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'm thinking that the best reason for allowing the suits is "They are fun".
Yay, that's one of my reasons! :D Jim Clemmons and I earlier agreed that swimming fast in a fast suit in a fast pool is like crack. (Or so I imagine.)
I think most people concede tech suits make somewhat of a difference in speed. There is a range of opinion in this area, Karen being at one end ("dramatic" difference) and Chris being at the other (1%). But Geek is right, there are many tech suits out there. The Pro is pretty reasonably priced right now.
Charged, I must repeat that, in the absence of tech suits, there is no currently existing "level playing field" or "fairness." What gives you this crazy idea?
As far as I know there is a single suit that current goes for more than $500 and dozens you can get for under $200 and a few under $100 now. The B70 is in the $300-$400 range I think. When you continuously bring up the price of a product it totally nullifies the fairness argument. That's a preference issue.
If you want to bring up goggles, there are also $25 goggles. What is the difference between a $5 pair of goggles and a $25 pair, price. So, if price is your definition of fairness, why aren't you opposed to goggles that cost 5 X the price?
Because apparently in order to swim fast and be legit you have to wear the worst gear possible to claim legitimacy. Only in swimming is it not ok to develop gear that works with your hard work.
Awww...ok. That makes sense....not really. I do find it amusing that I have ask him this question twice now. Both times, he hasn't provided an answer.
This is categorically false and I will "prove" it in June. My training has been suspect for the last two years. But mark my word, I will set my master's PRs at a LCM meet because I will be wearing a full body LZR. I record all of my training so I will be happy to show how much less I do now then I use to.
This experiment from the future seems like sound science to me. Case closed; thread over.
I. I think that for men suits should be limited to a brief. QUOTE]
I will ask this again. Why should men be limited only wearing briefs? What is wrong with wanting to have suits that cover the chest and legs? I esp. like the suits that cover the upper body, esp. since I am somewhat on the hairy side
the suits compliment the training and don't substitute for training.
This is categorically false and I will "prove" it in June. My training has been suspect for the last two years. But mark my word, I will set my master's PRs at a LCM meet because I will be wearing a full body LZR. I record all of my training so I will be happy to show how much less I do now then I use to.
