Comments on: Reduce speed a little. Save a lot.

By: Terry Laughlin

Terry Laughlin — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 01:33:11 +0000

Haschu – Certainly a useful insight for distance swimming. I’ll be mindful of that on April 17 when I swim 24 miles in the Tampa Bay Marathon.

By: haschu33

haschu33 — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 07:35:18 +0000

Great analogy! Yes, air resistance and water resistance both increase by the power of 2 if you double speed, if I am not totally wrong here.
I am driving a VW T5, that is the latest version of the VW van, not available in the US, as far as I know. Also with a Diesel TDI engine. My mpg (had to convert my liters/100 km to miles/gallon) can come up to 30, usually is about 25. Regarding that it is the camper version with a weight of more than 2,5 tons and that can still run at 180 km/h (appr. 110 mph) this is quite a good value. But a mpg of 50 is not accessible for me. I don#T know about the US, but the mpg (or liters per 100 km) is one of the most important issues in cars here, more than the speed it can run at.
I am delighted to hear that there are people in the US who are concerned with energy saving not only in swimming but also in gasoline!
I did some tests when I had my Volvo V70 on my usual drive to work and back. It is drive of about 45 km (=28 miles) with about 17 to 18 miles of Autobahn, most of it without speed limit. Once I drove not faster than 100 km/H (a little more than 60 mph), the other time whatever was possible meaning up to 120 mph and more. The time saved was 3 minutes in an appr. 45 minutes drive. The usage in gas (and my nerves) was considerably higher, about 20-30 % more. Basically not worth it.

By: Terry Laughlin

Terry Laughlin — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:40:34 +0000

There certainly may be occasions when an increase in pace is called for. The question is how long will that need to be sustained and can it be sustained. The advice on slightly lowering speed to find a more sustainable pace is directed to the great majority of open water racers who swim at an unsustainable pace early then spend the bulk of the race swimming more slowly. Many people would find their overall time better if they started out a bit more slowly.

By: Christian

Christian — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 21:49:25 +0000

I understand your message. But what if you are facing some fairly significant currents — such as crossing the Chesapeake Bay or Alcatraz — then you have to keep up a pace in order to stay within the course. Lowering the pace may not be an option.

By: Alan

Alan — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:52:27 +0000

Great ‘analogy’. I’m always looking for a way to drive this point home. So many feel that “conditioning”, to absorb that extra effort is enough!