Olympic swimming

It was fun to watch the Olympic swimming trials on tv last night, especially since im into swimming right now. More on tonight!

I've been focused on freestyle most of this time but I've now decided to practice the other strokes more. Butterfly, back, breast...after all, it does take different strokes to move the world...

A Beginner's Thoughts on Swimming Laps

Last night I was cranking out some incredibly fast laps for a beginner and my mind wandered a bit.

Why are swimming pools designed so that one swims back and forth, having to do a flip turn (which i have yet to do correctly) or stop and turn around and swim in the other direction? Runners don't work out on a track where they run down then stop, kick off a wall and turn 180 degrees and run back where they came from. Right?

The goal is to keep it about actual swimming.

A flip turn is an artificial action dictated by swimming pool design. For that matter, so is the diving start.

Design #1 The Swimming pool track.
Swimming pools should be designed like running tracks with two parallel straights with two arcs connecting them and lanes in concentric fashion. The starting lanes would be in staggered fashion. The finish would be determined by an overhead camera. Need to resolve how to keep concentric lane lines in place. Maybe actual walls built to separate each lane.

Design #2 The Endless Swimming pool lap.
Ok this design would be a combination of an "endless" pool and an olympic pool. A current is generated so swimmers swim mostly in place with some room for swimmers that lag behind. The winner is the person that is ahead when the time elapses. The current could be kept constant during the race or actually get more forceful as more time elapses.

There. Keeping swimming as pure as possible in an artificial environment. Maybe I will feel differently when I learn the flip turn.

Design #3 The Steeplechase.
Ok I was about to end this post when I thought: how about a steeplechase design? A swimming obstacle course in which competitors have to swim on the surface and underwater through and over various barriers. This would be fun!

Just Add Water: Swimming Update and Gear Review - Speedo Solar Brief, Air Seal Tri goggles, Swim Cap, TYR flippers

To be honest, 99% of this post's purpose is to get rid of the thong image on the top of the last post...only to replace it with an image of a Speedo swimsuit. Hmm. Oh well.

First the swimming update. I've started swimming up to one mile the last couple swim days. I think at this point that's the most distance I need to swim right now and it's better to focus on technique and swimming faster. Also, warming up my shoulders beforehand seems really important or else the first 8 lengths or so don't feel so good. I also can't get the hang of a flip turn right now. Lots of things to work on.

One thing I like about swimming is that you really don't need to have a lot of gear or spend too much on gear. But sort of like running, it is possible to get hyper equipped. I don't want to. The following is a list of what I've been using.

1) Speedo Solar Brief - This is about the most minimalist suit you can wear to the pool. It holds everything in place and allows you full freedom of movement and minimal drag. I have virtually no complaints except I wish it was made in the USA. Yeah, you can wear your boardshorts or whatever but I'd rather not put up with all that drag. Available for $28 bucks or less. As a newbie to lap swimming I learned that chlorine can wear your suit out so I'll be interested to see how long this suit lasts.

2) Speedo Air Seal Tri Mirrored goggles - before I tried these goggles I figured goggles were all about the same. These are pretty awesome goggles. They are designed moreso for open water triathalons and fitness swimmers rather than indoor racing. Compared to traditional goggles the lens offer a wider field of view and have air filled gaskets to seal to the face rather than using the foam gaskets. The ones I'm using have mirrored lenses which are great for glare but when used indoors make everything much darker. But I like the effect - kinda like wearing shades indoors. The adjustable headband is doubled through the goggles to distribute the tension over more of your head.

The main issue I have with these goggles is that the larger lens means the eyecups cradling the face are a little larger, perhaps too large for my face sometimes. When I tilt my head out of the water to breathe, sometimes the twisting motion can break the seal and allow a little water in. In reality it's not much of a problem. Usually I have to adjust other goggles while swimming due to fit or fogging. I usually can keep these goggles on without any adjustment until I'm done with my laps.

3) Speedo Swimcap - what can I say about swimhats? If you shave your head or have a short haircut you can do without it. It keeps my hair tucked and also seems to offer some hydrodynamic benefits. A little talcum powder makes it easy to put it on.

4) TYR flippers - a good tool to train your legs more. I use it to practice the butterfly stroke otherwise I wouldn't move anywhere. I don't like the extra torque it can put on your knee so I probably won't use this as a training tool with other kicks.

So don't worry too much about the gear. Get the basics and get out there.

Around 2/3 of the Earth's surface is water. So it seems like a good idea to know how to swim.

If you need some swimgear, consider these links. I would get a commission if you buy through these ads.
Speedo Air Seal Tri Mirrored Goggle