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?
Good question. I wouldn't mind at all. It's not really feasible of course. But, in theory, I would have no problem with tech suit division vs. practice speedo division.
All the fast swimmers wear tech suits. I would want to swim with the faster swimmers regardless of what I wear.
would those who support a complete separate division for wetsuit wearers in open water also support a complete separate division for old school speedo wearers in pool competition?
thats the question i would like to know the answer to.
(guess how i voted)
Good question. I wouldn't mind at all. It's not really feasible of course. But, in theory, I would have no problem with tech suit division vs. practice speedo division.
I think we need some perspective. They really aren't that expensive, they are just expensive as compared to other swim gear. They pale in comparison to the gear required of most other sports that adults enjoy. A weekend hacker will not think twice about dropping $500 for a new driver or spending $25 every weekend for a sleeve of balls. It's just something else vying for our entertainment dollars and probably not worth 2% of the angst it is generating.
Absolutely. If I think about my "swim equipment" spend in a year, it generally amounts to
1 or 2 new drag suits for workout (maybe $75)
2 to 3 pairs of goggles (maybe $50)
1 new competition suit ($375 with the B70 purchase)
1 new competition cap ($25 speed cap)
I don't train with a cap, but, even if I did, I've got a drawer full of caps from open water swims that came with the entry fee.
TOTAL ~ $525 for a year
Admittedly, I don't use "toys" in workouts, but those are multi-year investments.
Yeah, but remember the good old days when if you won a race you knew it was because you were the fastest swimmer rather than you spent the most on a suit?
I think we need some perspective. They really aren't that expensive, they are just expensive as compared to other swim gear. They pale in comparison to the gear required of most other sports that adults enjoy. A weekend hacker will not think twice about dropping $500 for a new driver or spending $25 every weekend for a sleeve of balls. It's just something else vying for our entertainment dollars and probably not worth 2% of the angst it is generating.
Fort beat me in the 100 back not because she was wearing a better suit but because she is a better swimmer. If you resort to blaming the gear, you are making a great misstep.
Yeah, but remember the good old days when if you won a race you knew it was because you were the fastest swimmer rather than you spent the most on a suit?
From what I can tell, virtually all my competitors are wearing B70s, so I'd say the playing field -- at least with respect to tech suits -- is even.
Jokes aside though TJ how would you feel if our narrow, narrow, 200 BR had been decided with me in a FS1...it wouldn't be the same.
I can honestly say that it would not have bothered me. I may be in the minority there, but that's how I feel. If I lose to you by a narrow margin, even if you are wearing a technical suit, I will probably chalk it up to not enough training. Now, if I'm training 12+ hours a week and tapering for a championship meet and you beat me by hundredths of a second, then maybe it becomes a bigger deal. Perhaps that's because I have only been swimming for a couple of years and did not have a competitive swimming background.
Do you know what has happened to Jim McConica and Paul Trevisan? It seems that JM hasn't raced since the 25k, and Paul has been missing since last spring. You and Phil Dodson have leapt with ferocity into the evacuated power vacuum of our age group.
I don't know about Paul but I saw Jim this weekend in LB. Said he was a little "out of shape". He swam leadoff on the VCM Men's 800 Free Relay, went 2:09 :confused: somethinerother but that's just like him. He looked good and about this point in the AG he tends to backoff a bit.
Phil and I had a great run at the 200 free - me, him, me, him. He eventually won 2:06.x to 2:07.x, but I got a PB out of it. Thanks Phil.
In terms of the 8 lb. wt loss, do you think THAT made a significant difference? The reason I ask is that one of my friends here in Pittsburgh, Glen Battle--he's had No. 1 times twice in the 200 back, SCM--told me he's experimented with this and found he swims pretty much the same times regardless of whether he's a added or lost pounds. He's convinced that it doesn't make much difference.
Fat floats, fortunately. I agree that it doesn't make much difference but maybe enough? It's only about 4% of my bodyweight - I went from ~202 to ~194. Certainly my drops in time didn't equate to 4%, actually less than1% under previous PB. But I think I feel better overall after losing the few lbs for whatever reason. Maybe just psychological.
You mean besides the training six days a week, a million plus yards, getting up unreasonably early, swimming in the cold and dark mornings, dropping about eight pounds, watching my diet, trying to get enuf rest, sprinting in meets more to get speed work in :blah:
Yeah, it's not like this stuff comes about out of thin air!
