Additionally, the shorts have 2 small, well designed pockets that are big enough to fit a gel or two, and sleek enough that you forget they’re there if you don’t need em. All in all, a great pair of shorts. So great, in fact, that I wore them for Ironman Hawaii with great success. Not a single rub or problem (which may be a first for me in an Ironman distance race).

With this being Nike’s first attempt at a tri short in over 20 years, I’m excited to see what year 2 will bring from them. Welcome to the triathlon party, Nike. Glad you’re finally here.

As promised, on first inspection they are a Speed Socket top to bottom, so if you’re curious about fit, swing by your local swim store (tri shops and general sporting goods stores won’t carry these. They are elite level racing goggles) and try a pair on. If you’re used to Vanquishers, then this won’t be much different. Might even be a little more comfortable. If however, the larger sized goggles or swim masks are more your bag, then they might take a little getting used to. Being a swedish goggle man myself, this was more goggle than I’m used to, but for me they are considerably more comfortable than the Vanquisher.

The real beauty is what you see. Everything. It surprised me at first. I didn’t realize how much glare in a goggle messes with you. Now there’s something to compare it to. The vision is crystal clear and it cuts the glare wonderfully. I almost felt like I was on one of those Blu-Blocker commercials while I swapped back and forth. Now, admittedly I haven’t used them in open water just yet so I can’t give you a play by play on swimming into the sun and how they cut that reflection off the water. What I do know is that they are going to be 100 times better than my smoke goggles I’ve been using.

So who needs these goggles? Someone who trains outdoors and those who swim in open water, whether it be triathlons or open water races. If you have sun hitting your face, you are going to want these goggles. If you train indoors and compete in indoor pools, then skip it. I don’t see any advantage to swimming under fluorescent lights with these things. With a glowing review like this, there’s got to be a downside right? Well, there is the price. The Speed Socket Polarized sell for $65. That’s quite a leap from what we come to expect from goggle pricing. Then again, this is quite a leap from what we come to expect from goggle vision too. If you find yourself squinting during a swim, it’ll be worth every penny.

 The first thing that catches your attention with the IM Tech Paddle is it’s shape. the shape is a little different than other paddles as it has a curved kidney been look to them, rather than the typical mishapen oval of other paddles. The purpose of the shape is so that each stroke will benefit from the paddle. During freestyle you wear the paddle as shown in the picture and  breaststroke you would switch hands. Initially I tried the paddles using freestyle and noticed immediately the difference between my Strokemakers and the IM Paddle. Swimming freestyle with these paddles was odd initally because of the way the paddles directed my hand through the water. it took 100 or so of getting used to before I started getting comfortable swimming freestyle. Once I adjusted it was very comfortable. I also noticed that my pace was not quite as brisk with these paddles, but I must admit that I use a pretty large hand paddle (Strokemaker Blue) so I was expecting a difference.  The gold in these paddles though are in the ability to swim other three strokes. when I reversed the paddles and swam breaststroke and backstroke I immediately saw what they were intended for. Typically in breaststroke for someone to train with paddles they have to use a traditional paddle and size down a couple sizes so that they can control their stroke more effectively, but with these paddles I found that my stroke was very natural right from the start. So I was able to get up and work the stroke right away. No adjustments, no awkwardness, no nothing. I put them on and starting working. Same with back and fly. It was a very natural feel and I could work the pull right away.

After a few hundred yards of swimming with these paddles I found them really enjoyable during all four strokes. The downside?   Not much. The way you fasten your hand to the paddle is similar to most all other hand paddles using rubber tubing to strap your wrists and fingers to the paddle, but one thing different with this paddle is that the rubber tubing doubles back on itself. This created a minor problem for me as it forced my fingers to separate in order to accomodate the extra tubing and started to irritate by the end of my swim. This is not a big deal though as you as you can cut down and adjust the rubber tubing to fit your personal preferences (something I didn’t do), and you shouldn’t be wearing them for an entire workout anyway. Overall I found these paddles to be an asset to my equipment bag and have left them there (something I don’t normally do). I’ve also added them to my regular workout rotation. If you are looking for something different to train all four of your strokes or are needing to focus some attention on your pull, I would highly recommend these. Enjoy your workout.

