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?
My other suit was not a new tech suit. It was an old Nike suit. I feel quite certain it didn't help me go faster, but who knows. That wasn't the goal anyway. The goal was to get the suit on without hurting myself!
When I had swum life bests back in Oct I only wore the B70, but I had people help me to put it on. This time it was just me, and the suit underneath really helped to get the B70 on (like I say with a suit already on and the plastic bag, it went on in about a minute).
I have never cheated in practice, I certainly wouldn't cheat in a race.
My other suit was not a new tech suit. It was an old Nike suit. I feel quite certain it didn't help me go faster, but who knows. That wasn't the goal anyway. The goal was to get the suit on without hurting myself!
When I had swum life bests back in Oct I only wore the B70, but I had people help me to put it on. This time it was just me, and the suit underneath really helped to get the B70 on (like I say with a suit already on and the plastic bag, it went on in about a minute).
I have never cheated in practice, I certainly wouldn't cheat in a race.
