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[zyzzx]

I think the pool where I swim is too warm for "real swimmers"--about 84F--but man, does it feel amazing to me. My old Y--which was a terrific place--kept the pool at 81, and sometimes that was a little too cool for my knees.

At my pool 84 is the absolute lowest it gets - it's meant to be ~86. When I first arrived, I thought that was way too warm, until summer hit and our outdoor pool got up to 90 (with the air at 95). If you've never tried to swim in 90 degree water, I can assure you that it's not fun. I guess 81 would probably feel freezing to me now... 

[octoprof]

I think the pool where I swim is too warm for "real swimmers"--about 84F--but man, does it feel amazing to me. My old Y--which was a terrific place--kept the pool at 81, and sometimes that was a little too cool for my knees.

At my pool 84 is the absolute lowest it gets - it's meant to be ~86. When I first arrived, I thought that was way too warm, until summer hit and our outdoor pool got up to 90 (with the air at 95). If you've never tried to swim in 90 degree water, I can assure you that it's not fun. I guess 81 would probably feel freezing to me now... 

We had a record summer here. Up to 115f (which is way over the top for us) and basically 3 months of 100s+. The outdoor public pool is 50 meters and always has lanes for lap swimming but it's also very shallow. I think I was boiling in that thing in August, like a frog on for a slow boil. Bleah. Normally, I can swim continuously for a long time, but then, I had to stop every 100 meters just to let the heat dissipate a little

I do not like a hot pool. I want it to feel chilly so when I swim long and get warm I'm just getting warm, not overheated. Alas, no one here shares my philosophy. Makes me miss Octoville and the lovely perfect pool there.

[bibliothecula]

Octo, ugh! That is way too hot for me. Maybe for a hot tub, but if I tried to exercise in that I'd pass out right away.

zyzzx, the 86 sounds nice! I know some people complain about "bath water" temps for pools, but I like that range. I especially love it in the winter because my pool has windows all along one side and I can watch the snow or rain while being all warm and happy as I swim.

[octoprof]

Octo, ugh! That is way too hot for me. Maybe for a hot tub, but if I tried to exercise in that I'd pass out right away.

Exactly!

[zyzzx]

Octo, ugh! That is way too hot for me. Maybe for a hot tub, but if I tried to exercise in that I'd pass out right away.

zyzzx, the 86 sounds nice! I know some people complain about "bath water" temps for pools, but I like that range. I especially love it in the winter because my pool has windows all along one side and I can watch the snow or rain while being all warm and happy as I swim.

It does actually feel nice now. I'm kind of amazed how used to it I've gotten, because I was pretty horrified at the temperature when I first arrived.

I know what you mean about watching the snow. I lived in Iceland for a while, and the pool I swam in there was outdoors, but very warm (geothermally heated). So you get the experience of being in the nice warm water with the snow falling all around you; it was something. And there was certainly no dawdling when it came time to get in - you got from the locker room into that water asap (they even had to salt the decks to keep ice from building up).

Anyway, I'm off for a week of traveling, so there goes some of the progress I made last week...

[octoprof]

Did 1,900 yesterday with the "tri swim coach" (i.e. we swam together just to have a time and place to meet and someone expecting us to be there; no coaching involved). I actually did one length of butterfly (after a few laps here and there of fly drill amidst the usual freestyle). Wasn't sure I could handle it anymore (I used to be a good butterflyer but old age, injury, and fat get in the way, you know). So now, the morning after, I can feel it in my shoulders, but it's only a bit sore, nothing major.

So, this is the first week in a very long time I've swum four days. I'm going to try for four days again in the coming week. Yea. Nothing like last winter's mileage, of course, but not too shabby since I'm also on the bike trainer regularly lately.

[prof2be]

Not a very remarkable swim for me tonight, besides having a choking spell at the beginning - I just breathe too deeply sometimes. Poor coach was bit scared, but I was just glad he noticed! Otherwise I just followed the leader through different sets, obviously not paying much attention. But of course it was good to swim, especially since I was travelling for research this weekend, and decided on a shoulder bag rather than small trolley suitcase, so had pretty sore shoulders after hauling my bag on and off trains and around various towns.

