By Cortney Martin, Age Group Triathlete, Team USA, Endurance Films Racing Team member
Time for a morning pool swim! Set the alarm, pack the kids’ lunches, make the coffee, eat breakfast, drink the coffee, pack up my pool bag and swimsuit, scrape ice off the car windshield, get in the car, drive to the pool, fumble for pool pass, stash my gear, change into swimsuit, pull out my goggles and cap, walk to the pool, dip a toe in the cold, jump in, share a lane, swim and turn, swim and turn. Mixed-stroke warm-up, main set with drills and intervals, record times, count strokes (lose count), cool down. Out of the pool, wait for a shower, dry off, get dressed, out into the cold, into the car, and drive home. 2600y. Time elapsed: 1:45.
Time to train on the Erg! Walk upstairs, change into shorts, turn on the radio, grab a towel. Mixed stroke warm-up, drills, program in intervals, work toward specific power, pace, or stroke rate, cool down. Mop up the sweat from the floor. 1800m. Time elapsed: 0:33.
With just 24 hours in my day, two kids, one husband, a dog, two cats, a job, and three sports, there is no extra time. The Vasa Swim Erg has allowed me to expand my swim training in an extremely efficient and effective way…and it’s a lot of fun!
Vasa provides a cost calculator that enables one to determine the dollar value of time and gas savings by training on Vasa equipment. Mine worked out to $2250 savings a year at 3 swims per week. You can’t put a price on the sanity savings though. That is priceless! It’s much easier to find 30 or 40 minutes to fit in an Ergometer workout than to carve out an hour and a half or more to get to the pool. There’s no mom guilt of being gone (and the kids enjoy the Erg too) and I no longer worry about dangerous winter road conditions.
With the Vasa Swim Erg added to my bike trainer and treadmill I’m all set for at-home brick workouts too. Triathletes don’t shy away from investing in some serious bike hardware; they should consider the time and cost tradeoffs of investing in a Vasa Ergometer for dryland swim training to improve their swim stroke, freestyle power, and endurance…and race speeds!
Cortney Martin is an avid triathlete and a Guest Contributor for Vasa. Read more about Cortney and follow her on her blog, Cort the Sport.
