Here we have blueseventy's Events Manager, Shawn Lucas, from Seattle competing in the Harbor Lights Spring Triathlon, just north of Chicago.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
go team blueseventy!
Here we have blueseventy's Events Manager, Shawn Lucas, from Seattle competing in the Harbor Lights Spring Triathlon, just north of Chicago.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
blueseventy's Roque'n Rollin'
Roque Santos (right), our ex-Olympic swimmer and nero VP of sales, takes a dip in his helix wetsuit with his ex- College roommate, Todd Robinson under the monumental Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
Ute Muckel in action
Thanks to Benjamin in Germany, he's sent us this cool picture of our athlete Ute Muckel in the pointzero3+. Superb!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
blueseventy nero's torture test!
by Glenn Mills; Dec 15, 2008
When I first took hold of my BlueSeventy, I didn't anticipate how the swimming world was going to be turned upside down by these suits. A day doesn't go by without someone high up in the swimming profession writing, or talking about, how these suits have changed the sport...and hardly any have talked about how they've changed the sport for GOOD.
The most recent comments about the suits express the opinion that they're enabling too many records to be set. The swimming "purists,"as they've labeled themselves, are totally against them, stating that they're going to bankrupt teams and be the end of the sport. Well, as of today, they're legal, being used, and people continue to purchase them. While any article written about these suits is sure to generate controversy, and while we can start a conversation in the forum about the pros and cons of the suits, what I'm giving here is merely a report for those who are going to purchase one of these suits, and what they can expect.
Whenever you spend $400 on ANY swim-related item, you want to make sure it will do certain things.
1) Make you feel better in the water.
2) Make you go FASTER in the water.
3) Last for more than a few swims.
Again, PURISTS BEWARE!!! SPOILER ALERT!!! The BlueSeventy will absolutely accomplish the first two items on my short list of three considerations. Should that be legal? Forum posts, please. :)
Item #3... "last for more than a few swims"... is a big one for many people, and I'm here to give you a report on what my BlueSeventy has been through over the past 8 months. I can hear someone already... 8 months... and the suit looks like THAT?!?!?! Read on...
I took hold of my suit back in May for a Masters meet. I've written about my swims, and I can tell you, the swims were eye opening. I had SUCH a good time swimming that fast again. It was fun... and fun is good... right? I mean, I'm a Masters swimmer now. It's not as if I was going to make any money, or get a scholarship. It was just fun.
Shortly after that meet, I had an assignment that required me to spend 4-5 hours a day in the water filming. The water was competitive-level cold, and I wasn't going to be moving a lot. I needed to be able to stay under for extended periods without SCUBA gear, so I couldn't be too buoyant but really was looking for some additional insulation. BLUESEVENTY to the rescue.
I was in and out of the suit all day... and in and out of hot showers. I knew the suit was supposed to be used just for swimming fast, but the athletes I was filming were pretty fast, and I had to do something to keep up, so I figured that counted. Overall the suit was pretty saturated with water from day to day, but dried out well and was ready to go back in service the next day, or later the same day. What I discovered about this suit is that I'm able to take it off easily, and put it back on wet. This meant I didn't have to sit around in it all day at a Masters meet... unless I just wanted to look GOOD (i.e., slimmer).
Since then, the suit has been brought out of storage for multiple drills and video shoots, ESPECIALLY those in which I wanted to be in front of the camera. I've even worn it for a few practices to see if my current training has been effective. I love swimming practices in the suit because I have a better shot of keeping up with my younger swimmers.
One of my high school-aged swimmers has tried multiple full-body suits, and has found none that he likes. He feels too constricted, like he can't breathe, so no matter how much convincing I've tried to do, he simply wouldn't swim in one. A couple months ago, he sent me a text and asked if I had a set of "pants" he could try at practice. I figured it was a good opportunity to get him to try my BlueSeventy. Besides, I wanted to see if it had the same impact on him that it had on me. I designed a set for him for morning practice in which he'd do
part of the set in his drag suit... then get out, change into the "pants" he'd requested, and repeat the set. When he got out after the second round, I surprised him and pulled out the BlueSeventy and told him to wear it for the 3rd time through. It took only one 100 for him to finish with a smile on his face. He wore it for the rest of
practice, then at his meet that night. This swimmer is 6'1", while I'm 5'10"... so he was STRETCHING my suit as well.
I wore it a few more times at college practice, and for more filming. One of the college swimmers asked for help on his breaststroke, and through the course of working together, I decided to have him try my BlueSeventy. He put on the suit and proceeded not only to swim faster in practice, but also to make the stroke changes we had worked on.
When it came time to order suits for the college team, everyone was wondering which to order. While I didn't have access to any other suit than the BlueSeventy, I at least wanted to allow as many of them to try it as possible. While I avoid recommending suits to my swimmers, I do try to give them the opportunity to test something. On one day at practice, approximately ten different swimmers put on, swam in, and took off my BlueSeventy. These are BIG guys! The suit was starting to show some wear... the ankles were becoming a bit looser, and were starting to fray. Man... some of them have HUGE feet!
