Interesting to see this pop back up now that I've been using the solution I MacGyvered above for 3-4 years.
When COVID hit, it also knocked the pools out for a significant portion of the last two years. Even as recently as last month, pools have been in a state of rolling closures. I've been using this solution to keep up my swim fitness - working my way through episodes of Arrested Development. Last year, I switched to a lower resistance band and concentrated on form, rather than trying to knock out any sort of cardio or higher resistance.
Somehow, we managed to have a 70.3 in Muskoka last year, and I had my best swim both in terms of time, and placing. Usually, the swim is my weak point (coming out mid pack), but I actually came out of the water well ahead of when I usually do (13th out of the water in M40) - to the point where I lost a place on the bike because I was so far ahead of my usual placing - not because I had a poor bike (I had a good bike too!), but because I was so far ahead of the usual groups of whom I'd put time into when I get out of the water. The best part is that despite not having optimal swim prep, I still felt like I could keep going. I also changed wetsuits, so I wouldn't give this DIY solution all the credit, but for me its definitely something that was beneficial.
When COVID hit, it also knocked the pools out for a significant portion of the last two years. Even as recently as last month, pools have been in a state of rolling closures. I've been using this solution to keep up my swim fitness - working my way through episodes of Arrested Development. Last year, I switched to a lower resistance band and concentrated on form, rather than trying to knock out any sort of cardio or higher resistance.
Somehow, we managed to have a 70.3 in Muskoka last year, and I had my best swim both in terms of time, and placing. Usually, the swim is my weak point (coming out mid pack), but I actually came out of the water well ahead of when I usually do (13th out of the water in M40) - to the point where I lost a place on the bike because I was so far ahead of my usual placing - not because I had a poor bike (I had a good bike too!), but because I was so far ahead of the usual groups of whom I'd put time into when I get out of the water. The best part is that despite not having optimal swim prep, I still felt like I could keep going. I also changed wetsuits, so I wouldn't give this DIY solution all the credit, but for me its definitely something that was beneficial.