As a triathlete who’s been competing for 25 years, I’m always on the lookout for good cycling or tri shorts. My search was heightened this past year in my preparation for Ironman Cozumel, and now, Ironman Texas.  Additionally, as a retailer, I prefer to carry products that I have used or believe in. I think that way it makes everyone’s life easier, as I can give an honest, educated opinion on the products that you’re considering. One of the first things that I look for in a good short is obviously the fit.  I like it to be long enough so that I get good coverage in the thighs but not so long that it’s close to my knees. For me that puts me in the 7-9  inch range for a short. The Pistons are 9 inch.

The other thing I look for in shorts is how well it holds to my body. Nothing is more annoying to me then cycling shorts or tri shorts that move around during the race. So I like a good tight fit a strong fabric for good compression.

I have tried on and raced in a number of brands of shorts previously I have used Pearl Izumi to great success but one thing I noticed in the particular style that I wore was the lack of compression. So while the fit was good, the movement wasn’t as good as it could have been because the fabric was a bit thin. (Conversely, I have some Pearl cycling shorts and the fabric they use in those is outstanding).

Same with some of the other brands I have trained or raced in. Either the compression is great and the fit is bad or the fit is great and the compression as weak. After trying on a number of varieties I came across this Sugoi tri short

For someone like myself who likes a good tight fit I found the shorts to work better than even some of the higher end models of shorts that Sugoi has to offer

It stayed in place during the swim did not move at all on the bike as well as the run as an added bonus, the shorts comes with two small pockets on each hip allowing for a gel or other various products to be stored during your training or racing. The one downside I have with them is not a downside for the shorts per se but towards my saddle.

I ride an ISM Adamo saddle, in which the pressure points are different than a traditional saddle. Because of this, cycling short pads create a problem as usually the pressure points from the saddle  line up exactly with the seams of the pad. After 100 miles the constant pressure on the stitching of the short can be extremely uncomfortable.  In my training I have gone from training in a pure cycling short down to a tri short and am now contemplating no pad at all.  I know that my saddle is a niche product so I don’t expect companies to come out with apparel just to accommodate me, so I need to make some adjustments on my own.

 At the end of the day I absolutely love these shorts. If you are needing something to train in or race in, whether it be a sprint

triathlon or a full Ironman distance race, I would highly recommend the shorts

Some weren’t really sure what to think about the suit. It met all of the FINA specifications for an eligible suits, but this time, there was no doubt it made you a faster swimmer. The biggest complaint I heard was that is was too expensive.

 Other’s knew exactly what to think about the new suit… a sport was being reborn. Swim companies all jumped in. You had the big guns making super suits like TYR and Arena, but you also had smaller companies and even upstarts jumping in like Blueseventy, Jaked and others. Now for you hippies or those of you reading this from a communist country or something, this is exactly how free markets are supposed to work. Opportunity meets competition. In early 2008, there was 1 super suit. Now there are 202. Guess what happens to the prices?

So now let me fast forward to this month (July 2009). The World Championships are being held in Rome and FINA is holding meetings.  The purists of the sport are up in arms over this new technology as the records are dropping too fast and people are talking about the suit and not the swimmer. FINA decides to changes the rules regarding swim suits. They pass a vote requiring suits to be made of texitles only and the suit may not go below the knee or above the naval for men, and not past the shoulders for women. Wow…..and just like that the swimming world travels back in time to pre 1991 era swim suits.

As you may have noticed in my tone, I have a few issues with all of this. So in no particular order, here goes.

For the first time since I can remember, swimming has been making news and getting attention from the general population. Ususally swimming is the hottest thing going for about two weeks at the summer Olympics. Then it disappears completely. Some argue that the attention is on the suits and not the swimmers. I say, ‘Who Cares??’. Press is press, and in this case the attention is getting TV deals, a broader sponsorship base, and is enabling more and more athletes to chase the dream for a living. I’ve yet to see any negative implications from the additional coverage.

