True to my SELF: I tried out the Olympic fast suit!

Lucy Danziger, True to my SELF, SELF Magazine
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Speedo, specifically our pal there, sent me a fast suit to try in honor of the Olympic trials and the fact that ALL the athletes, no matter who their sponsor, chose to wear the incredible sharkskin that was designed to minimize drag and make times faster in the water.

I had heard and read and was warned that it takes three people and 20 minutes just to get into the thing. Pull with a nail exposed and you could tear it-the trick was to inch it up from the ankles. Though it doesn't provide buoyancy like a wet suit, it does provide added sleekness. Getting it on wasn't quite a 20-minute drill, but at one point the crotch ended up too low on my thigh and the armholes looked like some kind of porno cutouts (near the chest, not the shoulder, if you get my drift), and I had to start all over again. Once I got it on all the way, arms in the armholes, shoulders around neck, I felt OK...until I needed help zipping it up. My hubby obliged, and when I was finally plastered into it, I have to tell you my lungs could not fully expand and my thought was: I know why the athletes are so fast in this. They can't breathe. The sooner they finish their race the sooner they can take a full breath. It's like body prison. Which felt fine on my flab, sucking it in and constricting the muscles, but my organs begged for mercy. Let me out. I want to be free again. OK, so perhaps the athletes' fit is a little different (they don't have any body fat, from what I can tell watching the swimming trials) but all around getting into this plastic wallpaper made me feel a little bit bionidddddc, like I was suddenly made of steel, a superhero ready to make my mark on the world, if not in the water in some future sci-fi movie (sign me up for Aquagirl!).

I did all this on Saturday, the day before my fourth annual Montauk sprint triathlon, so I didn't take it into the pool. My weekday swim training windows are short (about 45 minutes from start to finish) and bookended by walking the dog at around 6 A.M. and getting to my desk for a 9 A.M. meeting, so the prospect of investing 20 minutes in getting dressed beforehand (or doing my hair afterward, for that matter) was a deal breaker during training days. Saturday was a "fun" day and it was certainly fun to contemplate Dara and Natalie and all the women who wore this suit to make it to Beijing. They inspire me, just watching them move through the water like dolphins, amphibious beings who can breathe and propel themselves through water as easily as on dry land.

Then I watched a little Tour de France, where it was raining and the riders averaged about 26 mph, only slowing down from their top sprint speed of 33 mph to go around a scary turn and avoid a pileup crash within minutes of the finish line.

I love watching these sports on TV and only wish that year round we were treated to swimming, track and field, cycling and the like. I know the big four (baseball, football, basketball and hockey) are the male choice of viewing, along with golf, but this month I've been enjoying watching the sports I am more likely to do on a Saturday, including Wimbledon and the trials. I get more than inspired, I actually learn from watching. Like Dara, I plan to reach, reach, reach for the water in front of my hand. More after the tri. I'm hoping to do well in my age group. Inspired by the speed I have been watching and the age-defying act of a certain girl in the Speedo swift suit.

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