Test after test, swim after swim, there wasn't ONE swimmer who returned after his first 50 without a smile on his face. While the BlueSeventy was being tortured, it was still effective. Through the stretching, twisting, and arranging of the material, finally, a tear started to appear in the neck. Now the question was... do I allow them to TRASH my suit, or save it for myself? That question was answered very quickly because the swimmers are ALWAYS more important than the coach. Put it on another swimmer until it finally disintigrates.
I continued to wear the BlueSeventy occasionally for filming and practice. I figured that, at this point, its usefullness for competition had passed.
A few weeks ago, the college team traveled to a meet with its arch rival. One of our swimmers was going for a very lofty goal, and decided he was going to try the BlueSeventy. Since this was a special occasion, an order for a single suit was placed. As sometimes occurs, a mistake in shipping from the company we ordered it from happened, and as the bus was leaving the station, we were without his suit. Good thing I had Old Faithful in my bag.
Because of the rules in college swimming, we had to make sure the BlueSeventy logos were blacked out. I was following the swimmer around before and after his warm-ups, swims, and warm-downs... with a black marker doing my best to cover the logo each time. Permanent isn't always permanent on these suits... but for the short time he was racing, the logo was blacked out.
JUST before the meet started, the new suit was delivered to the pool and my "marked up" suit was now a backup. Since the suit was there, and since it was already advertising-legal, one of our other swimmers asked if he could try it. Now, this particular swimmer is one of the bigger individuals on the team. While making sure he could fit in the suit, which was now stretched beyond its original size, his warm-up went without a hitch. In his individual event, he swam a fantastic time, placed 3rd, and achieved a very high personal goal. It was
great to see the smile on his face as it always is.
Since I never know when I'm going to need my BlueSeventy, it's become a permanant fixture in my swim bag. It holds no special place on the drying rack; it's just another piece of equipment. Because of that, when a Masters friend asked me last week about his interest in the BlueSeventy, and which size he should get, and if it was worth it, I pulled the suit out of my bag and said... give it a try. This particular swimmer is 6'3". He wore it for his entire practice, smiled when he handed it back to me, and as far as I know has placed his order.
The last time the suit has been out of my bag, may have been the last time it's going to be fully functional. In our most recent college meet, the same swimmer asked if I had the suit. I pulled it out of my bag and he wore it for one of his races. He walked around in the suit the rest of the meet, until he came up to me for his final event
asking if I'd be so kind as to zip him up. As I reached for the zipper, it finally happened. After what's been estimated at nearly 70 swims by individuals of many varied sizes, a tooth broke on the zipper, and we were stuck. So we thought. Through some tugging and pulling by teammates, we were able to line up the tooth, zip up the zipper, and get him to the blocks on time. The zipper held through his 50 free, and the suit made it back into the bag.
With some nylon thread, the zipper is somewhat functional again, and the suit LIVES ON!
In my opinion, for those saying that these suits will have a negative impact on the sport because they cost too much... I say it's not the case. While I would RARELY get this many swims out of any suit I've ever used at a championship level, I found this suit to be as, if not MORE, durable than any that I've ever had. Its performance advantages aside, this thing is a great value.
I know there will be people who don't like hearing positive things about these suits. I'm not one of them. Their impact on our sport, positive or negative, will be measured in the long term. As of today,
they are legal and people are wearing them.
We can all put our feelings into the forum about the impact of these suits. As for this article, it's a thank-you letter to my BlueSeventy for hanging in there for so long. I've definitely gotten my money's
worth out of it and... with the zipper fixed... it's not dead yet.
When I first took hold of my BlueSeventy, I didn't anticipate how the swimming world was going to be turned upside down by these suits. A day doesn't go by without someone high up in the swimming profession writing, or talking about, how these suits have changed the sport...and hardly any have talked about how they've changed the sport for GOOD.
The most recent comments about the suits express the opinion that they're enabling too many records to be set. The swimming "purists,"as they've labeled themselves, are totally against them, stating that they're going to bankrupt teams and be the end of the sport. Well, as of today, they're legal, being used, and people continue to purchase them. While any article written about these suits is sure to generate controversy, and while we can start a conversation in the forum about the pros and cons of the suits, what I'm giving here is merely a report for those who are going to purchase one of these suits, and what they can expect.
Whenever you spend $400 on ANY swim-related item, you want to make sure it will do certain things.
1) Make you feel better in the water.
2) Make you go FASTER in the water.
3) Last for more than a few swims.
Again, PURISTS BEWARE!!! SPOILER ALERT!!! The BlueSeventy will absolutely accomplish the first two items on my short list of three considerations. Should that be legal? Forum posts, please. :)
Item #3... "last for more than a few swims"... is a big one for many people, and I'm here to give you a report on what my BlueSeventy has been through over the past 8 months. I can hear someone already... 8 months... and the suit looks like THAT?!?!?! Read on...
I took hold of my suit back in May for a Masters meet. I've written about my swims, and I can tell you, the swims were eye opening. I had SUCH a good time swimming that fast again. It was fun... and fun is good... right? I mean, I'm a Masters swimmer now. It's not as if I was going to make any money, or get a scholarship. It was just fun.
Shortly after that meet, I had an assignment that required me to spend 4-5 hours a day in the water filming. The water was competitive-level cold, and I wasn't going to be moving a lot. I needed to be able to stay under for extended periods without SCUBA gear, so I couldn't be too buoyant but really was looking for some additional insulation. BLUESEVENTY to the rescue.
I was in and out of the suit all day... and in and out of hot showers. I knew the suit was supposed to be used just for swimming fast, but the athletes I was filming were pretty fast, and I had to do something to keep up, so I figured that counted. Overall the suit was pretty saturated with water from day to day, but dried out well and was ready to go back in service the next day, or later the same day. What I discovered about this suit is that I'm able to take it off easily, and put it back on wet. This meant I didn't have to sit around in it all day at a Masters meet... unless I just wanted to look GOOD (i.e., slimmer).
Since then, the suit has been brought out of storage for multiple drills and video shoots, ESPECIALLY those in which I wanted to be in front of the camera. I've even worn it for a few practices to see if my current training has been effective. I love swimming practices in the suit because I have a better shot of keeping up with my younger swimmers.
One of my high school-aged swimmers has tried multiple full-body suits, and has found none that he likes. He feels too constricted, like he can't breathe, so no matter how much convincing I've tried to do, he simply wouldn't swim in one. A couple months ago, he sent me a text and asked if I had a set of "pants" he could try at practice. I figured it was a good opportunity to get him to try my BlueSeventy. Besides, I wanted to see if it had the same impact on him that it had on me. I designed a set for him for morning practice in which he'd do
part of the set in his drag suit... then get out, change into the "pants" he'd requested, and repeat the set. When he got out after the second round, I surprised him and pulled out the BlueSeventy and told him to wear it for the 3rd time through. It took only one 100 for him to finish with a smile on his face. He wore it for the rest of
practice, then at his meet that night. This swimmer is 6'1", while I'm 5'10"... so he was STRETCHING my suit as well.
I wore it a few more times at college practice, and for more filming. One of the college swimmers asked for help on his breaststroke, and through the course of working together, I decided to have him try my BlueSeventy. He put on the suit and proceeded not only to swim faster in practice, but also to make the stroke changes we had worked on.
When it came time to order suits for the college team, everyone was wondering which to order. While I didn't have access to any other suit than the BlueSeventy, I at least wanted to allow as many of them to try it as possible. While I avoid recommending suits to my swimmers, I do try to give them the opportunity to test something. On one day at practice, approximately ten different swimmers put on, swam in, and took off my BlueSeventy. These are BIG guys! The suit was starting to show some wear... the ankles were becoming a bit looser, and were starting to fray. Man... some of them have HUGE feet!
Test after test, swim after swim, there wasn't ONE swimmer who returned after his first 50 without a smile on his face. While the BlueSeventy was being tortured, it was still effective. Through the stretching, twisting, and arranging of the material, finally, a tear started to appear in the neck. Now the question was... do I allow them to TRASH my suit, or save it for myself? That question was answered very quickly because the swimmers are ALWAYS more important than the coach. Put it on another swimmer until it finally disintigrates.
I continued to wear the BlueSeventy occasionally for filming and practice. I figured that, at this point, its usefullness for competition had passed.
A few weeks ago, the college team traveled to a meet with its arch rival. One of our swimmers was going for a very lofty goal, and decided he was going to try the BlueSeventy. Since this was a special occasion, an order for a single suit was placed. As sometimes occurs, a mistake in shipping from the company we ordered it from happened, and as the bus was leaving the station, we were without his suit. Good thing I had Old Faithful in my bag.
Because of the rules in college swimming, we had to make sure the BlueSeventy logos were blacked out. I was following the swimmer around before and after his warm-ups, swims, and warm-downs... with a black marker doing my best to cover the logo each time. Permanent isn't always permanent on these suits... but for the short time he was racing, the logo was blacked out.
JUST before the meet started, the new suit was delivered to the pool and my "marked up" suit was now a backup. Since the suit was there, and since it was already advertising-legal, one of our other swimmers asked if he could try it. Now, this particular swimmer is one of the bigger individuals on the team. While making sure he could fit in the suit, which was now stretched beyond its original size, his warm-up went without a hitch. In his individual event, he swam a fantastic time, placed 3rd, and achieved a very high personal goal. It was
great to see the smile on his face as it always is.
Since I never know when I'm going to need my BlueSeventy, it's become a permanant fixture in my swim bag. It holds no special place on the drying rack; it's just another piece of equipment. Because of that, when a Masters friend asked me last week about his interest in the BlueSeventy, and which size he should get, and if it was worth it, I pulled the suit out of my bag and said... give it a try. This particular swimmer is 6'3". He wore it for his entire practice, smiled when he handed it back to me, and as far as I know has placed his order.
The last time the suit has been out of my bag, may have been the last time it's going to be fully functional. In our most recent college meet, the same swimmer asked if I had the suit. I pulled it out of my bag and he wore it for one of his races. He walked around in the suit the rest of the meet, until he came up to me for his final event
asking if I'd be so kind as to zip him up. As I reached for the zipper, it finally happened. After what's been estimated at nearly 70 swims by individuals of many varied sizes, a tooth broke on the zipper, and we were stuck. So we thought. Through some tugging and pulling by teammates, we were able to line up the tooth, zip up the zipper, and get him to the blocks on time. The zipper held through his 50 free, and the suit made it back into the bag.
With some nylon thread, the zipper is somewhat functional again, and the suit LIVES ON!
In my opinion, for those saying that these suits will have a negative impact on the sport because they cost too much... I say it's not the case. While I would RARELY get this many swims out of any suit I've ever used at a championship level, I found this suit to be as, if not MORE, durable than any that I've ever had. Its performance advantages aside, this thing is a great value.
I know there will be people who don't like hearing positive things about these suits. I'm not one of them. Their impact on our sport, positive or negative, will be measured in the long term. As of today,
they are legal and people are wearing them.
We can all put our feelings into the forum about the impact of these suits. As for this article, it's a thank-you letter to my BlueSeventy for hanging in there for so long. I've definitely gotten my money's
worth out of it and... with the zipper fixed... it's not dead yet.
The Moxey man diaries
Tim Moxey was interviewed on XTRI.com in a 3 part interview.
XTRI: When Ironman Wetsuits changed to blueseventy, was that just a change in name, or did things change too as a company?
Tim: Basically, as a company, we were constrained. When you looked at our competitors which were Zoot, Orca, QR, they had all broadened their range. Orca and QR were doing clothing in addition to wetsuits, and I was like ‘I’d love to do that, but I can’t,’ because we had a license for Ironman Wetsuits. And that’s not a label to put on clothing cause it sounds stupid – you can’t have an “Ironman Wetsuits” track suit – sounds a bit silly. So I felt constrained. So rather than expand into adjacent markets, I wanted to go deeper into the channel we were in, which was swim, specifically “openwater” since we made brilliant wetsuits and had a chance to really lead within that area. I wanted to make goggles, swimskins and other products for openwater…but I couldn’t expand given the licensing. By changing the name to blueseventy, it signaled that we’re not just about “Ironman”. Or “Wetsuits”. We make products that make that experience better. And for any distance triathlon. And even if you’re just a swimmer.”
Part 1 of the xtri interview: http://www.xtri.com/features_display.aspx?riIDReport=5207&CAT=21&xref=xx
Part 2 of the xtri interview: http://www.xtri.com/features_display.aspx?riIDReport=5213&CAT=3&xref=xx
Part 3 of the xtri interview: http://www.xtri.com/features_display.aspx?riIDReport=5216&CAT=23&xref=xx
XTRI: When Ironman Wetsuits changed to blueseventy, was that just a change in name, or did things change too as a company?
Tim: Basically, as a company, we were constrained. When you looked at our competitors which were Zoot, Orca, QR, they had all broadened their range. Orca and QR were doing clothing in addition to wetsuits, and I was like ‘I’d love to do that, but I can’t,’ because we had a license for Ironman Wetsuits. And that’s not a label to put on clothing cause it sounds stupid – you can’t have an “Ironman Wetsuits” track suit – sounds a bit silly. So I felt constrained. So rather than expand into adjacent markets, I wanted to go deeper into the channel we were in, which was swim, specifically “openwater” since we made brilliant wetsuits and had a chance to really lead within that area. I wanted to make goggles, swimskins and other products for openwater…but I couldn’t expand given the licensing. By changing the name to blueseventy, it signaled that we’re not just about “Ironman”. Or “Wetsuits”. We make products that make that experience better. And for any distance triathlon. And even if you’re just a swimmer.”
Part 1 of the xtri interview: http://www.xtri.com/features_display.aspx?riIDReport=5207&CAT=21&xref=xx
Part 2 of the xtri interview: http://www.xtri.com/features_display.aspx?riIDReport=5213&CAT=3&xref=xx
Part 3 of the xtri interview: http://www.xtri.com/features_display.aspx?riIDReport=5216&CAT=23&xref=xx
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
2008 Ironman World Championships on NBC
NBC will broadcast the recap of the 2008 Ironman World Championships on Saturday, December 13 at 2:30 Eastern. Watch Chrissie Wellington and Craig Alexander again as they storm to their titles and endless other stories take place.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Introducing Mr & Mrs Bayliss
Britain’s Ironcouple and blueseventy triathletes Stephen Bayliss and Bella Comerford were married recently in the beautiful grounds of Murrayshall House in the United Kingdom. The couple married in a civil service in front of family and friends and shared a pic with us, below.
We love the cake!
Congratulations to Bella and Stephen on their marriage and also on a very remarkable year of solid results. We wish you all the best for 2009 and onwards!
We love the cake!Congratulations to Bella and Stephen on their marriage and also on a very remarkable year of solid results. We wish you all the best for 2009 and onwards!
The Mo results are in!
Well after a crazy month of Movember, the blueseventy-nuun team (called Rubbery Tablets) managed to raise a fantastic $1.870.00 that went to the US Prostate Cancer Foundation.
Here is a photo of some of the blueseventy team towards the end of Movember showing just how far some of them went...
L-R (back) John, Guy, Steve, Trevor, Dean, Shawn, Roque and Seth...and Sharon and Meline in the front not wanting to miss out on the fun! Not bad attempts, ladies!
Thanks to everyone for taking part and also thanks to all who donated and encouraged them!
Here is a photo of some of the blueseventy team towards the end of Movember showing just how far some of them went...
L-R (back) John, Guy, Steve, Trevor, Dean, Shawn, Roque and Seth...and Sharon and Meline in the front not wanting to miss out on the fun! Not bad attempts, ladies!Thanks to everyone for taking part and also thanks to all who donated and encouraged them!
