I'm starting this blog to document this toy and just see where it will take me in my swimming without touching the fluid stuff. And why?
This past summer not once did I swim in a pool to train, unless it was a race my toes would touch the water. Compared to the the season before where I did have the luxury of training during the day, my thoughts are given the time spent in the pool and travel/set up time to swim compared to no training, my times are only minutes slower. Therefore for the time/cost factor I was better off without traing in the pool and spent the time in the run and bike. Being in mind the longest race was olympic distance and most of the races are swim 700m, bike 15k, run 6k. Even though I won the sprint series for a third time, had I spent the time in swimming
While under suspended driving for too many speeding tickets, back in January 2014 I was riding home from a triathlon race only to be side swiped by a car towing a trailer. The driver did not make room while I rode the bike lane boundary line to pass a parked car in the bike lane ahead of me, consequently the mudguard leading steel edge punctured the right upper calf requiring about 15 stitches. The upshot of this I lacked the nerve function to lift the foot. So with this in mind and the wanting like everybody else to squeeze in the time to train. Vasa was the only cost effective option. I did consider a lap pool ....too expensive....an above ground pool....but not long enough and the cost of running it. I did think of a rowing machine and then modify it to work like a vasa but given the lack of local resources. So I trolleed the internet for months and months and months. For six months on forums, ebay, craigslist, gumtree et al. Then one day on CL during the northern winter Bingo! An ergo in Florida and $600 USD. Despite other attempts on CL no one wanted to go to the extra effort to ship to my San Diego forwarding address. This dear woman prepared to ship and wanted it gone asap. I knew my last bike shipment two years ago cost me $400 so figure this into the cost, plus her time and boxing costs I would be $2000 ahead when compared to a new one.
So it cost me
$600 to buy it,
$150 to box it
$400 for shipping
$125 for customs.
Three months later, the toy arrives at the start of the Australian winter just a the time when the rains started. Having moved my treadmill and computrainer into the tractor shed, the cold mornings and out of sight -out of mind attitude I had given up on any training. Now moving the tools back to the garage recently carpeted from one of my rental properties. Three tools sit side by side. I now have the what many dream of having in their own pain cave. My commercial treadmill new was $5000, i purchased at a gym auction for $1200 ideal for the rehab training I need when I underwent minicus surgery. The computrainer bought on CL when living in San Diego paid $500, and now the swim trainer.
I don't have the luxury of a pool close to home, but I do have the luxury of hills for riding, but then the roads for running are more suitable to being a mountain goat. And I hate the cold. The area is 4-5C colder than the city of Adelaide
| ready to unpack |
| well it was worth the cost after all no damage |
| All in one car bay! |
| a tight squeeze |
Initial observation in the assembly was straight forward putting the pieces together. Obviously gave it 10-15 test and sure the resistance is there and confirms others reporting the narrower window for training due to the increased resistance. Spent my evening idle time to look at vasatrainer.com , forums blogs, and YouTube videos for clues on strength training and ultimately training programs.
What I have found though is when it comes to the initial resistance the ergo is not set up like the trainer where you can using the angle of the beam with gravity to build initial muscle strengthening. I am thinking to set up the ergo with the pull up bar/cable pulley system up front, then modify the rear stanchion to make it adjustable where I can make it shorter.
So now I will log the workouts as best as I can using my Garmin 910xt watch with the on-board power meter.
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