I feel like FINA needs to let the sport evolve a little. The dilema FINA is in is not new. Tennis has high tech rackets, golf has super clubs and balls, Cycling has gobs of new equipment every year, skiing, bobsled, surfing, rowing and the list goes on and on. A new innovation like this causes people to think the sport is changing too much, and they’re right, there have been a lot of records broken because of the suit. In fact 2008 had the 2nd highest number of broken records. Wait, what? The second most? That’s right. Do you know what year boasts the most records broken? The year that they allowed goggles to be worn in competition. You read that right. Goggles had a greater impact on this sport than the super suit, and did it ruin the sport? Not one bit.

By killing the new suits, FINA will put companies put out of business  http://www.cnbc.com/id/32129430. As the cnbc aritcles talks about, there are small companies that have sunk a ton of money into creating a high tech suit. If you roll back the clock to the old lycra, most swimmers will go back to the giants of the industry like Speedo, Nike, and TYR. While risk is just part of starting a business, by killing off these smaller companies you are killing off a great money stream into the sport. How many swimmers were sponsored by Blueseventy before the super suit? You get the idea. Kill the money stream and swimmers head back to waiting tables in order to chase the dream.

What’s wrong with a little excitement? The Tour de France has a number of segments every year on tv showing the world the latest and greatest in bike technology. And since all the athletes have high tech bikes, there is no question that the best rider still wins the race. Any swimmers remember the Berkoff Blastoff? That was absolutely the coolest thing I saw in a pool growing up. FINA got worried though because it changed how people raced the backstroke, so they banned it. Total buzzkill.

How are they going to get the genie back in the bottle? Mark Schubert (who I am a big fan of by the way) suggested putting an asterisk by all the records set with the suit on. An asterisk? Like the one they want to put on Barry Bonds  homerun record for cheating? The suit isn’t cheating, its perfectly legal. We’re going to go a very long time before world records are set again if this holds up, and this doesn’t address all the regional, district, and team records. You also have a number of time standards and qualifying times that are calculated by the previous years results. How’s that gonna work when no one can qualify for the big meet? Maybe they should have two sets of asterisks. One for the suit and one for GOGGLES. Maybe we can get Mark Spitz his records back. What a mess.

I have no idea how this is going to turn out. FINA should have had tighter rules to prevent this type of thing, but they didn’t and it’s here. I don’t have a perfect solution, but wanting to go back and relive the ’80′s again is not my idea of a solution. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Note: Good interview here (http://www.cnbc.com/id/32190778) with Speedo. Brommers is right on the money.

“The biggest problem I think I am having is with rotation of my hips. I swim really flat and despite conscious effort to roll the hips, I’m only able to muster maybe a 10-15 degree deflection from a horizontal plane. When I look around, I see swim team kids rolling their hips (and torsos) at 30-40 and more degrees. There have been times when I felt I was getting it, and could feel the speed improve and effort diminish, so I know it’s the right thing to do, but no sooner do I get there than I’m at a wall and have to start all over. I watch your two-beat kick video once a week but I just can’t put it all together. Now that I’m doing actual workouts, I am learning that my pull bouy splits are about the same as a regular swim split, so my kick is not doing much. In fact, when I first started doing kickboard, I could barely propel myself the length of the pool! I can now do 50′s without dying, so I think that is also a factor.

I’m sure there are a hundred other flaws with my stroke, and would eventually like to get bi-lateral breathing down, but I think if I can figure out the rotation thing I will be able to make some progress. I am open to any suggestions or coach recommendations you may be able to offer.”

Lots of people talk about generating the rotation from the hips, but I don’t think the hips are the starting point. stand up, put your hands in a streamlined position, and rotate from your hips like you would in a pool (no arm movement). Basically a twisting motion. Now hop in the water, streamlined position and try and rotate your hips. It’s impossible. The reason is that on land your feet are planted on the ground and your hips can leverage off of that. in the water your feet are not planted to anything, making it impossible to twist. So you need to be able to plant your feet..aka.. have a good kick. A good kick allows your hips to have something to leverage off of. So the fact that you say you have trouble rotating and you have a poor kick are not independant of each other. One is the reason for the other. 

My best advice without seeing you swim is to work your kick. Get some simple, rubber fins (not zoomers) and spend some time flexing your ankles. As you become a better kicker, it will become easier to rotate.

…..

“How do you do your swim training? I am a former swimmer myself and so I really don’t need to work on my swimming  as much as the bike/run. I’ve tried just swimming 2-3 days a week and that makes me lose my feel for the water. Currently I am swimming A LOT and I feel amazing in the water just about every day. I don’t think swimming 4-6 times a week is ideal since swimming is my strongest point by far, but I don’t like losing my feel for the water. How do you balance that out?”

I used to be the same way, but changed the way I do my workouts now. Because I’ve been swimming since the 70′s and have a pretty good stroke, I have almost completely eliminated drills. I also give myself only about 500 yards to warm up, whereas when I was just swimming, it would take me 1500 yards or so to warm up. The main reason I changed was because of the short amount of time we are given to warm up at the races, so I thought I would try and adjust my habits. So now basically I get right down to business. Might not be for everyone, but seems to work for me.
 
……

“How do you keep your elbow from dropping during extension?”

Closed fist drill can help. Close your fist and try and swim with your forearms as your paddles. Getting a deeper pull also helps. bend your elbow only about 10 degrees in your initial pull. Other than that, make sure that after your arm enters and extends, that your hand/forearm is the first thing to start pulling and not your entire arm. There are also some gadgets out there that claim to help, but I’ve never tried them so won’t comment.
….

“How do you eliminate bubbles during entry and pull?”

Think of your hand as a person. You want that person to dive into the water (i.e. fingertips first) just above your head and then extend underwater to shake any remaining bubbles. Don’t let your hand slap the water!

…..

“You seem to have great flexibility during your extension and pull, is this from years of swimming or do you do additional stretching?”

 Both. All the swimming helps but I still stretch the shoulders before every workout. Doesn’t take long, but could be the easiest way to get faster in the water. This  is key for someone like yourself. certainly a top 3 in importance.

…..

“What would be some good main sets for a Half Ironman?”

One of the keys to swimming is consistant pace. Newer swimmers especially tend to be all over the place when it comes to pacing. Swimming 2000 yards without stopping is fine if you are needing to build some confidence, but you won’t learn pace. Repeat efforts with short rest and a tight leash on pace will make you a better swimmer in a hurry.  I would say that repeat 200′s up to repeat 500′s are great. A set I may do to get in shape would be 5X200′s with a 2:30 interval. That means I am pushing off the wall at 2:30. There is no set rest. As you get tired you get less rest. It really forces pace. 5X200′s with 20 sec rest isn’t nearly as hard or focused as you will get the same rest no matter what your pace is. Athlete’s with a running background have a real hard time with this as they grew up with a goal time and a set amount of rest in their track workouts.

“I’ve got a few questions to ask.  If you hadn’t noticed this is my first season, and while it’s too late to improve my stroke for now, I’d like to put in some good time over the winter.  I admittedly haven’t been doing much stroke work since I don’t want to teach myself a drill incorrectly from reading it over the internet.  Right now it seems like getting some paddles and either a pull buoy, ankle lock or both would be a good idea since they seem to be a bit more self-explanatory.  Any advice here for a newbie?  I’m not a complete beginner swimmer, but my experience is very limited.  Also, last workout I was able to get in some good times doing a 2-beat kick, close to my previous times using a 6 beat.  Not quite as fast, but within a minute per 500 yards. ”

The fitness center also had a couple of stationary bikes that had a 3d graphic of the course you were riding complete with other riders and your previous best effort. Great application but the bike is very upright and not anything close to my riding position. With these two thoughts in my head I started looking for some kind of spin bike that had the ability to control the resistance and have a graphical interface. Well, long story short, the search took forever, but I found the Kettler Ergo Racer and pulled the trigger.

The bike itself is very sturdy, just like the spin bikes and it has a 40 pound flywheel, so the ride feels very realistic.

Although it looks a little strange in the picture, the Kettler design allows you to set it up just like your actual bike, aerobars and all. This was a concern of mine before I bought it as I wanted to be positioned just like I am on my triathlon bike. The only difference I noticed is that the aerobars are wider that what I have on my bike. Very minor and to me a non issue. The saddle is a standard saddle which I found comfortable, but if you prefer something else like Adamo, it’s an easy switch. It comes with pedals, but I never took them out of the package, opting instead for my Look Keo’s. The Handlebars are made of a heavy duty metal (same size as your bike handlebars, just much sturdier) and can be changed from a road setup to triathlon bull-horn, or upside-down for a cruiser position. I found the bull-horn setup to be too deep, but am very happy in the road set up.

The resistance is controlled magnetically and unlike a spin bike has a freewheel, so you can coast. It’s also whisper quiet. No need to apologize to the neighbors about the noise or even turn up the TV, the only noise you will hear is a quiet hum. Very nice for someone who has two small children that I don’t want to wake.

The Kettler Ergo Racer comes with a computer console in which you can ride some preprogrammed workouts or do your own thing in the manual setting. For a quick workout, I think they work just fine. The console also shows your heart rate (it will pick up your Polar signal) speed, cadence, time, watts, distance, and calories burned. I will say that the speed/distance isn’t all that accurate, but that wasn’t a big issue for me as I had a fix for it.

The only piece of this puzzle that was missing was the 3d simulation of the course you are riding. I really wanted this as it held my attention better than anything else I have tried. In my research I found that there is a product made by Fitcentric called Netathlon2. It allows you to ride courses (some famous) against yourself or others online and will work with dozens of bikes/trainers (I will review this soon). Underneath the console of the Kettler is a port that will allow you to hook into a computer. I got Netathlon2, plugged it into my Kettler and I am riding the Ironman Hawaii Course in 3D. Perfect!

Overall I am very pleased with my purchase. If I were going to complain about anything it would be the console and native technology that seems to be a bit outdated. If Kettler wanted to hit a home run they would stick a better chip, screen and software in the console to give more options out of the box. As I mentioned though, I rarely use the console as I bypass it by plugging it into my computer so as to get all the bells and whistles.

Now with the advent of mp3 players, I figured the waterproof version would start popping up, and I was right. A number of the versions I’ve tried have been waist belts, etc that you strap your iPod into. But as soon as you push off a wall or change strokes the thing would move all over the place. Then H20Audio came up with a case for the shuffle that’s small enough to clip to the goggle strap. This is much closer to what I was looking for, so I pulled the trigger.

The design is pretty simple. Plug the shuffle into the case and close it up. the external controls are lined up with the shuffle controls, so the navigation is identical. They provide a head clip that is intended to provide a stand alone unit (no clipping to goggles), but I found the angle of the earphones with the clip were less than ideal, so I scrapped the head clip. The earphones look like standard earphones with earplug like attachments. I found them a bit bulky. The sound is perfect. I could hear my songs crystal clear as long as water didn’t enter the earphones, and this became the key. After a handful of set ups, I found that clipping to my goggles underneath my swim cap worked the best. The cap kept everything, including the earphones, in place. I started getting the earphones good and set in dry conditions kept the phones in place the best. Trying to adjust the earphones in the pool usually led to water getting in and the sound quality dimishing. Once I was set though, I could hear my songs without interuption. It’s fantastic and just as I hoped it would be as a kid.  Overall I give it a huge thumbs up!

Here are the only two issues: The earphones. Like I mentioned, they’re a little bulky, so a good stroke (free or back) that sweeps by the ear can knock a phone loose. Once an earphone gets loose, it’s very hard to resecure in the pool. Having said that, H2O Audio has recently come out new version (see photos) which comes with much smaller earphones. Looks like that problem has been addressed (I haven’t tried the new phones so I can’t comment on effectiveness)

Problem #2: Water noise. I need to say that this isn’t an H2O Audio problem, it’s just something that I learned. The deep noises of the bubbles, etc of swimming drown out deeper notes in songs. So Pearl Jam type songs with deep notes are very difficult to hear. 80′s rock music with high pitches and guitar solos are very easy to hear. I learn something new everyday.

At the end of the day, if you are looking to listen to music while you swim, this is an excellent choice, and I highly recommend it.