I thought of a *** question:
How would you rank yourself among the swimmers at your pool? Are you a better swimmer there, or perhaps even the best? Or...?
You may consider all factors (technique, speed, endurance, form,...), or only the factors that you consider
important.
Let's see if the folks here make up the best of all the pools out there. :cool:
Technique, form, endurance.. those are all meaningless subjective labels. Speed is the only objective measure. The clock doesn't lie!
Maybe so, but those other factors are likely to influence how much sheer training (without any improvement in form) can improve your speed. Also, endurance suggests that while you may not be the fastest in practice, you might blow others away in a long OW swim.
I love answering this -- I am absolutely among the slowest in the pool. But SOMETIMES I'm the fastest in the slow lane! That pleases me.
In contrast, my 10 year old daughter and I went swimming this weekend at a local pool's open swim; when we got to the pool all the lanes were taken and we had a real conundrum. There wasn't a person in the pool that she wouldn't run down within 4 laps but they were all about my speed. Who the heck would we pick to ask to swim with?
We got lucky, the guy we asked to join said that he was just getting out. He might have been intimidated by her obvious skillz!
I find it funny that the original post listed different categories in which we could rate ourselves. Technique, form, endurance.. those are all meaningless subjective labels. Speed is the only objective measure. The clock doesn't lie!
So what about someone who is very fast but never swims more than 25 yards each time, who also causes big splashes everywhere? :rolleyes:
About half the pool is faster than me, so I like to make up other superlatives for my ego:
1. I'm the fastest girl! Who's here today!
2. My swimsuit is the greenest!
3. First in the water!
4. Fastest showerer of all the women!*
*4a. Most conditioner left in her hair!
5. Most improved! Who's here today!
Top 10% in my workout group, but about average overall. Many of the faster folks swim at other times or on the other side of the bulkhead. I'd be the slowest in the college group or the small national championship group that materializes once the LC season starts. One of the benefits of having many groups at a facility is that they mix to some extent (on weekend mornings and in the summertime especially), and you get to swim with some truly fast folks when that happens.
About half the pool is faster than me, so I like to make up other superlatives for my ego:
1. I'm the fastest girl! Who's here today!
2. My swimsuit is the greenest!
3. First in the water!
4. Fastest showerer of all the women!*
*4a. Most conditioner left in her hair!
5. Most improved! Who's here today!
I love your attitude! I'm going to try that. Here's mine:
Most diligent about doing cool-downs!
(That's all I've got so far. I'll work on it).
It's all a matter of perspective.
At my masters practice, within the wide range of average. At the health club... let's just say I go there when my ego needs a boost. :)
So what about someone who is very fast but never swims more than 25 yards each time, who also causes big splashes everywhere? :rolleyes:
Ah yes, the apocryphal drop-dead sprinter. I've heard of them but I don't think we have any in my training group. The fastest sprinters tend to also be the fastest at all the other distances, including triathlons and open water.
I suppose you're right, the case could be made that one's rank should be a composite score based on speed at all of the various distances. There are probably people out there who would score disproportionately badly on the longer distances. I just haven't met any of them.
Maybe so, but those other factors are likely to influence how much sheer training (without any improvement in form) can improve your speed. Also, endurance suggests that while you may not be the fastest in practice, you might blow others away in a long OW swim.
I think there are many different combinations of speed, technique, and endurance that can add up to the same time in a given event.
The great thing about OW is that you don't have to have the most endurance, or speed, or best technique. You can get an edge through strategy, or by being a better sighter, being familiar with the course, drafting, etc. There are plenty of variables that make open water races interesting.
However, the subject line does say "How would you rank yourself at your pool" so I didn't take open water into account when I did my ranking. Good idea though! Allow me to recalculate.... :coffee: .... damn! same result. :badday:
