25 m vs. 50m

Eike Laspe said:

I started my outdoor season in a 50 m pool today. For the last 8 months I was swimming in an indoor
25 m pool. But what happened to my times??? In the 25 m pool I did 15 x 100 m with 1:20 on 100 and
30 sec. rest (1:50 interval) The times in the 50m pool rose dramatically by 10 (!) sec. on 100m (I
tried 10 x 100 and could barely swim the 100 in 1:30)!!! What's the deal? The water in the outdoor
pool is quite cold as compared to what I was used

The cold can definitely be a factor, though probably not for a short sprint.

How good are your flip turns? In a 50m pool you only get one, instead of three. Mine are
nonexistent, so I'm faster in the longer pool. Most of you, as well as elites, are faster in the
short pool.

On the same track, your body may be used to have that brief rest during the flip every 17 seconds.
You would quickly adjust to this though, so if this were the cause, it should fade with the next
few sessions.

Last, is the pool different with regards to the gutters and lane dividers? Does the indoor pool have
a smoother, calmer surface?

--
Jason O'Rourke www.jor.com

Eike Laspe said:

The times in the 50m pool rose dramatically by 10 (!) sec. on 100m (I tried 10 x 100 and could
barely swim the 100 in 1:30)!!! What's the deal?

I only trained in a 50m pool once, and it does feel like you're never going to get to the wall.

In your old pool, you have three chances to flip-turn, push off the wall and glide for several
meters. Now you only turn and glide once.

Donal Fagan AIA Donal@DonalO'Fagan.com (Anglicise the name to reply by e-mail)

||Eike Laspe wrote:
|| I started my outdoor season in a 50 m pool today. For the last 8 months I was swimming in an
|| indoor 25 m pool. But what happened to my times??? In the 25 m pool I did 15 x 100 m with 1:20 on
|| 100 and 30 sec. rest (1:50 interval) The times in the 50m pool rose dramatically by 10 (!) sec.
|| on 100m (I tried 10 x 100 and could barely swim the 100 in 1:30)!!! What's the deal? The water in
|| the outdoor pool is quite cold as compared to what I was used to. But can that be an explanation?
|| Have you experienced similar problems? Thanks for your help, Eike

Is your 25 m pool really a meter pool? Your 10 second delta is about what you would see going from
short course yards to long course meters. 80 seconds for 100 yards would convert out to about 90
seconds for a
100m ( 80x 1.1 + 2secs for 2 turns missed). Maybe just a coincidence!

Just an aside, an old timer like me (48 yrs old) has competed in many different length pools here in
the U.S. I've competed in a 20 yd pool (not common but it was a long time ago ~ 40yrs ago), 25 yd
(most common), 25m (not very common), 50 yd (not common at all but I competed in one 38 yrs ago) and
50 m (common for competition pools). I swam in a pool once that was a spring fed lake that had
concrete walls and bottom added. You had to take a boat out (or swim) to get to the starting blocks
for the 50m races. The starter was on a floating platform.

Thanks eveyone for your help, I appreciate that. As all of you have mentioned already.. it's
probable just a matter of training. And there are many little things that add up to the slower times
in the 50 m pool.
- Less flip turns
- less "breaks" in between
- colder water
- rougher water I also found the bottom of the outdoor pool to be very "smooth" as compared to the
tile-floor indoors. So you get almost no indication of your speed...and that's probably just
another factor thats slows down the times. Thanks again, Eike

||Ghost Rider wrote:

|| Just an aside, an old timer like me (48 yrs old) has competed in many different length pools here
|| in the U.S. I've competed in a 20 yd pool (not common but it was a long time ago ~ 40yrs ago), 25
|| yd (most common), 25m (not very common), 50 yd (not common at all but I competed in one 38 yrs
|| ago) and 50 m (common for competition pools). I swam in a pool once that was a spring fed lake
|| that had concrete walls and bottom added. You had to take a boat out (or swim) to get to the
|| starting blocks for the 50m races. The starter was on a floating platform.

