More info on the open water vs. pool issue

Radioactive Man said:

for triathlons up to the olympic distance or half ironman. Due to heavy rains making the lakes here
muddy and full of floating logs, trash, etc., I've only been out in the open water about 3 or 4
times this year. Today, I had the opportunity to swim in an outdoor 100M

Bummer with the rains - definitely wise to stay clear of them. Aside from the logs and debris you
get a spike in pollutant levels with the runoff. That's also true here with river runoff into the
oceans but the effect tends to get cleared away quickly.

--
Jason O'Rourke www.jor.com

"Radioactive Man" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I've spent most of my 10,000 - 12,000 yds per week of winter and spring swimming in an indoor 25
yd pool for the purpose of training for triathlons up to the olympic distance or half ironman. Due
to heavy rains making the lakes here muddy and full of floating logs, trash, etc., I've only been
out in the open water about 3 or 4 times this year. Today, I had the opportunity to swim in an
outdoor 100M pool.

I realize a 100 M outdoor pool does not have the same conditions as open water, but it certainly
is closer to the real thing than an indoor 25 yd pool because you're swimming 4.37 times farther
before you get to push a wall. In order to test the importance of training in the conditions in
which you will be racing, I decided to do a short timed swim in the 100 M pool for comparison to
those I've done in the 25 yd pool. My most recent 1000 yd time was 16:23, so I entered that into
the swiminfo.com site to give me a predicted 800 M time in a 50 M pool of 14:50. Since they don't
have an estimate for a 100 M pool, I would say that it should be 14:58, using the 1 second per
turn rule. My actual time today was 15:05, which I did without really using an all-out or even
optimal level of effort. Last year, it took me about 17 minutes, so it is clearly better to train
in a small pool than none at all.

Now, for the more subjective aspects of it, I must admit that I did not feel prepared for this
long course swimming. Compared to short course swimming, I didn't have a good feel for what the
level of effort should be. I felt the muscles in my upper thighs fatigue more quickly from kicking
than they would in a shorter pool. I noticed that it took much longer to recover if I started
breathing too heavy. Toward the end of the 800 M, I also had to fight hard against the tendency to
"slouch" in the water. My arms and upper body did not fatigue. Except for having black lines to
follow and having clear water, it was pretty much the same as open water swimming.

My advice to anyone planning open water events, but forced to train in a pool is to pick as big a
pool as you can find and practice taking some sighting (loping?) strokes every 10 strokes or so.
Also, try doing some timed pieces a bit longer than the race you're planning. For example, if
you're planning a 1500 M open water swim, then you should be swimming some occasional 2000 yd
continuous swims if you're training in a 25 yd pool, since 10% or more of that 2000 yds is done
with momentum from the wall push.

Where did you find a 100M pool? I've never heard of such a thing.

I believe he means a 50 m pool. 100 m woud be back and forth? I've never seen a 100 m pool, except
maybe in custom built houses.

adam

"King of the Cows" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Radioactive Man" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I've spent most of my 10,000 - 12,000 yds per week of winter and spring swimming in an indoor 25
yd pool for the purpose of training for triathlons up to the olympic distance or half ironman.
Due to heavy rains making the lakes here muddy and full of floating logs, trash, etc., I've only
been out in the open water about 3 or 4 times this year. Today, I had the opportunity to swim in
an outdoor 100M pool.

I realize a 100 M outdoor pool does not have the same conditions as open water, but it certainly
is closer to the real thing than an indoor 25 yd pool because you're swimming 4.37 times farther
before you get to push a wall. In order to test the importance of training in the conditions in
which you will be racing, I decided to do a short timed swim in the 100 M pool for comparison to
those I've done in the 25 yd pool. My most recent 1000 yd time was 16:23, so I entered that into
the swiminfo.com site to give me a predicted 800 M time in a 50 M pool of 14:50. Since they
don't have an estimate for a 100 M pool, I would say that it should be 14:58, using the 1 second
per turn rule. My actual time today was 15:05, which I did without really using an all-out or
even optimal level of effort. Last year, it took me about 17 minutes, so it is clearly better to
train in a small pool than none at all.

