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 honestly think every single aspect of his swims weren't fully tested using a wide range of suits in meets/workouts to determine what will work best?
I'm sure Geek did the same before purchasing his newest tech suilt. He's no idiot.
FORT IN YOUR "FAST RACING FORMULA" I'd probably include
+ BODY SHAPE & CHARACTERISTICS
+ DEVELOPED ABILITY
+ BODY SHAPE & CHARACTERISTICS, the actual dimensions and proportions of a persons body, height, weight, core diameter, limb length and size of hands and feet, plus strength, condioning, flexibility the key being shoulder and foot ankle, muscle tension mainly in shoulders some are tight others are loose and relaxed
+ DEVELOPED ABILITY is what an athlete adds on to their natural talent with training, how fast an athlete was at her peak influences how fast she can be again, mental aspects and technique last a long time, people tend to lump this into talent but it's different from talent
what else falls into the formula?
maybe minus race mistakes, any mistakes you make in a race ADD time
race rehearsal reduces the chance of error
the new suits help a lot, but if you throw an empty suit in the water it goes no where
fast racing =
Training
+ hard SMART work
+ excellent technique
+ coaching
+ natural talent
+ mental fortitude
+ speed suit
+ BODY SHAPE & CHARACTERISTICS
+ DEVELOPED ABILITY
Precisely. Welcome to the world of racing. Faster is not a dirty word.
Training + hard work + excellent technique + coaching + natural talent + mental fortitude + speed suit = fast racing.
Speed suit = only one part of the equation. You don't see folks b*tching constantly about inequities in the other parts of the equation. Why is this one factor singled out so much? It's not the cost, it's the puritanical old fashioned bias at work. Some purist folks prefer "feel" and simplicity so they don't want others to gain an edge from an anti-feel cool tech suit and prefer to force us all to be "feelers." No thanks, I don't need water on my legs.
I'm pretty sure that Campy Super Record is still the gold standard, although Shimano has taken a huge bite out of their market share with performance nearly its equal and a much smaller price tag! Although Campy is still the only 11 speed manufacturer (of the major variety).
And just so I'm not guilty of abetting this threadjack:
In every sport at levels other than elite, people with the money to do so, can buy speed and/or performance. Go to any amateur bicycle race and chances are you will see a huge range of equipment. Some will ride aluminum Treks with Shimano 105 and there will be others with carbon Pinarellos with Dura Ace or Campagnolo Super Record.
The point is, that if you're getting beat by someone with superior equipment, you either change your training to get faster or you try the superior equipment to close the gap. If it's important enough to you and you have the resources, you do both!!!
a bike head should know the difference between campy record (the current gold standard) and campy super record which has been out of production for about 20 years.
but (and here is the difference) shimano, campy, trek, colnago etc must make their improvements to their equipment fall within parameters established by bicycle racing orgs..... not the other way around. another fact is professional cyclists sometimes have access to equipment that will never be available on the amateur circuit (anyone remember the 50 thousand dollar track bikes raleigh built for the us olympic team 20 years ago)
People need to stop posting well reasoned things. It's disrupting my resolution for 2009. Then, I've discovered that (She)Puff, the Poem Maven and Country Ellie Mae are sharing a cuddle sack in Auburn. Why can't we all just NOT get along like the good ole days. Even Chaos is kindler and gentler.
Geek...you can start by no longer being thoughtful and nice, even to people who make good posts. That should get people annoyed at you again. Or for a faster way, just post senseless comments on threads like your buddy, dolphin.
That will really make people want to slap the crap out of you. Because, as ackmed the dead terrorist says "being politcally correct is a pain in the a$$"
Even Chaos is kindler and gentler.
i am hoping to build up sympathy for the pathetic times i will likely be posting in the near future. but fear not... there will be venom spewing in '09.
