Small struggle going on here. My normal pool has shortened their hours for the winter months, ridiculously from 11am-1pm and then from 2-4pm. And you loose 30 minutes each time while they remove the pool cover.
All not lost. I can drive 40 minutes to the neighboring YMCA that has an indoor pool and use that pretty much anytime. It's a little shorter, 25yd vs 25m. But the major issue seems to be water temp. I believe the pool is very close to 90 degrees, feels warm, bathwater warm, when I get into it. Also it appears that the pride of this pool is their synchronized swim team and I believe this is the reason for the warmer temps (along with the water aerobics for the senior crowd). Each group is great in their own respects, but I am wondering how to survive these higher temps? I am sort of high maintenance when it comes to too hot... or too cold.
My primary goal is distance as I train for open water events. I am not a sprinter, nor do I train for pool meets.
I didn't even connect it until today when I struggled with a 2500yd workout and I normally do 5Km. I got out of the pool and felt a little "wobbly" on the deck.
Anyone else deal with this?
Thanks!
There is an old story that goes something like this. If a frog hops in a pot of water and you raise the temperature very slowly, it will stay in the water regardless of how hot the water becomes. It acclimates to the temperature. We swimmers can be the same way if we adapt to the conditions.
30 years ago, the YMCA pool had temperature control issues that lasted for several years. Sometimes the water would reach 92 degrees. At first, it was pretty uncomfortable, so we added time to our intervals, decreased intensity, and focused on technique (distance per stroke, extreme push-offs, etc.). I also looked at this in a similar way as training at altitude or for runners in hot climates. The added stress would improve my physical conditioning. It all worked.
After 3 - 4 weeks, we adjusted and it did not seem as hot. Getting in the water was far easier, joints/muscled ached less, technical things were easier because we were relaxed, and I did not overheat in meets when the water was cooler. In the end, my times were substantially better. And, for me anyway, at the end of my 5,000 yd practices when I was pushing 160-170 heart rate for much of it, I would often be shivering because my body had gotten very good at shedding heat.
What we thought was going to be a huge detriment to our training actually became a huge benefit because we adapted and focused on the most important aspects of our training. I ended up training as hard as anytime in my life and had the fastest times as well.
Perhaps this will help you see the possible benefit of a situation that is typically considered bad for swimmers.
Good Luck.
There is an old story that goes something like this. If a frog hops in a pot of water and you raise the temperature very slowly, it will stay in the water regardless of how hot the water becomes. It acclimates to the temperature. We swimmers can be the same way if we adapt to the conditions.
30 years ago, the YMCA pool had temperature control issues that lasted for several years. Sometimes the water would reach 92 degrees. At first, it was pretty uncomfortable, so we added time to our intervals, decreased intensity, and focused on technique (distance per stroke, extreme push-offs, etc.). I also looked at this in a similar way as training at altitude or for runners in hot climates. The added stress would improve my physical conditioning. It all worked.
After 3 - 4 weeks, we adjusted and it did not seem as hot. Getting in the water was far easier, joints/muscled ached less, technical things were easier because we were relaxed, and I did not overheat in meets when the water was cooler. In the end, my times were substantially better. And, for me anyway, at the end of my 5,000 yd practices when I was pushing 160-170 heart rate for much of it, I would often be shivering because my body had gotten very good at shedding heat.
What we thought was going to be a huge detriment to our training actually became a huge benefit because we adapted and focused on the most important aspects of our training. I ended up training as hard as anytime in my life and had the fastest times as well.
Perhaps this will help you see the possible benefit of a situation that is typically considered bad for swimmers.
Good Luck.