Now, for the more subjective aspects of it, I must admit that I did not feel prepared for this
long course swimming. Compared to short course swimming, I didn't have a good feel for what the
level of effort should be. I felt the muscles in my upper thighs fatigue more quickly from
kicking than they would in a shorter pool. I noticed that it took much longer to recover if I
started breathing too heavy. Toward the end of the 800 M, I also had to fight hard against the
tendency to "slouch" in the water. My arms and upper body did not fatigue. Except for having
black lines to follow and having clear water, it was pretty much the same as open water
swimming.

My advice to anyone planning open water events, but forced to train in a pool is to pick as big
a pool as you can find and practice taking some sighting (loping?) strokes every 10 strokes or
so. Also, try doing some timed pieces a bit longer than the race you're planning. For example,
if you're planning a 1500 M open water swim, then you should be swimming some occasional 2000 yd
continuous swims if you're training in a 25 yd pool, since 10% or more of that 2000 yds is done
with momentum from the wall push.

Where did you find a 100M pool? I've never heard of such a thing.

King of the Cows said:

"Radioactive Man" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I've spent most of my 10,000 - 12,000 yds per week of winter and spring swimming in an indoor 25
yd pool for the purpose of training for triathlons up to the olympic distance or half ironman.
Due to heavy rains making the lakes here muddy and full of floating logs, trash, etc., I've only
been out in the open water about 3 or 4 times this year. Today, I had the opportunity to swim in
an outdoor 100M pool.

I realize a 100 M outdoor pool does not have the same conditions as open water, but it certainly
is closer to the real thing than an indoor 25 yd pool because you're swimming 4.37 times farther
before you get to push a wall. In order to test the importance of training in the conditions in
which you will be racing, I decided to do a short timed swim in the 100 M pool for comparison to
those I've done in the 25 yd pool. My most recent 1000 yd time was 16:23, so I entered that into
the swiminfo.com site to give me a predicted 800 M time in a 50 M pool of 14:50. Since they don't
have an estimate for a 100 M pool, I would say that it should be 14:58, using the 1 second per
turn rule. My actual time today was 15:05, which I did without really using an all-out or even
optimal level of effort. Last year, it took me about 17 minutes, so it is clearly better to train
in a small pool than none at all.

Now, for the more subjective aspects of it, I must admit that I did not feel prepared for this
long course swimming. Compared to short course swimming, I didn't have a good feel for what the
level of effort should be. I felt the muscles in my upper thighs fatigue more quickly from
kicking than they would in a shorter pool. I noticed that it took much longer to recover if I
started breathing too heavy. Toward the end of the 800 M, I also had to fight hard against the
tendency to "slouch" in the water. My arms and upper body did not fatigue. Except for having
black lines to follow and having clear water, it was pretty much the same as open water swimming.

My advice to anyone planning open water events, but forced to train in a pool is to pick as big a
pool as you can find and practice taking some sighting (loping?) strokes every 10 strokes or so.
Also, try doing some timed pieces a bit longer than the race you're planning. For example, if
you're planning a 1500 M open water swim, then you should be swimming some occasional 2000 yd
continuous swims if you're training in a 25 yd pool, since 10% or more of that 2000 yds is done
with momentum from the wall push.

Where did you find a 100M pool? I've never heard of such a thing.

The outdoor city pool in Oak Ridge, TN. I realize that 100 M is not an official distance, but I have
been told that by the staff, have once counted steps across it, and have compared my times in it
with those in 25 yd and 50 M pools. All data are consistent with it being 100 M.

It is a large spring-fed pool (and about 72 ºF this time of year) with an island in the center that
is sometimes used to set up a short course. The only downside is that the 100 M section is only
reserved for lap swimming from noon to 1 on weekdays. I go on weekend mornings and/or rainy
afternoons when it is not crowded with non-swimmers.

"King of the Cows" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Where did you find a 100M pool? I've never heard of such a thing.

Kitts pool in Vancouver is just over 135 metres.