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?
Do you think that fun is always bad?
No, but my assumption is that the reason they are fun is because they make you swim faster, right? I think this is more or less artificial, just as wearing paddles or fins is. The fact that I can beat another swimmer when I'm wearing paddles, but he's not, doesn't make me a faster swimmer.
Anyway, here's a slightly new slant on this. One of the things that bugs me about swimming is how many qualifiers there are on performances. College dual meets are almost a joke because no matter who wins someone says "yeah, but team A rested and team B didn't." You never hear that kind of talk in the popular spectator sports like football or basketball and to me that's why no one give a rip about college swimming dual meets. With the tech suits we've added yet another qualifier. Now if one team is suited up, but the other team is not that's just one more excuse for why the playing field wasn't level.
Do you think that fun is always bad?
No, but my assumption is that the reason they are fun is because they make you swim faster, right? I think this is more or less artificial, just as wearing paddles or fins is. The fact that I can beat another swimmer when I'm wearing paddles, but he's not, doesn't make me a faster swimmer.
Anyway, here's a slightly new slant on this. One of the things that bugs me about swimming is how many qualifiers there are on performances. College dual meets are almost a joke because no matter who wins someone says "yeah, but team A rested and team B didn't." You never hear that kind of talk in the popular spectator sports like football or basketball and to me that's why no one give a rip about college swimming dual meets. With the tech suits we've added yet another qualifier. Now if one team is suited up, but the other team is not that's just one more excuse for why the playing field wasn't level.
