I'm still just a newbie to competitive swimming and wondered if other swimmers have experienced one training pool MUCH faster than another. And I mean SCY/SCM pools, not difference between SC and LC pools. There is one pool where I train, SCY, and I am uniformly 8-10% slower than in the pool where our team trains (also SCY). It's almost as though it is a SCM pool.
Nearby SCM pool, I have the expected times converting SCM to SCY. Now I've been a runner for over 35yrs. Never had one track SO much slower than another and consistently so. Temp in the "slow" SCY pool is consistenty lower (75-76degF) than the other two (79-81degF).
And yes, I have thought of actually measuring the slow SCY pool, community pool folks insist it is 25y!
Former Member
In addition to water temperature, there are other factors that will affect the quality of the pool such as: The Depth and width of the pool, the efficiency of the gutters, the lane markers, the number of people swimming in the pool, the width of your lane, etc.
However, the consistency of being 8-10% slow in one pool over the other is curious. One way to tell is by stroke count (no one knows you are measuring). :)
Of course if you are the type that does not care what others think, perhaps an official measurement will solve this Scooby Doo mystery.
Keep us updated.
It's not surprising that one pool is 'faster' than another, but that is big difference in speed. If you look, there are quite a few articles on the internet about what makes pools fast or slow.
You mentioned that the slow pool is colder than the others. Is it uncomfortably cold for you? Most swimmers do better in slightly cool water, but if you're shivering, that would explain why you are swimming slower. Another big factor is waves. If the water is too rough for any reason (bad gutters or lane ropes, too many people, etc.), you will probably be slower.
An additional possibility - Are you using your own watch or the pace clocks at the pools? If you're using the pace clock, there is a small possibility that it is going at the wrong speed at the "slow" pool.
Or could it be because you're not training with your team? Many people can push themselves much harder when they are with a team than by themselves (I know this is often true for me). I know this is a lot of possibilities, but hopefully something here will be helpful.
Interesting, I've swum in pools where there is also what seems like a small current that pulls me to one side or the other slightly at some point in the lane; weird feeling. I thought it was because there was a strong jet somewhere near the area, but in some cases it happened in one of the middle lanes, near the center of the pool.
For awhile I thought it was just me, and I noticed it especially when I was using a kickboard. Also some pools I've used have had slippery walls which make my turn push much weaker and slow me down quite a bit.
lane lines can also make a big difference.
Before I started swimming I never would have thought that there'd be a difference in speed from one pool to another, but I've learned my lesson! :D
We have a "current" in our pool. It goes counterclockwise due to how the pool circulation system was designed. If you are in lanes 1 or 8 it is very noticeable and it affects me about 10% on my times between going one way and the other long course. Other pools I've been in have funny circulation that causes little eddys around side ladders that tend to pull you into the side of the pool. I haven't done any stats to see if any of these are correlated to which moon phase/tides or thought about if being in the northern hemisphere matters.
;)
