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Re: Real swimmers don't wear a watch [Eerke] [ In reply to ]
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I absolutely wear one when I OWS!

"The person on top of the mountain didn't fall there." - unkown

also rule 5
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Re: Real swimmers don't wear a watch [synthetic] [ In reply to ]
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I wear a watch because I like the data being recorded accurately, although it’s more comfortable to swim without a watch. I go between briefs and jammers. I like the freedom of movement with briefs, but jammers do give compressive support and are a little faster in the water. I also use more swim equipment than ever. I find that nothing helps with technique and isolation than drills. It also breaks the monotony of swimming, provided you use the equipment as a tool and not a crutch.
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Re: Real swimmers don't wear a watch [mwanner13] [ In reply to ]
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I not a classically trained single sport swimmer...but swimming for me is a lot like when I run. Usually doing a lot of thinking even when I'm focused on counting laps, so recording the data is pretty important.

Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.
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Re: Real swimmers don't wear a watch [JasoninHalifax] [ In reply to ]
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JasoninHalifax wrote:
Speedos are awesome. You shut yo mouf.

Problem with Speedos is that I have to shave that much higher, which I am deathly afraid to do.
Have to watch that bikini line. ;)
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Re: Real swimmers don't wear a watch [Eerke] [ In reply to ]
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Eerke wrote:
I have a Platysens Marlin that I backed on Kickstarter. The brain bit goes on your goggles under your swim cap. It talks to you using bone conduction with a bit on your cheek bone. No inside ear bit or wrist bit.

I wouldn’t recommend it for pool swimming if you bilateral breathe and keep your head still: I regularly trick it into thinking I’m at pool end. It can beep for each stroke/length & count time though so not entirely useless. Awesome for OWS: the brain has GPS in it & you can set it to tell you your pace every 50m. For example I had no idea the wind made such a big difference even though you’re mostly underwater. There is a GPS waypoint thing, but I don’t find that useful.

So yeah, I’d recommend for OWS & stroke/length rate in the pool, but not for getting accurate live pool swim feedback.

The other advantage, I’ve just thought, of is that it synchronises with my online swim training app (swim smooth guru) so I don’t need to try and remember drills/sets as it tells me what is next. If they sorted the mistaken pool end thing in a firmware update it’d be awesome.


Thank you for being the only person not to troll derail the point of this thread. This product looks great. My main use would be for the pool, so how inaccurate was it? I currently use a garmin 920, and bad stroke or turn can ruin the count
Last edited by: synthetic: Oct 25, 18 11:11
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Re: Real swimmers don't wear a watch [synthetic] [ In reply to ]
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Honestly, it depends entirely on how you swim. If you breath only on one side it is as good as any wrist one. It can get confused if you change strokes or pause to avoid other swimmers, do drills etc.

If you breath every 3 arm strokes and keep your head still between breaths it sucks and you are better off with the wall clock. You can set it to buzz every predicted length speed to help with pacing and if you want to manipulate your stroke rate it can be a metronome.

So really, not sure I’d recommend it for pool swimming unless you personally keep your head moving. The remembering training plans is quite useful though. I just set it the dings to a cadence I want to maintain for the session and ignore the paces it says when it is bonkers.

It can say the time of day and swim time so if you know your pace you can tell roughly how far you’ve gone.

I’ve told them about the mistakes. They seem nice. I think they’re possibly going to fix it on a firmware update, but the risk then is that people don’t glide out of turns long enough and it misses other peoples’s laps. Most people only breathe on one side…
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Re: Real swimmers don't wear a watch [synthetic] [ In reply to ]
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This product looks great. My main use would be for the pool, //

He just told us all it doesn't work in the pool very well, why would you want something that doesnt work perfectly? Because a pace clock with the exact measurements of the pool, works perfectly each and every time. And from the responses, seems like no device works well enough for the pool as of yet, OW sure. I think once you throw in all the turns and different strokes with kicking and drills, there just is nothing that records all of that. But OW swimming does seem to lend to these devices.


There is a guy on another thread that is working on some app where you use your iPhone at the end of the lane, so looks like watches will become obsolete in the pool before they even become a common item!!
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Re: Real swimmers don't wear a watch [monty] [ In reply to ]
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monty wrote:
This product looks great. My main use would be for the pool, //

He just told us all it doesn't work in the pool very well, why would you want something that doesnt work perfectly? Because a pace clock with the exact measurements of the pool, works perfectly each and every time. And from the responses, seems like no device works well enough for the pool as of yet, OW sure. I think once you throw in all the turns and different strokes with kicking and drills, there just is nothing that records all of that. But OW swimming does seem to lend to these devices.


There is a guy on another thread that is working on some app where you use your iPhone at the end of the lane, so looks like watches will become obsolete in the pool before they even become a common item!!

Pace clock calculations can get annoying for long swims... Say 1500m TT. Guess swimmers are real good at math
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Re: Real swimmers don't wear a watch [monty] [ In reply to ]
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So how am I tracking in the pool? To be honest I'm a horrible lap counter once I get past certain stuff. Which is why I wear a watch.

Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.
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Re: Real swimmers don't wear a watch [synthetic] [ In reply to ]
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I started swimming @ 6 through high school. Started back up in my late 50's for triathlons. Use a 920xt and it seems to me to work just fine as long as you don't miss a flip turn. I also use the hrm designed for the pool. Maybe I just got lazy but not "all" real swimmers don't wear a watch ;)
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Re: Real swimmers don't wear a watch [Fuller] [ In reply to ]
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Fuller wrote:
African or European ;)

Heheehehehe
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Re: Real swimmers don't wear a watch [TheStroBro] [ In reply to ]
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TheStroBro wrote:
So how am I tracking in the pool? To be honest I'm a horrible lap counter once I get past certain stuff. Which is why I wear a watch.

If you go into the workout with a pre-defined set, you just have to break it up into different sections and keep track of those sections. I tend to do it by 100s or 50s for the longer stuff for each part of the workout.

E.g.
Section 1: Warm up
400m swim
8x50m drills/kick/pull

Section 2: Main set
8 x 200m on 3:00
(count by 200s, shouldn't lose track of laps in a 200)

or for a longer set:

1000m swim (count by 100s)
2 x 500m 1 pull, 1 swim (count by 100s)
4x 250m 1-4 progressive (count by 50s)
10x100m CSS (count by 100s)

Warm down

you know what the total meterage should be before you get in the pool, and you only have to keep track within each section.

Not sure if this is addressing your question, but just giving an example.
If your workout just consists of swimming laps straight, I'd recommend you look at changing up your workouts.
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Re: Real swimmers don't wear a watch [The59Swim] [ In reply to ]
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The59Swim wrote:
TheStroBro wrote:
So how am I tracking in the pool? To be honest I'm a horrible lap counter once I get past certain stuff. Which is why I wear a watch.

If you go into the workout with a pre-defined set, you just have to break it up into different sections and keep track of those sections. I tend to do it by 100s or 50s for the longer stuff for each part of the workout.

E.g.
Section 1: Warm up
400m swim
8x50m drills/kick/pull

Section 2: Main set
8 x 200m on 3:00
(count by 200s, shouldn't lose track of laps in a 200)

or for a longer set:

1000m swim (count by 100s)
2 x 500m 1 pull, 1 swim (count by 100s)
4x 250m 1-4 progressive (count by 50s)
10x100m CSS (count by 100s)

Warm down

you know what the total meterage should be before you get in the pool, and you only have to keep track within each section.

Not sure if this is addressing your question, but just giving an example.
If your workout just consists of swimming laps straight, I'd recommend you look at changing up your workouts.

I do those, but would like now to do long TT swim 1km , 1500m, 1 mile (1800yd). Kind of upset my last mile race mised goal time by 4 sec
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Re: Real swimmers don't wear a watch [OneGoodLeg] [ In reply to ]
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OneGoodLeg wrote:
Durhamskier wrote:
Fuller wrote:
African or European ;)


You have to know these things when you're King.


You can also tell because he hasn't got shit all over him...

Om my god thanks for that. And you know what also floats in water? Very small rocks! ;)
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Re: Real swimmers don't wear a watch [synthetic] [ In reply to ]
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For longer swims I break the swim into quarters. 1000m - 4 x 250m , count the first 250m when you finish start again and so on till you finish 4 - 250m and presto you've swam 1000m. Also check out http://www.sportcount.com it is the best timing for pool swims , it's a finger watch that goes on your index finger and you start, stop , lap with your thumb. Use the pool clock for your repeat times and rest intervals. 🏊🏊🏊

"Be your best cheerleader , not your worst critic.”
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Re: Real swimmers don't wear a watch [monty] [ In reply to ]
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monty wrote:
This product looks great. My main use would be for the pool, //

He just told us all it doesn't work in the pool very well, why would you want something that doesnt work perfectly? Because a pace clock with the exact measurements of the pool, works perfectly each and every time. And from the responses, seems like no device works well enough for the pool as of yet, OW sure. I think once you throw in all the turns and different strokes with kicking and drills, there just is nothing that records all of that. But OW swimming does seem to lend to these devices.


There is a guy on another thread that is working on some app where you use your iPhone at the end of the lane, so looks like watches will become obsolete in the pool before they even become a common item!!

Until it doesn't work perfectly and instead sticks semi-randomly. That's always fun to figure out. And watches are already a common item; most of the people in the pool I use are tri geeks with either a 935 or a Fenix 5. The situation is probably different at masters' practice, of course, but they're quite common in their target market.

