Just returned from the DAM scm meet in Dallas. The format was slightly different this year, with all events on one day, but the pool conditions were the same. Tapered and shaved and wore Aquablade jammers instead of a full body B70. My training had been solid, and I'd had no recent illnesses.
What I found was a 2 second difference per 100 in the 400. Granted this was the last event (at 11:30 am), and I had already swum the 1500 four hours earlier (which was by the way slower than my 1650 in February also wearing a B70). I plan to retaper for zones in two weeks and swim another 400 (first event of the day). Perhaps I will be able to shave a bit of time off (no pun intended).
Train harder? Train smarter? No--I believe the difference in suits is very real.
Geek's online persona seems to align between lawful neutral and lawful evil, so it's natural that he'd clash with your 100% lawful good.
Sorry, can't let this one slide. Lawful is opposed by Chaotic, so Gook (notice it rhymes with 'dook'?) would have to be Chaotic Evil for that natural clash to occur.
OK, I definately need to get of the basement of the science building here.
Oh and my circa 2000 but legal suit only cost $30 at Nationals.
Well that's refreshing!! I know how much I spent on my son's Fast skins & he grows like a weed, so I was shelling out $300 three times a year for 2 years in a row!! I have noticed places like Swim Outlet.com have them for much less than the original prices.
Sorry, can't let this one slide. Lawful is opposed by Chaotic, so Gook (notice it rhymes with 'dook'?) would have to be Chaotic Evil for that natural clash to occur.
OK, I definately need to get of the basement of the science building here.
I :badday: see what you're :bump: saying here. I guess :blah: the heart of the matter :afraid: is whether trolling :cheerleader: is inherently chaotic. Perhaps:anim_coffee: it is.
So glad I wasn't competing during the "speed suit" era - saved me some cash, and now some tears! I still can't forget my old high school times, but luckily, as I age, their veracity seems more and more unlikely!!
How do you ladies even consider wearing knee skins? They are so ugly! I'm not sure I'm fast enough for an expensive "tech suit" to make any difference anyways!! I'm nervous as heck about entering my first masters meet in over 10 years! Yikes - can I dive in with a towel around me? and over my head?
The kneeskins don't bother me at all. Okay, the only thing that bothers me is that I get colder sitting around in a wet, longer suit vs a tank. Oh and my circa 2000 but legal suit only cost $30 at Nationals. That's why I bought 2. Once these wear out, I'm going to have to spend more but if you shop around, you can find ones that aren't too expensive.
But, no I won't be framing the suit when it wears out. It will be sent to the woman who uses it for quilt stuffing. It's just another suit to me.
A new reality indeed.
I used to think that smileys were a result of the author having a lack of the language, or an inability to express the meaning of the message.
I now think differently.
I find :worms: it's best to deploy :bed: them at random. :cake:
Deep in this message is sage advice. Study it grasshoppers, and you can walk the rice paper, snatch the stone and begin the quest for nirvana.
However, I still think that the blue font is annoying.
And, like That Guy, I like Smilies!
I find :worms: it's best to deploy :bed: them at random. :cake:
Geek's online persona seems to align between lawful neutral and lawful evil, so it's natural that he'd clash with your 100% lawful good.
You guys :anim_coffee: should try :cheerleader: chaotic neutral, it's fun! :chug:
How do you ladies even consider wearing knee skins? They are so ugly!
I get really bad razor burn around my bikini line because my hair is dark and coarse, and the stubble grows back in about four hours. Kneeskins are awesome.
If you haven't had a chance yet to post your answer to my poll, please consider doing so. It's specifically for the 100 SCY freestyle, for men, from this season (in a jammer) to last season (in a speed suit), for comparable mid season meets.
For this particular poll, I left out women because the currently legal women's suits, though representing a significant departure from last year's legal suits, seem to me less of a change than what men are dealing with. Even if this is no the case, I thought it best not to muddy the waters with apples to oranges comparisons (even if it eventually turns out that the apples and oranges are identical fruits.)
But enough analogizing.
As of now, with 15 votes counted, about 1/3rd of men have seen no time change or actually swum faster in jammers.
The rest have seen some slowing down effects, with the bulk being somewhere between 1-2 seconds slower in the 100 free, though some have slowed even more dramatically.
You can add your own experience here: forums.usms.org/showthread.php
My prediction is that the SCY top 10 times in the 100 free will be somewhere between 1-2 seconds slower on average this year compared to last year, that is, factoring out new speed demons aging up.
What I mean is that, on average, the same person--barring any major change in training, and assuming he swims under reasonably comparable meet conditions this year compared to last year--will be expected to swim maybe 1.9 seconds slower, this based on a 100 somewhere in the 49-56 second range (I am not talking about those who go sub 40 or a lot over 1 minute because here the percentage of total time becomes more of a factor.)
This then is my official prediction! 1.9 seconds slower!
As evidence for this, consider the legendary Jack Groselle.
This year, at the Bridge the Bay
Course: SCM
Date: Nov 13-14, 2010
he posted a 57.26 (I know! This is SCM, not SCY, but it's as close as I can find to comparable elite performances.)
Last year, at 2009 GRIN Fall Classic
Course: SCM
Date: Oct 31 - Nov 1, 2009 (roughly the same time of the year)
he posted a 55.36 for the same distance.
The difference is 1.9 seconds, and I have no idea the order of events, whether he was sick this year, if he had a bad start, if one pool was "faster" than the other, or any of the other endless fudge factors we all believe are critically important in how fast we go.
The one thing I know for certain is that he wore different suits in the late fall of 2009 and 2010, and the latter suit was associated with a 1.9 second slower 100.
Granted, 1.9 seconds for Jack is a larger percentage of a 100 than it is for us slower swimmers, so it's possible we might slow down even more. But I won't gild the lily too much here. I think 1.9 is a reasonable prediction for most of us.
Anybody dare to propose an alternative?
