Barracuda Swim Goggles

When I was in middle school, I competed (briefly) on a swim team.  I was always a decent swimmer, but having, again, not a speck of athletic talent, I was never really competitive.  However, I enjoy swimming and I know that I can get ready for a shorter triathlon by swimming a few times a week over the winter.  The one thing I didn't like in school was chlorine in my eyes when I swam.

With that in mind, I bought some Barracuda swim goggles.  They are a simple pair of standard goggles.  Now, usually, goggles don't fit me well because I have a hobbit-sized face (to go with my hobbit-sized body).  There are enough people in the family, though, that I knew that if I couldn't wear them somebody could.

I didn't need to worry, though - they are great.  No water leaking in around the eyes, no discomfort - they worked really well.  I didn't even have the tell-tale red marks around the eyes like swim goggles used to cause. 

I did find that my vision was a little blurry in them during the swim.  Now, I am extremely near-sighted, and cannot really do anything without my glasses or contact lenses.  So, I took my glasses off in the locker room and opened my goggles in the pool room.  And, yes, my vision was a little blurry during the swim, but I also have an astigmatism, so I thought that that might be the problem.  The astigmatism, strangely enough, resembled letters.  This was a new one, but the lighting wasn't terribly bright in the pool room, so I thought perhaps it was an optical illusion.

The letter-astigmatism didn't bother me one bit during the swim - the goggles worked beautifully, and I finished my swim without any problems.  And then I got back into the locker room and put my glasses on to put the goggles away.  I'll be darned if there weren't letters on the eye-pieces of those goggles!  "Protective Film - Remove Before Use" - yup, I did the WHOLE SWIM with the protective film in place!  That's how blind I am, people - I couldn't even see those letters without my glasses on.  And I am very grateful that there was no one else in the pool room that morning!

So, I highly recommend Barracuda if you are in the market for swim goggles.  Just take the protective film off before you use them!

Big Fat Greek Marathon Fund: $62.50

Goal: Unknown (they send out information in February)
Days until next race: 34 (Disney!!!)