Geartastic

Okay, so yeah...hmmmm, wow. I had a swim in my new Huub Swim skin (a SKN-1 if you are wondering) this morning. Turns out they do make a difference.

As I said yesterday, it certainly felt the part, but a big part of me just couldn't see how this thing that has no buoyancy etc could make any difference to my swim speed, let alone let me swim at near wetsuit speeds which is something coach Paul has claimed in the past. Paint me blue and call me a believer though because I have a set of 20 x 100m that tells me it really does just that.

Not quite wetsuit speeds, which for me is worth around 5 seconds/100m quicker, but I would be fairly comfortable saying that the swim skin is worth around 3 to 4 seconds/100m. I am still a little staggered by it.

After the swim I was left wondering if the suit employed some kind of black magic, or perhaps wormhole technology, but when I asked Paul how the suit manages the speed he said it was a combination of hydrophobic material and clever compression. I just had a look at the Huub website and this is what they say:

Compression of the body shape to reduce frontal drag.

Re-distribution of body mass to change the bodies centre of buoyancy.

Smooth profile surface and water resistant fabrics to reduce water to suit friction.

Fabric to body streamlining.

Sounds legit. Whether it is the above or they are simply employing some sort of low level voodoo I can't argue with what I saw this morning. I know how I would usually go with a set of 20 x 100m on a tight turn around and this morning's session was quicker than that. Doesn't get much clearer than that.

Suit feels good too. I had my concerns heading into the swim since the suit is super tight. I was a bit worried that it would restrict me, bind me up or just be plain uncomfortable. But 90 minutes of swimming later and I was still reasonably comfortable. The suit is tight, but I gather it is supposed to be, that is sort of how it works, it wasn't restrictive in the areas that matter though. I was worried that being so tight it would be really hard to get off, but to my surprise it slips off very easily. All indications are go. Very happy.

Speaking of product placement induced happiness, I had a great run last night. As I mentioned yesterday I was still a bit unsure of how well my body was over being a little bit sick at the beginning of the week. So it was great to get out and find that once I got moving I was feeling nifty. I finally try out a pair of shoes that I have had sitting around for a while. I have had a pair of Mizuno Sayonara at home for a little while.

The one on the right

I got them with the intention of trying them as my next race shoe. I have been racing in a pair of Mizuno Mushas, which are really lightweight racing flats. They have been good shoes, although they do tend to give me blisters, but I have always felt I could do with a bit more support. The Sayonaras offer that extra support, without giving up to much in terms of weight etc.

After Mandurah I figured it was probably time to finally retire the Mushas and give these Sayonaras a go. With that in mind I did my run in them last night. La dee da, what a nice shoe. I really enjoyed it. Definitely more support than the Musha, to the point that they don't really feel like a stripped down shoe, but you still get most of that kick you get from wearing light shoes. There is enough support and cushioning that I suspect I could probably use these as a training shoe if I wanted to. I will have to swap the laces over to a pair of stretchy ones, but after that they will be good to go. They look fairly spectacular too.

Feeling good.