-70 because it was too big?etc.The B-70 has somewhat mitigated the "too expensive,not durable" problem,but for how long.
Lets say a company comes up with a suit that is much faster,say 4 sec/100.Further that it is very expensive(say $1000) lasts 4 swims and is very hard to make so that quantities are always limited and the fastest way to get one is to bid up to $3000 on ebay. Now lets say your nemesis has one,or that getting one is your best chance to get TT or AA or a ZR or WR,or that your child is close to making JO cuts,or finally beating his/her nemesis etc. Is it worth it and where does it stop?
I like using paddles in practice for the exact same reason: they're a crutch.
This is so negative. It's illogical to think that fun always = crutch. Paddles are a training tool, not a crutch. (Unless you specifically use them that way.) There is no reason that something fun and fast needs to be denounced as a crutch instead of part of the sport. Do you think that fun is always bad? Seems a bit of an austere philosophy or rather puritanical for sport and life ...
I detect scads of reflexive "guilt" from swimmers whenever the words paddles, fins or tech suits are used. I recall Karen saying "if it feels wrong, it is wrong" awhile ago. I guess I don't understand why these things feel wrong. People feel "guilty" kicking with fins for example, but if they did it right, it might affirmatively help their training.
I like using paddles in practice for the exact same reason: they're a crutch.
This is so negative. It's illogical to think that fun always = crutch. Paddles are a training tool, not a crutch. (Unless you specifically use them that way.) There is no reason that something fun and fast needs to be denounced as a crutch instead of part of the sport. Do you think that fun is always bad? Seems a bit of an austere philosophy or rather puritanical for sport and life ...
I detect scads of reflexive "guilt" from swimmers whenever the words paddles, fins or tech suits are used. I recall Karen saying "if it feels wrong, it is wrong" awhile ago. I guess I don't understand why these things feel wrong. People feel "guilty" kicking with fins for example, but if they did it right, it might affirmatively help their training.