Monday, December 8, 2008
6th World Record for blueseventy!
American swimmer Randall Bal broke the men's 50 metres backstroke world record at a meeting in Eindhoven, Netherlands last Saturday, while wearing the blueseventy nero comp.
Bal timed 24.33 seconds to break the old mark of 24.47sec set by Briton Liam Tancock at the British Olympic trials last April.
Bal, 28, last month also broke the men's short course 50 metres backstroke world record, timing 22.87 seconds to break the old mark of 23.05sec set by compatriot Peter Marshall. Bal's first world record was taken in the nero comp swimskin also.
Congrats Gina and Luke
Gina Ferguson won the 2008 Ironman Western Australia in a record time of 8:59:24, after having had the fastest swim in her blueseventy Helix wetsuit. Luke McKenzie led all the men out of the water in his blueseventy Helix wetsuit and after dealing with some technical issues during the bike segment, Luke eventually finished third.
Congrats Gina and Luke.
Congrats Gina and Luke.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Happy Ironman Arizona finisher...
Here is Marit Fischer in her helix tst wetsuit the day before Ironman Arizona, held earlier this month. She raced on a hurt Achilles and still managed a great race - 12:41. Congratulations Marit!
Thanks to Matt from nuun for the pic.
Wanaka training for lucky Luke!
Luke Dragstra has a pretty good life. He gets to travel around the world, visiting beautiful places while having fun doing what he loves to do full time - triathlon.
Here is a picture of him in Wanaka, New Zealand where is he is based while he trains for his next pro race - the iron-distance Challenge Wanaka (sister race to Quelle Challenge Roth), held in January.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
nero comp smashes more records at the Ron Johnson meet in Arizona
Ande Rasmussen loves the nero comp. At the Ron Johnson meet held in Arizona just recently Ande had some fantastic results in his blueseventy swimskin.He broke 2 USMS SCM 45 – 49 mens American master's records;
1) 50m free with a time of 24.18
2) 100m IM with a time of 1:00:32 but just missed out on breaking the world record by 0.03 seconds
He broke 2 mens 160 + masters world records;
1) master's world record in the 4 x 50m free relay with Mike Varozza, Todd Bartee & Tyler Blessing
2) master's world record in the 4 x 50m medley relay with Mike Varozza, Max Stinchcombe & Tyler Blessing
He broke the mens 160 + American master's record in the 4 x 100 medley relay with Mike Varozza, Todd Bartee & Tyler Blessing by 16 seconds AND the 50m back missed world record by 0.06 seconds.
Pictured above is Ande with his teammates, all in blueseventy! From left to right; Mike Varozza, Max Stinchcombe, Todd Bartee, Tyler Blessing and Ande Rasmussen
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Heddi Porter on training with a coach
I have been wanting to train with a swim coach for some time, but was looking for one that had experience with one-armed swimmers. I wanted someone that would understand my limitations and how to compensate for them, but as you can imagine, that's not an easy thing to find.
Well I recently had a really lucky break. I found out that one of the paralympic swim coaches lives in Seattle, and this Saturday I had the great fortune to have my first training session with Kiko VanZandt. We spent only about an hour together, but I can already tell that her work is going to completely change swimming for me.
The first thing she noticed was that I'm breathing too late in my stroke. When she had me practice breathing earlier, I noticed that I got a lot more twist out of my torso, and finally understood what other swimmers meant when they talked about the "snap" they feel as they rotate through the water. Kiko is gearing her coaching towards longer, open-water swims for me, because triathlon is my focus, so getting good rotation is important.
She also noticed that my arm position was off, so she gave me a drill to practice that has me extending my arm completely, both in and out of the water. I'm supposed to pretend I'm scraping the ceiling and the bottom of the pool. Although she said this isn't proper swim form, it will help teach me to reach in the water, and keep my elbow high out of the water.
Kiko also had me practicing flicking my hand down at the wrist right before it enters the water. I immediately felt more energy in my pull, with the extra burst that added.
Now I get to practice these changes and get good at them before our next session. I'm so excited to finally have someone with experience teaching physically challenged athletes working with me on my form.
I'll be doing my first Half Ironman next year, and although I'm confident in doing the distances separately without a problem, it will be key to come out of the water with energy to spare if I want a good race. I can't wait to see how I improve my swim time by then!
Heddi
Well I recently had a really lucky break. I found out that one of the paralympic swim coaches lives in Seattle, and this Saturday I had the great fortune to have my first training session with Kiko VanZandt. We spent only about an hour together, but I can already tell that her work is going to completely change swimming for me.
The first thing she noticed was that I'm breathing too late in my stroke. When she had me practice breathing earlier, I noticed that I got a lot more twist out of my torso, and finally understood what other swimmers meant when they talked about the "snap" they feel as they rotate through the water. Kiko is gearing her coaching towards longer, open-water swims for me, because triathlon is my focus, so getting good rotation is important.
She also noticed that my arm position was off, so she gave me a drill to practice that has me extending my arm completely, both in and out of the water. I'm supposed to pretend I'm scraping the ceiling and the bottom of the pool. Although she said this isn't proper swim form, it will help teach me to reach in the water, and keep my elbow high out of the water.
