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?
Confession:
I have been a bit cranky of late.
The combination of
A) an IRS audit , and
B) an increase in monthly health insurance premiums from $900+ per month in 2006 to $1711 per month in 2009 blah, blah, blah.
Against this backdrop, I see a suit that allows Karen to drop 11 seconds in the 200 ***, despite being sick (I know, there are all other kinds of fudge factors that could partially explain this drop, too, but the suit absolutely counted for a significant portion), and I know I would love to be able to enjoy similar drops myself, but the question of affordability and fairness both do seem to enter the picture against the dispiriting backdrop of my other sources of whining lately.
For all this, I apologize to one and all!
Confession:
I have been a bit cranky of late.
The combination of
A) an IRS audit , and
B) an increase in monthly health insurance premiums from $900+ per month in 2006 to $1711 per month in 2009 blah, blah, blah.
Against this backdrop, I see a suit that allows Karen to drop 11 seconds in the 200 ***, despite being sick (I know, there are all other kinds of fudge factors that could partially explain this drop, too, but the suit absolutely counted for a significant portion), and I know I would love to be able to enjoy similar drops myself, but the question of affordability and fairness both do seem to enter the picture against the dispiriting backdrop of my other sources of whining lately.
For all this, I apologize to one and all!
