I think we can all be certain that the suits are here to stay -- love them, hate them, it does not really matter -- Speedo, TYR and the others will not allow the suits to all over sudden disappear.
But, we as Masters swimmers have to make a decision about our own reasoning to compete -- why do we compete in swim meets ?
There are many reasons - social, participating in a sport beats the hell out of watching one on TV and so on --- but for me, 2 of the main reasons are the competition aspects. We obviously compete against other swimmers --- but more than maybe many other sports, we compete against ourselves. I can tell you my best 100 Free from every season over the last 30 years (10 of which I did not compete).
I have used most of the suits and did very well -- I set some personal bests and also achieved some record swims, but I have no idea how my times really compare to other seasons. I can keep telling myself that all that speedwork and lifting paid off - but I just don't know.
I like to give a golf comparison -- let's say you have a home course and you always shoot in the low 90s going from the Blue Tees --- well guess what, if you are going from the white tees you will probably average high 80s and going from the red you may get down to the mid to low 80s. But you are not a better player because of it. The LZR seems to be the "white tees" and the new Jaked suit may be the "red tees".
I think we really have to make a decision now to what matters more -- your personal records and history of swimming or the competition against other swimmers ? For me, this may change from meet to meet - but I must be able to stay honest with myself and be able to compare my times -- I do not want to be cheating myself.
Old generations suits (Fastskin Pro) only for: all major Masters meets (individual swims) except for Worlds. That means, I am ok to lose a few places in a meet, in order to know what my time really means. I could just go really old school -- but I think the older generation suits are pretty equal to shaving -- and they allow you to be "shaved" and swim fast in season, which is a huge plus.
LZR / Blue70 for: relays, Worlds and maybe some USS meets, if I am going for a time standard. I want to give any relay my fastest time possible - I swimming Worlds to win the title, so if others use the suits, I will have to do the same - if I go to USS meets, I may use them to get into the finals or to make a time standard for a big meet.
It may take some adjustments - but I think it will work --
Who is with me ?
I can't speak for all the swimmers out there.
But there are a few of us who have actually trained very hard.
We have not only studied the newest techniques, but put them into serious application in swim practice.
Day after day after day over a year or more.
We have discussed and experimented with ideas on how to swim faster here and on the USMS blogs.
Personally, I have utilized a TON of information from Ande, Fort, Paul, and Erik when the coach at my program bailed on me a year ago.
I have been inspired by watching self-coached swimmers like Lezak and Derya swim unbelievably fast. I think if they can why can't I do it?
So, why should I swim in an old practice suit when I race?
I swam in an FSPro for the past year.
I've won and lost races in it. I have hit TT times and been high point in my FSPro watching swimmers all around me in B70s and a LZR here or there.
I don't feel the need to apologize or downgrade suits to please anyone.
I swam in a B70 last weekend for the 1st time. I improved a small amount in my events, but I can tell you I was very surprised because I felt horrible - and my splits were a mess.
The tech suits require another level of hard practice for technique driven and "good feel for the water" swimmers.
If you already have a good SDK - and then throw on a tech suit that adjusts your body position or feel, things are going to change. You almost have to relearn these skills to a certain extent.
Ande and Fort have been racing in their suits over the entire past year. They've practiced and adjusted and moved on to other ways to get faster.
Paul and I are still in the learning stages it seems... so watch out because one of these races we're going to get it right and pop a good one out!
I can't speak for all the swimmers out there.
But there are a few of us who have actually trained very hard.
We have not only studied the newest techniques, but put them into serious application in swim practice.
Day after day after day over a year or more.
We have discussed and experimented with ideas on how to swim faster here and on the USMS blogs.
Personally, I have utilized a TON of information from Ande, Fort, Paul, and Erik when the coach at my program bailed on me a year ago.
I have been inspired by watching self-coached swimmers like Lezak and Derya swim unbelievably fast. I think if they can why can't I do it?
So, why should I swim in an old practice suit when I race?
I swam in an FSPro for the past year.
I've won and lost races in it. I have hit TT times and been high point in my FSPro watching swimmers all around me in B70s and a LZR here or there.
I don't feel the need to apologize or downgrade suits to please anyone.
I swam in a B70 last weekend for the 1st time. I improved a small amount in my events, but I can tell you I was very surprised because I felt horrible - and my splits were a mess.
The tech suits require another level of hard practice for technique driven and "good feel for the water" swimmers.
If you already have a good SDK - and then throw on a tech suit that adjusts your body position or feel, things are going to change. You almost have to relearn these skills to a certain extent.
Ande and Fort have been racing in their suits over the entire past year. They've practiced and adjusted and moved on to other ways to get faster.
Paul and I are still in the learning stages it seems... so watch out because one of these races we're going to get it right and pop a good one out!
