I swim in a standard pool and count my time. However, in the summer, when the pool is hot, I cannot swim as fast as what I do in the other seasons.
For example, on a hot day, when the pool was about 30℃, my 100m interval was at least 2 seconds slower than normal.
More recently, I attempted to do a USRPT set of 50m's (target time 1', interval 1'15") a few days ago, and failed at the 22nd, 28th and 34th. However, after the hurricane, I did the same set again and completed all 40x50m's offered. I don't think it is possible to have such a large jump in performance in less than a week, and the only plausible reason may be the difference in the pool temperature before and after the hurricane.
Is it true that the pool temperature can cause such a large difference in performance?
Yes, pool temperature has a HUGE effect on performance. Your body's cooling depends almost entirely on maintaining a temperature differential between your skin and the surrounding environment. On top of that - in their air, you have the additional cooling advantage of convection (think: the fan in your A/C unit blowing hot air away from the cooling coils) that you don't get in water.
Side question: is 40x50s race pace with 15 seconds rest really a USRPT thing? That seems rather... excessive.
Yes, pool temperature has a HUGE effect on performance. Your body's cooling depends almost entirely on maintaining a temperature differential between your skin and the surrounding environment. On top of that - in their air, you have the additional cooling advantage of convection (think: the fan in your A/C unit blowing hot air away from the cooling coils) that you don't get in water.
Side question: is 40x50s race pace with 15 seconds rest really a USRPT thing? That seems rather... excessive.