Kiko also had me practicing flicking my hand down at the wrist right before it enters the water. I immediately felt more energy in my pull, with the extra burst that added.
Now I get to practice these changes and get good at them before our next session. I'm so excited to finally have someone with experience teaching physically challenged athletes working with me on my form.
I'll be doing my first Half Ironman next year, and although I'm confident in doing the distances separately without a problem, it will be key to come out of the water with energy to spare if I want a good race. I can't wait to see how I improve my swim time by then!
Heddi
Joanna Zeiger recaps superb racing season
Joanna Zeiger has had an amazing year. Here she explains the trials and tribulations she had to experience in order to come out on top.
The best laid plans
At the start of the year, I meticulously planned out my season. I laid out Plan A, Plan B and Plan C which were based on qualifying for the Olympics in Tuscaloosa, not qualifying but racing in Des Moines for the third slot, or going to Ironman Coeur D’Alene to qualify for Kona. I did not anticipate – who ever does? – Plan I. What, you may ask is Plan I? That is the extra special injury plan.
Going into the Olympic Trials, I felt primed, fit and ready. I had a great race, but as soon as it was over everything fell apart. My throat started to hurt as I watched the men’s race and by the next morning I had a full blown sinus incident that morphed into bronchitis. I had to pull out of my two favorite races, St. Anthony’s and St. Croix. During my convalescence, I somehow incurred a mystery injury in my foot. It occurred suddenly and rendered me unable to walk. I did what any normal person would do; I continued to swim, biked like I was training for the Tour de France and ellipticaled myself into insanity. Racing was on hold until uber-PT Bob Cranny gave me the green light. Somehow he allowed me to race Eagleman 70.3.
I ran 4 times in about 5 weeks, but I was confident in my swimming and cycling and I really wanted to race there and visit with Mark’s family and my friends. I figured that if my foot hurt during the run I could drop out. Luckily, things went off well, despite the 100 degree heat and 200 percent humidity. I won the race after an 11 year hiatus from winning there. It was very exciting. Unfortunately, I could not walk for two days and I had to take another week off running. It was during this time that I discovered acupuncture. At that point, I would have tried voodoo, so acupuncture seemed reasonable. It worked and I went from pain to no pain overnight.
It was on to Lubbock next. I approached this race much the same as Eagleman – go for it on the swim and bike and hold on for the run. Despite the abysmal conditions on the day that included pouring rain and gusty wind, I felt good all around and posted a PR for myself on the course and came in second. Best of all, my foot felt great and there were no post-race repercussions.
After a week long training camp with coach Terry in Boulder, I had an upcoming tough double, Lifetime Fitness and Vineman 70.3. A 4th at Lifetime and a win at Vineman 70.3 capped off a great month of racing.
Plan I was unexpected, but it turned out to be quite liberating. It forced me to work on a weakness, my cycling, and it also forced me to approach my racing differently. My attitude changed completely from one of being overly concerned with the outcome to one of enjoyment of the process. I was forced to rethink my pre-race preparations and make some adjustments to a method that had been in place for years. I have gone back to races that I did many years ago that were always favorites due to the location or the course. I realize how awesome the 70.3 distance is, and I am once again reminded how much I enjoy this sport.
What does plan I include for the rest of the year? The beauty of Plan I is that the options are endless.
Race hard, have fun.
The best laid plans
At the start of the year, I meticulously planned out my season. I laid out Plan A, Plan B and Plan C which were based on qualifying for the Olympics in Tuscaloosa, not qualifying but racing in Des Moines for the third slot, or going to Ironman Coeur D’Alene to qualify for Kona. I did not anticipate – who ever does? – Plan I. What, you may ask is Plan I? That is the extra special injury plan.
Going into the Olympic Trials, I felt primed, fit and ready. I had a great race, but as soon as it was over everything fell apart. My throat started to hurt as I watched the men’s race and by the next morning I had a full blown sinus incident that morphed into bronchitis. I had to pull out of my two favorite races, St. Anthony’s and St. Croix. During my convalescence, I somehow incurred a mystery injury in my foot. It occurred suddenly and rendered me unable to walk. I did what any normal person would do; I continued to swim, biked like I was training for the Tour de France and ellipticaled myself into insanity. Racing was on hold until uber-PT Bob Cranny gave me the green light. Somehow he allowed me to race Eagleman 70.3.
I ran 4 times in about 5 weeks, but I was confident in my swimming and cycling and I really wanted to race there and visit with Mark’s family and my friends. I figured that if my foot hurt during the run I could drop out. Luckily, things went off well, despite the 100 degree heat and 200 percent humidity. I won the race after an 11 year hiatus from winning there. It was very exciting. Unfortunately, I could not walk for two days and I had to take another week off running. It was during this time that I discovered acupuncture. At that point, I would have tried voodoo, so acupuncture seemed reasonable. It worked and I went from pain to no pain overnight.
It was on to Lubbock next. I approached this race much the same as Eagleman – go for it on the swim and bike and hold on for the run. Despite the abysmal conditions on the day that included pouring rain and gusty wind, I felt good all around and posted a PR for myself on the course and came in second. Best of all, my foot felt great and there were no post-race repercussions.
After a week long training camp with coach Terry in Boulder, I had an upcoming tough double, Lifetime Fitness and Vineman 70.3. A 4th at Lifetime and a win at Vineman 70.3 capped off a great month of racing.
