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?
