Does anyone else ever have the perception that each pool has one direction that is "faster" than the other? I swear that this is true, but can't really imagine the physics of why it would be so. In particular, it seems to me that going from the deep end to the shallow end almost always seems "faster" than going from the shallow end into the deep end. I speak specifically of 25 yard pools with one end about 12 feet deep and the other end about 3-4 feet deep since I have little experience with anything else. In all cases, the water jets are symmetrical in placement and seem to be pushing out the same amount of water (roughly). These are also indoor pools, so there are no wind effects and we aren't talking about when the water buffalo...err... water aerobics people are creating tsunami in the shallow end.
Or am I crazy? (No cheap shots on that one.)
-LBJ
Tom, I was laughing also. :D
Originally posted by kaelonj
when swimming towards the west you would be swimming against the earths rotation so it would appear faster than swimming to the east where you would be swimming with the rotation. : )
So that is why my evening swims are faster than my morning swims... I must be swimming in the direction that the earth is rotating around the sun! Thanks for clearing that up, Jeff.
Swimshark, no John is gone. He is still in the area, but not with us. A few months after I started with the team he got a job with AAA Pools. As of right now, yes I plan on being at Nats in Aug. If I do miss, it will be because I am out of the country on business. I am trying to rearrange my schedule to be there!
Leonard:
Great question….!
I believe pools are sometimes faster swimming one direction then the other. In fact, I swam in two pools in TX where this was the case and both were caused by (previously posted) water jets pushing water in one direction more then the other. We tested both pools and found they were slightly faster in one direction then the other.
In reality, and partly based on the other thread going strong on this discussion forum, I believe pools are faster due to the VO2 Max phenomenon. I.e.:…As I previously posted, when swimmers use VO2 Shampoo during swims, it has much the same effect as dimples on a golf ball in flight. However, special care must be taken when VO2 Max is used during swims because swimmers can actually end the race before they begin if they use to much VO2 Max shampoo. Of course, my theory regarding VO2 Max is just that, it is theory, and much of my theory is as valid as some of the thought process posted regarding blood vessels in arms and all of that type stuff.
Lastly, it is my experience that often the “pool demons” pull swimmers they like in one direction faster then the other because they have specific bus/swimmer pulling routes they must adhere to while assisting swimmers in their care. Again, this theory is simply a microcosm of the thought process surrounding blood vessels in certain swimmers being superior to others. And, this does not take into account the vast amounts of swimmers who have swam for life that cannot rely on the theory that they have a competitive advantage due to their life long swimming. Of coarse, the use of VO2 Max shampoo will greatly hinder the swim demons from assisting you during your pool swims because they do not like the sting it puts in their eyes, thus times in one direction will equal the other during use of VO2 Max shampoo.
We had this discussion a while back, our theory had to do with the direction the pool was built - when swimming towards the west you would be swimming against the earths rotation so it would appear faster than swimming to the east where you would be swimming with the rotation. : )
Thank you Beth....but......who said I was kidding.....
was not, was to, not, to, not, to....
hey, who's delusion is this anyway? Mine, no mine, no mine...yours, mine...
Ah, the JStars. I loved watching them fly and do touch and goes. When I swam at Aquanauts pool 3 years ago, there was an assistant coach, John F., I think. He also lifeguarded in the mornings. Is he gone? He did a lot to get my technique back after a 10 year leave from swimming.
Will you be going to Nationals in Savannah? I'm planning on it since my family still lives in Atlanta and I'll get to see them, too.
Originally posted by aschueler
Since we tend to time ourselves anyway, I thought it would be neat to see if it is just perception or truly a change in speed.
I have to agree with this. Maybe it is the perception of speed, like the way flying in a plane at altitude feels slower than when you are just above the runway.
I would figure it would be slower going from deep to shallow, rather than the other way around. I am thinking about the ocean moving towards a beach, and you start getting waves breaking, and currents as you get shallower.
Faster going from deep end to shallow end.
I have a reason. In my case the deep end is 7 feet the shalloy is 3 or 4.
Competition pools are always over 6 feet deep for the olympics and such. This from the fact that folks did a test and found that at 6 feet, there is no disturbance at the bottom from swimming at the surface.
And this matters how? Drag. Apparently it's somethign to do with pressure waves bouncing back up off of the bottom of the pool. Really I don't remember the details but you can readily find out why world championship poolsare 5 feet plus.
Now as to why it would be faster one way. Speed at the wall. The pushoff is the fastest part of the lap; the part where drag matters the most. So going one way you have no drag off of the bottom during the pushoff, on the shallow end you have lots of it.
Same as why you have to be most streamlined at the beginning of your pushoff, cause that's when speed is the highest and the resultant drag from being out of streamline is highest.
I've noticed not in time but rather stroke count. It takes one more stroke to cover the pool on base from a pushoff going one way than it does the other.
Originally posted by Kevin in MD
Competition pools are always over 6 feet deep for the olympics and such. This from the fact that folks did a test and found that at 6 feet, there is no disturbance at the bottom from swimming at the surface.
And this matters how? Drag. Apparently it's somethign to do with pressure waves bouncing back up off of the bottom of the pool. Really I don't remember the details but you can readily find out why world championship poolsare 5 feet plus.
There's absolutely no question that deep pools are faster. I'd be surprised if six feet is the cutouff for no disturbance, though. I would think it would be substantially more. Maybe ten feet or more.