Oh, I almost forgot. I swam at a Georgia State AAU meet once at Ft. Benning Ga. Yes, the military
base. It was a long course and the meet was to qualify for Regionals. It turns out that the pool was
actually 55yds long! About 4 inches longer than a 50m pool.

"Eike Laspe" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Thanks eveyone for your help, I appreciate that. As all of you have mentioned already.. it's
probable just a matter of training. And there are many little things that add up to the slower
times in the 50 m pool.
- Less flip turns
- less "breaks" in between
- colder water
- rougher water I also found the bottom of the outdoor pool to be very "smooth" as compared to the
tile-floor indoors. So you get almost no indication of your speed...and that's probably just
another factor thats slows down the times. Thanks again, Eike

Swimming 50 metres, the rolls royce of lengths is a totally different all around experince to the
shorter distance. Mentally and physically there appears to be a letdown in the second half of the
fifty and certainly, swimming a hundred the wall seems far off towards the end, as you begining
training at this distance. Previously I only swam fifties. Then, in good shape, and adapted to the
distance, the metres flashed by. Stepping up from the shorter distance is the problem.

"Ghost Rider" <ghostriders[removethis]@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

||Eike Laspe wrote:
|| I started my outdoor season in a 50 m pool today. For the last 8 months I was swimming in an
|| indoor 25 m pool. But what happened to my times??? In the 25 m pool I did 15 x 100 m with 1:20
|| on 100 and 30 sec. rest (1:50 interval) The times in the 50m pool rose dramatically by 10 (!)
|| sec. on 100m (I tried 10 x 100 and could barely swim the 100 in 1:30)!!! What's the deal? The
|| water in the outdoor pool is quite cold as compared to what I was used to. But can that be an
|| explanation? Have you experienced similar problems? Thanks for your help, Eike

Is your 25 m pool really a meter pool? Your 10 second delta is about what you would see going from
short course yards to long course meters. 80 seconds for 100 yards would convert out to about 90
seconds for a
100m ( 80x 1.1 + 2secs for 2 turns missed). Maybe just a coincidence!

Just an aside, an old timer like me (48 yrs old) has competed in many different length pools here
in the U.S. I've competed in a 20 yd pool (not common but it was a long time ago ~ 40yrs ago), 25
yd (most common), 25m (not very common), 50 yd (not common at all but I competed in one 38 yrs
ago) and 50 m (common for competition pools). I swam in a pool once that was a spring fed lake
that had concrete walls and bottom added. You had to take a boat out (or swim) to get to the
starting blocks for the 50m races. The starter was on a floating platform.

I agree with Ghost Rider. Most swimmers are going to be a couple seconds quicker because of the
turns, but 10 seconds is a lot.

Where do you live? If you live in the US, then that indoor pool is probably yards. If you live
elsewhere, it is probably meters.

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden]

(mckinnon) said:

"Eike Laspe" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Thanks eveyone for your help, I appreciate that. As all of you have mentioned already.. it's
probable just a matter of training. And there are many little things that add up to the slower
times in the 50 m pool.
- Less flip turns
- less "breaks" in between
- colder water
- rougher water I also found the bottom of the outdoor pool to be very "smooth" as compared to
the tile-floor indoors. So you get almost no indication of your speed...and that's probably
just another factor thats slows down the times. Thanks again, Eike

Swimming 50 metres, the rolls royce of lengths is a totally different all around experince to the
shorter distance. Mentally and physically there appears to be a letdown in the second half of the
fifty and certainly, swimming a hundred the wall seems far off towards the end, as you begining
training at this distance. Previously I only swam fifties. Then, in good shape, and adapted to the
distance, the metres flashed by. Stepping up from the shorter distance is the problem.

an interesting thread, and one which i find timely given that i'll be doing my first triathlon swim
next Saturday. in all of my training i've been using 25m pools. i guess that i sort of count on that
touching of the wall at the end of each lap. hopefully this won't be an issue in the race, when they
remove the <bulkhead? or whatever that pool divider is
called> and the race swim becomes 50m laps. i've been practising a bit
with NOT touching the wall to get used to the concept. hopefully i won't get psyched out by that
difference in the race.

Cam