Gordo's Guide to Going Long - Part Four

Gear for Going Long

My goal with this chapter is to help you make informed decisions about where to focus your money, when it comes to gear.

I don’t have any gear sponsors and have bought everything I write about in this chapter.

The contents of my swim gear bag

Swim

If you’re on a tight budget then suit, goggles, cap and snorkel. I can always find fins and flotation in the lost and found, especially if the pool has a kids’ swim team.

Suit: One piece suit for everyone, guys and gals. Tighter is faster. You don’t need to spend here. All the major brands are good. Personally, I like black speedos.

Goggles: Keep it simple. Find a make/model that's comfortable and doesn’t leak. I always have clear and dark lens option in my swim bag. Wash them with mild soap after you swim and the rubber will last longer.

Cap: Silicone swim caps are warmer, and last longer, than rubber. They also make a nice piece of emergency kit if you are riding in bad weather or the high mountains. You’ll feel a bit silly when you put one on under your helmet but a swim cap has kept me warm on some miserable point-to-point rides.

Paddles: Start small and never use a paddle size that causes your elbow to drop below your wrist. You must be able to keep your elbow over your wrist during the power phase of your stroke. I have used Strokemaker Paddles for many years.

I have raced ÖtillÖ World Champs with 1s. I use Size 2 paddles for my daily training. If in doubt then size down.

Snorkel: Buy one because the way our stroke feels is often not the way it is. A snorkel lets you see what’s happening with your pull pattern. Speedo Bullet Head is the easiest model to clear due to its lack of a vent at the base.

Flotation Gear: While I recommended you size down the paddles, the opposite holds true for your pull buoy. Size your buoy up. Why? Because it gives you an option to swim truly easy. We want you to do lots of easy swimming to improve your metabolic fitness, and give you the cognitive capacity to improve your stroke mechanics.

Flotation Clothing: As mentioned in our Swim Chapter, consider a wide range of flotation options. I use Roku Flotation Shorts, Xterra Lava Pants and a sleeveless wetsuit. This gives me small, medium and large flotation options depending on my goals for the day. Subscribe to the Xterra marketing email list. They are the best value wetsuit/flotation supplier I’ve found and have frequent sales.

If swimming exhausts you then you will swim less.

Get yourself some flotation, lower your average intensity and swim more.

Band: This is a simple piece of advanced training equipment. Get yourself an old inner tube, cut the valve out then tie a tight double loop. It goes around your ankles when swimming band only, band & buoy (BB) or band/buoy/paddles (BBP).

Lotions & Potions: Pool swimming hammers our hair and skin. I use TriSwim Body Wash and SheaMoisture Body Lotion. Those links are to Amazon. They’re a bit expensive compared to the alternatives but work great and last a long time.

Fins: I use DMC Elite 2 fins. They’re silicone and don’t rip my feet up as much as traditional rubber fins. I like fins for easy swimming and to open up my legs when they are beat up from running & cycling.

Gear Bag: I use the Speedo Ventilator Deluxe Gear Bag. It’s a mesh bag so everything dries out quickly. I loop two speedos around the top loop, clip a padlock and have a small carabiner with my padlock key and YMCA scanner card. In the large pocket I have everything I need for a shower. All I need to remember is snacks, fluids and a towel.

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For cold water consider ear plugs to reduce the chance of vertigo & sea sickness. Also, get yourself a neoprene cap, which makes a surprising difference. When using the neoprene cap, the order I wear my gear is goggles then neoprene cap then silicone cap. If you get to a swim venue and don’t have a neoprene cap then double capping will help. In that case, put the smallest cap on first, then goggles then the larger cap.

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Bike

20 year ago. My wife, in the wind tunnel, a couple weeks after a 2nd place finish (overall) at Ironman New Zealand. We were both 2nd that day (to Cam Brown and Jo Lawn). We are going to talk about Monica’s position and bike setup.

Your first bike is unlikely to be your last bike.

Your first bike is unlikely to be your ideal bike.

So…

Spend Less Than Your Budget: Consider a used road bike, with mechanical shifting, from a major brand.

Unsure what size to get? Rent different bikes/sizes from your local bike shop. Take time to learn your measurements as bike rentals are a great way to stay active when traveling away from home.