The day before today I got up and was at the pool by 6AM. It's still dark here in Missouri at 6AM this time of year, and as I mentioned in an earlier post, we're swimming at the outdoor pool. So with my shaded goggles I could just make out the stripe on the bottom of the pool, but I did come close to hitting my head on the wall the first couple of laps.
Swimming in the dark was interesting, but the significant point about this workout is how easy it felt. That's due, I'm sure, to my wetsuit.
I think my wetsuit is called the Oceanic Vantage, or something like that. From everything I've read, the wetsuit can help you swim faster, both anecdotal evidence and actual studies seem to indicate it's true. One way to tell if it helps you is to count your strokes per lap with and without the suit. If you're taking fewer strokes per lap with, then, all things being equal, it should be helping. Naturally, you'll still need to employ good form (someone tell me how to do that).
So I swam 1500 meters yesterday morning, and, since the air temp was 70 degrees, I thought, "Let's break out the wetsuit so that I look like a pansy when the senior citizens show up and swim in their bathers." Nevermind the swim time, it's not important since it was so pathetic. What I want to tell you is it didn't feel like it was a chore to get through those meters. I felt like I was gliding through, um, water. The suit provided enough buoyancy for my legs so that they didn't feel like anchors.
It's nice that the indoor pool is shut down and I'm able to swim outside with a wetsuit for practice. My first triathlon of the year is generally in June or July, and by then the water is too warm for a suit. Last year I rented a suit, it arrived on Thursday, I swam a few laps at the indoor pool on Friday morning, and I was racing with it on Sunday. The extra practice this year should help.
OK, gotta go. Need to ride today.
Swimming in the dark was interesting, but the significant point about this workout is how easy it felt. That's due, I'm sure, to my wetsuit.
- Wetsuit Badge
I think my wetsuit is called the Oceanic Vantage, or something like that. From everything I've read, the wetsuit can help you swim faster, both anecdotal evidence and actual studies seem to indicate it's true. One way to tell if it helps you is to count your strokes per lap with and without the suit. If you're taking fewer strokes per lap with, then, all things being equal, it should be helping. Naturally, you'll still need to employ good form (someone tell me how to do that).
So I swam 1500 meters yesterday morning, and, since the air temp was 70 degrees, I thought, "Let's break out the wetsuit so that I look like a pansy when the senior citizens show up and swim in their bathers." Nevermind the swim time, it's not important since it was so pathetic. What I want to tell you is it didn't feel like it was a chore to get through those meters. I felt like I was gliding through, um, water. The suit provided enough buoyancy for my legs so that they didn't feel like anchors.
It's nice that the indoor pool is shut down and I'm able to swim outside with a wetsuit for practice. My first triathlon of the year is generally in June or July, and by then the water is too warm for a suit. Last year I rented a suit, it arrived on Thursday, I swam a few laps at the indoor pool on Friday morning, and I was racing with it on Sunday. The extra practice this year should help.
OK, gotta go. Need to ride today.
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