The point is, ladies and gentleman, that speed, for lack of a better word, is good. Speed is right, Speed works. Speed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit.
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Re: Real swimmers don't wear a watch [Toby] [ In reply to ]
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I’d consider myself a real swimmer and started wearing a watch this season...it’s so much easier to track the data and sometimes when you do 5x250s you lose count. Besides the occasional WHACK on the lane line it’s been great

That being said - drag suit is the only way to go. Anyone here saying jammers is just wrong...there is no in between here, sorry
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Re: Real swimmers don't wear a watch [Eerke] [ In reply to ]
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hmm wonder what happened with this company? (xmetrics)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOQhMvV0fQs
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Re: Real swimmers don't wear a watch [synthetic] [ In reply to ]
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synthetic wrote:
monty wrote:
This product looks great. My main use would be for the pool, //

He just told us all it doesn't work in the pool very well, why would you want something that doesnt work perfectly? Because a pace clock with the exact measurements of the pool, works perfectly each and every time. And from the responses, seems like no device works well enough for the pool as of yet, OW sure. I think once you throw in all the turns and different strokes with kicking and drills, there just is nothing that records all of that. But OW swimming does seem to lend to these devices.


There is a guy on another thread that is working on some app where you use your iPhone at the end of the lane, so looks like watches will become obsolete in the pool before they even become a common item!!

Pace clock calculations can get annoying for long swims... Say 1500m TT. Guess swimmers are real good at math

Doing the math has always been a greAt way to grind away at the pain and boredom. Pace math, random math, mentally replaying movie scenes over and over. It all helps.

As for attire, in the day it was always speedo, and then drag shorts topped by a second speedo to keep it all in place. A terrific look all the way around.
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Re: Real swimmers don't wear a watch [chriskal] [ In reply to ]
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chriskal wrote:
synthetic wrote:
monty wrote:
This product looks great. My main use would be for the pool, //

He just told us all it doesn't work in the pool very well, why would you want something that doesnt work perfectly? Because a pace clock with the exact measurements of the pool, works perfectly each and every time. And from the responses, seems like no device works well enough for the pool as of yet, OW sure. I think once you throw in all the turns and different strokes with kicking and drills, there just is nothing that records all of that. But OW swimming does seem to lend to these devices.


There is a guy on another thread that is working on some app where you use your iPhone at the end of the lane, so looks like watches will become obsolete in the pool before they even become a common item!!


Pace clock calculations can get annoying for long swims... Say 1500m TT. Guess swimmers are real good at math


Doing the math has always been a greAt way to grind away at the pain and boredom. Pace math, random math, mentally replaying movie scenes over and over. It all helps.

As for attire, in the day it was always speedo, and then drag shorts topped by a second speedo to keep it all in place. A terrific look all the way around.

Pace clock is the only way I can count to 1500m/1650y in practice. When I raced, I only had my counters put in a few numbers to keep me on track. 200, 500, 800, 1350-end.

"The person on top of the mountain didn't fall there." - unkown

also rule 5
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Re: Real swimmers don't wear a watch [synthetic] [ In reply to ]
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I never heard of it. Looks quite similar to the Marlin, which I got the impression was a novel idea, so they probably didn’t know of it either. I think the inspiration was the reports of poor GPS from watches that are only intermittently over water and people putting them in their swim caps. I prefer the conduction sounds though as you kinda want to be able to hear and talk to people, particularly in open water when you get sailing boats.

There seems to be the impression above that I said it doesn’t work well in the pool. I only said for me. Most of the people I see in the pool move their head a lot. I suspect the thresholds set on it are targeted at the majority. This being a triathlon forum I suspect more than average may fool it. Really I think it would be best to test it. If you live in London and go to the London Aquatic Centre (50m Olympic pool) then you’re welcome to borrow it for a bit when we are there. If you can though I’d suggest doing endurance swims in the open water; perpetually bouncing off each end like a pinball gets tedious. I didn’t know you could in London until I found out a nearby reservoir lets swimmers in at the weekend before the youth clubs go sailing.

I saw the phone thread. Don’t like it. Had a single finger paddle nicked. Would not trust a phone not to be. What annoyed me most was that they took 1 paddle, thereby ensuring neither of us could use them. I also don’t like watches as I never figured how to look at them without stopping. You can have a go on push off but then you use your face as a brake. Although the Marlin makes occasional mistakes you know about them (if you turn on announcements) as you think “I’m swimming still: why is it saying I swam 50m in 14 seconds”. You can then subtract a length from its running total. It’s only the data upload that needs correcting.

If it made loads of mistakes then I guess you could lose count of how many, but as an example - last night before getting loads of cramp I swam 1600m and it messed up once even though there were some breathe every 4 stroke drills. It has had worse days though. Never so bad I lost count of them though.
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Re: Real swimmers don't wear a watch [TriSolo] [ In reply to ]
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TriSolo wrote:
JasoninHalifax wrote:
Speedos are awesome. You shut yo mouf.


Problem with Speedos is that I have to shave that much higher, which I am deathly afraid to do.
Have to watch that bikini line. ;)


Shaving is difficult! I just started for deep tissue massage in physical therapy (not like I felt the need to explain my style preference or anything). I thought I did a pretty thorough job.....I missed like half of my calf, the entire circumference of my knees and most of my ass (piriformis massage, okay?).

Edit: Sorry OP, completely unhelpful.

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https://connect.garmin.com/modern/profile/domingjm
Last edited by: domingjm: Oct 26, 18 8:55
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