One Hundred Practices & I Need A New Suit!

It has become apparent to me I need a new bathing suit. There comes a time when a suit starts to noticeably sag as it loses some of its elasticity. It’s more a question of modesty as the suit ceases to stretch over the body but instead sticks to it like a second skin. But I’m a little bewildered at how quickly my blue Speedo jammers wore out. I went through the numbers and I’ve only used the suit around a hundred times. I distinctly remember getting a new swimsuit at the beginning of each new year as a boy, and that same suit would last me a full season or more (some 250 plus practices). Perhaps I wore them a little longer than I should’ve, but still. It seems now I’ve researched the problem modern bathing suits utilize Spandex (aka Elastane in most of the world) to provide the desired stretch and tight fit. The problem with this miracle fabric is it doesn’t do very well in the presence of chlorine. Ah heck, let’s be blunt about this – chlorine eats Spandex. I’ve also learned heat just accelerates the deterioration, so those times after practices sitting in the hot tub socializing aren’t without cost! Now I need to get a training swimsuit, which have the advantage of a considerably lower percentage of chlorine soluble material and consequently lasts much longer in a chlorinated environment. And here I thought training swimsuits were just cheap suits when in fact they’re actually designed for extensive pool use! In my browsing I’ve also learned for a few dollars you can buy chlorine neutralizers to wash your expensive racing suits with and thereby extend their lifespan. At prices ranging from $70 for an Aquablade jammer to over $400 for the new Fastskin FSII full body racing suits those neutralizers sound like a good deal. Ah well, live and learn.

Picture shows Amanda Beard modeling a Speedo Fastskin FSII. I’m not sure what’s more intimidating, the suit or Amanda Beard inside it. I’ll have to study it some more.