Plan I was unexpected, but it turned out to be quite liberating. It forced me to work on a weakness, my cycling, and it also forced me to approach my racing differently. My attitude changed completely from one of being overly concerned with the outcome to one of enjoyment of the process. I was forced to rethink my pre-race preparations and make some adjustments to a method that had been in place for years. I have gone back to races that I did many years ago that were always favorites due to the location or the course. I realize how awesome the 70.3 distance is, and I am once again reminded how much I enjoy this sport.
What does plan I include for the rest of the year? The beauty of Plan I is that the options are endless.
Race hard, have fun.
Monday, November 24, 2008
buy nuun and receive free blueseventy element goggles!
We're fans of making people faster so every now and then we see something that's rather good and we want to tell others about it. nuun has been about for a few years now but recently there's been a lot of talk about it. nuun is basically a sports drink in a tab that you add to your bottle - and it has no sugars. So when you train, you manage calories your way (bars, gels etc) and it means you're not having all those sugary drinks with calories you often don't need - especially at this time of year! With more of the best triathletes in the world using it and a growing contingent of age-groupers realizing that managing their hydration is critical to their performance and recovery - it's been quite the product to have in some circles. So blueseventy and nuun have joined forces to offer you the perfect opportunity to try this increasingly popular (and very tasty, might we add) nuun. Up to the end of November, you'll get 20% off the price of all nuun plus you'll have a nuun bottle thrown in for free. Plus - for every 9-pack of nuun, we'll ship a pair of the award winning blueseventy element goggles absolutely free. So that's $75 of product for only $40! Remember the offer is only available until November 30th, so don't miss out!
To purchase, head to http://shopping.netsuite.com/nuun and use the discount code - ilovemyrubbersuits
For more information about nuun in general, click on www.nuun.com
Friday, November 21, 2008
11 Masters World Records for the nero
In Tempe, Arizona, at the second annual Ron Johnson Invitational short course meters meet, seven swimmers
swam faster than 14 Masters world record times at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center. Two relays also swam under existing world marks. 11 of these world records were broken by swimmer's wearing the nero comp swimskin.
blueseventy's very own Roque Santos, a 1992 Olympian in the 200 breast representing Walnut Creek Masters, walked away from the meet with four new swims under world record time in the 40-44 age group: 100 breast (1:03.54), 100 IM (58.94), 200 IM (2:07.94) and 400 IM (4:32.05). His times in the 100 breast, 100 IM and 200 IM dipped under the records by less than three tenths each.
On the other side of the coin, Santos, 40, was just two-hundredths of a second slower than Wolfgang Jarmer's world record of 29.49 in the 50 breast with a 29.51. He also missed Alberto Montini's 200 breast record of 2:18.16 when he swam a 2:18.59.
swam faster than 14 Masters world record times at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center. Two relays also swam under existing world marks. 11 of these world records were broken by swimmer's wearing the nero comp swimskin.
blueseventy's very own Roque Santos, a 1992 Olympian in the 200 breast representing Walnut Creek Masters, walked away from the meet with four new swims under world record time in the 40-44 age group: 100 breast (1:03.54), 100 IM (58.94), 200 IM (2:07.94) and 400 IM (4:32.05). His times in the 100 breast, 100 IM and 200 IM dipped under the records by less than three tenths each.
On the other side of the coin, Santos, 40, was just two-hundredths of a second slower than Wolfgang Jarmer's world record of 29.49 in the 50 breast with a 29.51. He also missed Alberto Montini's 200 breast record of 2:18.16 when he swam a 2:18.59.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
The Staff Stache Selection
So now we're starting to see the results of some beautiful (hmmm?) grooming. As we head into the last half of Movember us girls wonder what styles the boys will be pulling out towards the end...
Remember if you want to donate then please go to http://us.movember.com/donate/donate-search.php?type=team and donate to our team called Rubbery Tablets.
To make things a little more interesting, we've decided that whoever donates the most amount of money to our team will WIN A FREE HELIX TST! (NB: please add your email address when you donate so we can contact you).
Shawn in Seattle, above, kicks back with The Avia-tache.
Above Roque in San Francisco mixes it up with his fangs (FYI they aren't real!)
Yay Guy gets some growth in New Zealand!
Steve seems to be ruling the roost at the moment, also in NZ, above.
Chris McDonald in Colorado supports the cause - but will he keep his mo for this weekend's race in Arizona?
Remember if you want to donate then please go to http://us.movember.com/donate/donate-search.php?type=team and donate to our team called Rubbery Tablets.
To make things a little more interesting, we've decided that whoever donates the most amount of money to our team will WIN A FREE HELIX TST! (NB: please add your email address when you donate so we can contact you).
Shawn in Seattle, above, kicks back with The Avia-tache.
Above Roque in San Francisco mixes it up with his fangs (FYI they aren't real!)
Yay Guy gets some growth in New Zealand!
Steve seems to be ruling the roost at the moment, also in NZ, above.
Chris McDonald in Colorado supports the cause - but will he keep his mo for this weekend's race in Arizona?
Great Bevan Docherty commercial
A very stylishly shot commercial for Mizone featuring Bevan Docherty. Go Bevan!
