• Replies 8 replies
  • Subscribers 11 subscribers
  • Views 1821 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Options
Related

Wow! First time in a competition pool - what a difference. Anyone else?

67King

Transitioning from mostly a solo swimmer in a 4' deep, 3 lane pool with slab sides at the local Gold's gym to actual Masters practices.  Have done some 25M stuff with one team, but have started with a different team.  First team was great, but most folks there are tri-athletes, and the practices seem geared a little more towards that.  This team is mostly pool swimmers who are training for meets, etc.  So this team is a better fit for my goals.  Been at it a couple of weeks after recovering from my first bout with COVID.

Anyhoo........so I'm now in a real pool.  8' deep, good gutters, lane ropes as big in diameter as basketballs, and not set at 84-86 degrees.  It is U. of Tenn pool, FWIW.  First time I go out, my stroke count is 1-2 strokes fewer than Gold's.  My "cruise" pace is 1:15/100, rather than 1:20.  Wow, I knew the pools made a difference, I always just assumed it was for racing.  But training is huge, too.  I still haven't gotten back to pre-2020 levels (fighting life's clock vs getting back to a good training regimen), especially with Fly or sprinting.  But man, I was blown away by the difference.

Anyone else experience anything like that?  Is that typical, or maybe the team environment is a bigger factor?

Parents

  • I train in a pool somewhat similar to yours at Gold's Gym.  It's a 5-lane pool with two lanes roped off.  The depth is 5 feet at the deepest, and the water temp. is 83-84.  When I go to another pool to race, my times are always faster than my practice times due to the pool being faster and cooler.  I always love that! 

    On December 9, I was in a SCM meet at Georgia Tech.  It was a big shock to the system to swim in a 78-degree pool with cool indoor air.  As much as I loved it at the time, my body didn't.  I have dysautonomia and Raynaud's, so my internal thermostat got whacked out.  I've been paying for it ever since with my body temperature ranging from 95.6 at night to a peak of 97.3 during the day.  (My normal is 98.1).  I also experienced 4 hours straight of severe muscle spasms and Restless Leg Syndrome late at night, the next night after the meet.  It was a living hell!

  • in reply to Elaine Krugman

    I am so sorry you had that experience. That sounds miserable .I haven't had any experience nearly that bad, I have always been sensitive to cold and have found warm ups in 78 degree water to be problematic. I agree 78 degrees is faster for racing and I have never noticed the water temperature during a race, but the warm up is another issue. As I get older I can't just warmup with any real pace at first and sometimes, if the water and air are cool, I feel colder by the end of "warmup", not warmed up. At my last meet I had a race I really wasn't satisfied with after such a "warmup" so for the rest of the meet I did dryland warmups and had much better results.

Reply
  • in reply to Elaine Krugman

    I am so sorry you had that experience. That sounds miserable .I haven't had any experience nearly that bad, I have always been sensitive to cold and have found warm ups in 78 degree water to be problematic. I agree 78 degrees is faster for racing and I have never noticed the water temperature during a race, but the warm up is another issue. As I get older I can't just warmup with any real pace at first and sometimes, if the water and air are cool, I feel colder by the end of "warmup", not warmed up. At my last meet I had a race I really wasn't satisfied with after such a "warmup" so for the rest of the meet I did dryland warmups and had much better results.

Children
  • in reply to Allen Stark

    Interesting.  I guess I got somewhat used to colder water when COVID hit and I did a lot of open water stuff.  But I typically have the opposite problem.  The gyms here just keep the water too warm.  I tried one gym when Gold's was having issues.  3 day pass - day 1 was 88, day 2 was 89, and I was so dehydrated that I felt horrible, and didn't bother with day 3.  But now I love the cooler water.  At Gold's, Ill go through a quart water bottle in a 3-3500 yard workout.  Cooler water, less than half that.

    But......I will say this (and I offlined with Elaine about this), fins are a problem.  I've done a bit of fly, and the intervals and distance with tthe "choice" sets are too much, so I've added fins so I can do more of the fly, and I have had issues with my calves cramping.  Never had that issue with the hot water.

  • in reply to Allen Stark

    Thanks, King Frog.  At 2010 Nationals (where we met!), remember how the dive tank was the warm-up pool?  It was warmer than the competition pool.  When that's the case, and when the air isn't cold, I'm fine racing in a cool pool.  I prefer it over warm water, for sure!  For this meet, they wouldn't let us get in the dive tank after the dive team that was practicing left, because there wasn't a lifeguard to staff it.  We were stuck (trying!) to warm up on the other side of the bulkhead in the 78-degree water.  Everybody around me in the bleachers complained about the cold air and water.

    I'm still trying to recover.  My doctor had to put me on a prescription for Restless Leg Syndrome until it gets under control.  Thankfully, it worked; and, I finally got some good sleep the last two nights!  My temperature is still off, though; it was 96.2 when I returned from my morning swim (in the warm, indoor pool!).

    King Frog, happy holidays to you, Seal Girl, and your family!

    67King, I'm looking forward to seeing you and Princess at our pool tomorrow!