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 think the Jaked is so much faster based on 2 things -
- the reports from Europe are just beyond anything we have seen (the Breaststroker from Holland droppig 1.5 sec in the 100 in a time trial compared to the LZR - people dropping 3-5 sec in the 200
- I have worn the Blue 70 and the LZR - both are fast, but for different reasons. Looks like Jaked merged the two -- compression, material and design.
Elise -
The cycling time trial is always on a different course - and I believe even the track cycling is very much based on the particular track.
Fortress - you are correcting me only on a mistake, on the other issues your simply stating a different opinion, which makes this whole discussion interesting. I do fail to understand why you are very sensitive about being judged while maintaining a blog ???
I understand what you mean about objectivity. That is the beauty of pool races as compared to triathlons where times can be affected by the course as well as the weather conditions. Swimming, however, is not completely objective because there is the factor of how fast a pool is. Wouldn't you say that a 20.9 done in a pool built in the 1950s would be faster than the same time done in a state of the art pool?
I think the problem here is that some don't like the idea that swimming has become like other sports where somebody will win based on superior equipment. Well, swimming lost its immunity a long time ago. Did it start with the aquablades in the 1996 Olympics or back in the 1970s when lycra suits came out?
I think the Jaked is so much faster based on 2 things -
- the reports from Europe are just beyond anything we have seen (the Breaststroker from Holland droppig 1.5 sec in the 100 in a time trial compared to the LZR - people dropping 3-5 sec in the 200
- I have worn the Blue 70 and the LZR - both are fast, but for different reasons. Looks like Jaked merged the two -- compression, material and design.
Elise -
The cycling time trial is always on a different course - and I believe even the track cycling is very much based on the particular track.
Fortress - you are correcting me only on a mistake, on the other issues your simply stating a different opinion, which makes this whole discussion interesting. I do fail to understand why you are very sensitive about being judged while maintaining a blog ???
I understand what you mean about objectivity. That is the beauty of pool races as compared to triathlons where times can be affected by the course as well as the weather conditions. Swimming, however, is not completely objective because there is the factor of how fast a pool is. Wouldn't you say that a 20.9 done in a pool built in the 1950s would be faster than the same time done in a state of the art pool?
I think the problem here is that some don't like the idea that swimming has become like other sports where somebody will win based on superior equipment. Well, swimming lost its immunity a long time ago. Did it start with the aquablades in the 1996 Olympics or back in the 1970s when lycra suits came out?