Monday, November 17, 2008
blueseventy's world record tally upped to five!
Wearing a blueseventy nero, Randall Bal (pictured below) of the United States set a world record in the 50-meter backstroke on the last day of a short-course swimming FINA World Cup meet in Berlin.
Bal broke the four-day-old record with a time of 22.87 seconds, beating Peter Marshall by 0.03. Marshall, also from the United States, set the record of 23.05 on Wednesday in Stockholm.
Watch Bal's miraculous race at right here
Also unsponsored by blueseventy, but wearing a nero comp for the first time, Australia’s Marieke Guehrer (below) ended her 2008 FINA World Cup series with a bang as she clipped the women’s 50 fly world record at the Berlin stop.Guehrer registered a global standard time of 24.99, eclipsing the 25.31 set by Sweden’s Therese Alshammar at the Stockholm stop earlier this week.
The two world records achieved in Berlin brings blueseventy’s world record tally to a total of five!
Bal broke the four-day-old record with a time of 22.87 seconds, beating Peter Marshall by 0.03. Marshall, also from the United States, set the record of 23.05 on Wednesday in Stockholm.
Watch Bal's miraculous race at right here
Also unsponsored by blueseventy, but wearing a nero comp for the first time, Australia’s Marieke Guehrer (below) ended her 2008 FINA World Cup series with a bang as she clipped the women’s 50 fly world record at the Berlin stop.Guehrer registered a global standard time of 24.99, eclipsing the 25.31 set by Sweden’s Therese Alshammar at the Stockholm stop earlier this week.
The two world records achieved in Berlin brings blueseventy’s world record tally to a total of five!
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Yep, you can tell its Movember now...
By the looks of some of the faces below, The Scratch has started....
If you take pity on these guys below, you could always donate to help raise money for Prostate Cancer. So far the team, called Rubbery Tablets have raised over USD$700! Grow you good things!
visit http://us.movember.com/mospace/1851971 and click through the pages to find your favourite 'stache and pledge some pingers for a good cause!
Guy in New Zealand above, does his best to convince the gang to shave. It doesn't work.
Deano from the UK above doesn't know what to think!
Steve in New Zealand is dreaming of the Glory Mo...
Shawn from the Seattle office has it grow-ing on!!
And Trevor is getting his 35 year old mo back, much to his wife, Lee's distaste!
If you take pity on these guys below, you could always donate to help raise money for Prostate Cancer. So far the team, called Rubbery Tablets have raised over USD$700! Grow you good things!
visit http://us.movember.com/mospace/1851971 and click through the pages to find your favourite 'stache and pledge some pingers for a good cause!
Guy in New Zealand above, does his best to convince the gang to shave. It doesn't work.
Deano from the UK above doesn't know what to think!
Steve in New Zealand is dreaming of the Glory Mo...
Shawn from the Seattle office has it grow-ing on!!
And Trevor is getting his 35 year old mo back, much to his wife, Lee's distaste!
Sam Warriner featured on slowtwitch
A tough sprint at the World Championships in Vancouver gave Kiwi Sam Warriner the final podium spot, but she ended up as the overall champion of the ITU World Cup series this year. She talked to Slowtwitch.
ST: You've had a very solid season this year. Did it go as you expected?
Sam: I did a huge block of base training at the beginning of the year in New Zealand to set myself up for a good season. I worked for four months building up to around 150 km's of running per week, this combined with lots of cycling and swimming has enabled me to be consistent for a longer period this year. I also worked hard on the mental side of my training with my sport psychologist so I could be more consistent on race day. I always knew the Olympics would be a huge gamble that’s why I still raced World Cup’s, as my plan B. Getting 3rd in Vancouver really set me up for a good tilt at the World Cup.
For the complete interview go to slowtwitch.com
Another day, ANOTHER WORLD RECORD for van der Burgh and blueseventy!!
Cameron van der Burgh was once more the swimmer to watch in this FINA/ARENA Swimming World Cup. On the first day of the sixth leg competition, in Stockholm, Sweden, the South African star in none other than a blueseventy nero comp swimskin, bettered his own 50m breaststroke world record, touching in 25.94 seconds. On Nov. 8 in Moscow (the previous meet of the circuit), Burgh had clocked in at 26.08 and now becomes the first swimmer ever to swim the event in under 26 seconds. It was the fifth world record of this World Cup, and the third for van der Burgh (he also set the 100m breaststroke world record in Moscow). Furthermore, this performance gave him 1073 points, the best men’s total of the first day of competition.
Monday, November 10, 2008
New Zealand's Buoyant Politician
New Zealand's ACT Party leader Rodney Hide gets some help from his mum as he kits up in a blueseventy helix to swim from Rangitoto to Takapuna Beach promoting the Ocean Swim series.
World records smashed in the nero comp!
South Africa's Cameron Van der Burgh above, reacts after setting a World Record 26,08 in the Men's 50m Breaststroke heat at the FINA swimming World Cup series in Moscow, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2008.
But he didn't stop there! A day after taking down the 50 breast record in his blueseventy nero, Van der Burgh etched his name in the 100 breast world record column. van der Burgh posted a swift time of 56.88 in the 100 breast to crush the 57.47 set by Ed Moses during the Stockholm stop of the 2002 World Cup.
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