Swimming for Hammers and Spoons

Nice!

How did you pace it? Were you aware of your splits going along?

Yeah I use the beeper, I had a conservative time for the beep because I’ve found that if I can’t hold the beep then it mentally breaks me & I’m more likely to give up. I’ve also had to back off the time as I’ve not been swimming as well.
But I’m counting strokes so if you hit the beep on the 3rd stroke then 4th stroke 2 lengths later I know I’m gaining on it. I finished about 3 & a half lengths in front of the beep which was set to 19.3 but averaged 18.66. I wouldn’t have been unhappy if I only made the 19.3s this morning based on recent performance but today was just a good day :man_shrugging:.

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20m pool?

Yep, 20m pool at Bannatynes.

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CSS test - pace is 1:41/100 for scm

I know you’re not supposed to go hard at the start or end but.
Not sure I’ve hit that high a HR on swimming recently…was fun! :sweat_smile:

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Fruitys mind tricks have paid off on someone. 800m yesterday and 1200m today.

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that’s a 50% increase day on day.

By the end of March you’ll be swimming 2.6 million km

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Todays workout vs yesterdays club session(!)


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Another swim today just a quick one.

Got in some “fast” fifties then some “max effort”.

DPS drops, stroke rate from 64/min up to 70/min

Not sure the trade off is efficient or not for the two or three seconds per fifty

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Tell me about Speedo Fastskins and fit, folks.
Sports Direct were doing a massive discount on LZR Pure Intent so they weren’t much more than the boy’s last pair of low end racing jammers. His hips are about 92 cm and waist is about 82 cm (almost exactly the same as me). Speedo size chart says 24.
They’ve come and neither of us can get anywhere near putting them on. I didn’t trust his capability so tried myself. I’m reading people saying “it takes 10 mins” and stuff. This might get a bit graphic now :joy:

Tried a good 10 mins. The waistband is pretty snug even just round my knees. Bottom of leg goes to correct position fairly easily but pulling them up is not happening. I’m doing it bit by bit, like a wetsuit, can’t get anywhere near. They’re cutting very painfully into my thighs - enough to leave big, red marks - when they’re just at the top of my thighs and nowhere near my hips. I wasn’t at my absolute pain threshold but it was definitely hurting not just ‘uncomfortable’.

If the 24 meant a 24" waist, that would be how they look and feel, but I’ve checked the size chart a dozen times and 24 is about a 32" waist in GB sizes. However, have found a USA size chart where 24 = 24" waist. It says 24 on the jammers but does say 24" on the card label.

Just being a woos? Should this be very painful? Or is there some trick we’re missing. Is it typical to think you can’t get them on the first time, or have SD just fooked up and failed to advertise size clearly.
Any advice gratefully received.

If you dont lose skin off the knuckles getting them on, they are too loose :rofl:

El nino wears a 30 training jammer, and a 22 in pure intent. Hes now got Arena Primo in a 24, (slightly different sizing)

The first time is very tough, a couple of wears they get a bit easier.

They arent designed for comfort

One trick is fold up/down the grippers and ease then on bit by bit, its hard getting them over the hip bones but they need to sit snugg above them

Practice

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Thanks. Haven’t lost any skin off knuckles, only thighs!
What do you make of this on the box?
(Not the horrific price - these were under £100) but the 24". Are Size 24 normally labelled like this?

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They look good, my sons look like they’d fit a small teddy bear hanging up :rofl:
Give it anotger go, persevere, there is a nack to getting them on also.

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Okay, cheers. Will persevere. :hot_face:

El Nino jokes its more tiring putting his shorts on than actually racing :rofl:

Think of the positive, body suits are banned :wink: Thorpe nearly missed the final of a relay (olympics as well iirc) as his suit tore and he had to use the wet one he’d already raced in and couldnt get it on​:rofl:

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Yes, glad to have swerved body suits.
Gave it 20 mins. Nowhere near hips. Tried all sorts of wriggling, standing up, lying down, crossing legs, etc. Tried folding over the waistband different ways. Substantial bruises both thighs now. Just can’t stretch the waistband any more, however hard I pull. Was completely ignoring any thought I needed to be careful not to rip it. I’ve encountered things in my life before that just didn’t seem possible until I saw someone else do it, so prepared to accept just not doing it right.
Will try again tomorrow, and see if anyone at the club has any thought.
Thanks for the encouragment, at least :pray:

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Tried again this morning before breakfast! Put slippy moisturiser on legs, oor-er! Got the furthest lying down, legs partly crossed. Eventually, couldn’t even get fingers round the waistband to grip it because it was so tight. Still have deep marks on legs an hour later after a shower (and breakfast). Maybe 2 cm further, but waistband still several cm away from hips. Just doesn’t seem viable - even if they do eventually go on, how could you do this in a changing cubicle?
Other thing I’m noticing is weird sizing on the website. Why does one size say “in” (inches?) and the other not. If this was a 24" waist sizing and a 30 Speedo size, it would be your typical end of line super-cheap XS and XL. A Speedo size 24 should actually be on the big side for both me and my son. 23 is the ‘right’ size. Otoh, they don’t look ridiculously small out the box. :man_shrugging:

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While I’m enjoying the saga, I’m inclined to agree with you, when are you ever going to actually be able to swim in them?

Even if the sizing and the struggle is how it is supposed to be, it is not going to work in any practical sense.

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They are not meant to be practical, they are a race suit that you put on half hour before your event and take off straight after.

saying that it should be hard to put on but not impossible, 10-15mins is the norm but saying that Sports Direct are notorious for supplying seconds. the pure intent 1 is an older suit but even so, that’s very cheap.

ETA pure intent 2 are the sprinters suit with massive compression, El Niño has the Pure Valor 2 which has less compression. You also have the high waist version which may make it harder to get on also. Even the elite sprinters chose the latter in the Olympics due to it being too restrictive.(most wouldn’t use Speedo at all if they wasn’t paid to)

22in pure valor on left and 24in primo on right similar waist sizes though the Arena suit has longer legs and more snap with taping on back)
The primo is a more all round suit, the Speedo was apparently rubbish for backstroke and caused massive fatigue in the legs. Speedo do a backstroke specific suit now as well!

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Thanks for digging those out for photos :pray:
Just don’t know. The ones we’ve got aren’t obviously a lot smaller but hard to tell. Maybe just the design or something wrong with them and not a completely different size, but we can’t get them on so it doesn’t matter in the end. They’re going back. Will try something else. Thanks for all the help and advice.

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