One hotel had a pool, and I was surprised at how cold I found it, cold enough that I didn't stay long and hightailed it to the sauna. No clue what the temp was, and I'm a celsius girl anyway.

I'm hoping for one more swim this week, and generally hoping to manages two swims a week now.

[octoprof]

Had a generally crappy day. Met J for a swim at 5ish (actually I was late and she was even later). I got in and thought I'd do a slow 1,800 but the day stank so much, I swam a tempo 1,800 for time, instead. This was a good thing. It worked out some of my frustration over the day (think tornados, cheaters and, well, idiots) and gave me a benchmark time which was not as slow as I expected. I managed to keep the 50s around a minute average, and I'm pretty happy with that for this time of year and this body weight. I was also pleased the split times were pretty consistent (I get splits on my watch every 50, which I can't actually see very well until after I'm done). I had only two that were over 1:01, one was when I paused to speak to J and one was when I got a wave in the mouth right as I breathed and had to stop and take a second or three to spew out the water and gasp for air. I had a couple that were a little too fast and they all averaged out nicely.

Yea! Despite not swimming much until the past couple of weeks, I'm not as out of shape in the pool as I thought. All that cycling (mostly on the trainer) at least has spilled over to some swimming endurance (yea!). Since I don't kick much, I don't think it's a strength thing. 

J showed up when I had about 400 to go and I just paused ever so briefly to say "I'll swim on this side" and kept going.  When I finished, we did a very slow 300 or 400 of easy kicking and breaststroke pull so as to converse (she was ill over the weekend and wasn't going to swim hard anyhow).  That semi-hard long swim and that easy slow swim with conversation helped me get past the ugliness of the day. Thank you Lord!

[bibliothecula]

Octo, I'm glad the swim improved the day for you! I had a great swim yesterday and am looking forward to tomorrow's. My new meds seem to be helping in terms of my energy levels, and I love it!

[octoprof]

Octo, I'm glad the swim improved the day for you! I had a great swim yesterday and am looking forward to tomorrow's. My new meds seem to be helping in terms of my energy levels, and I love it!

YEA!

[bibliothecula]

Who's swimming this spring?

My local pool has been as warm as a bathtub, but after several days of the heater not working, I find I prefer being warm to being freezing. I'm up to about 45 minutes, three times a week. Since I've given up on counting laps for peace of mind, I have no idea how far that is, but it makes me feel good and worked-out after. I'm aiming to raise it to an hour in May-June. I just ordered two new suits, as my current ones are bagging in the front (um, yeah, those "soft cups"? they don't need to be covering my belly button), and new suits always make me happy.

[octoprof]

My pool has not been overheated this winter/spring, which is miraculous after last year. I'm swimming 3 or 4 days a week doing around 2,000 yards or so on average.

I'm swimming in two (alternating) Speedo endurance suits that have lasted two years now, which is amazing.

Keeping up with exercise by time is just as effective as by distance, bibliothecula, so don't sweat it!

[zyzzx]

I just went yesterday, for the first time in weeks. Did 2,000 meters, then decided that was enough.
I just keep finding excuses not to go. Outdoor pool season starts in a few weeks, which may bring a little more motivation.

Those Speedo endurance suits are great, they really last forever!

[bibliothecula]

Re: suits, I have had Speedos, Nikes, Tyrs, and now the Sportis. Speedos and Nikes didn't fit me so well, particularly in the arms--I was always getting chafed under the arm, and I think I was in the largest size--the straps just hit in a weird place. Tyrs are great for me, but the Sportis are half the price, and last just as long. The one thing I did like about the Tyrs over the Sporti suits is that the Tyrs had a "shelf bra" that was actually a compression band, which was minimizing and really comfy. The Sportis have the "soft cup" top, which is not as tight or minimizing. But it isn't enough to pay more--not at this point, anyway.

I think I'm doing about 2,000 yards at this point....I just learned that my pool is 75 yards long. (Why can't they use meters?!). I warm up for 10-15 minutes using the kickboard, and then I alternate breast and back for about 30 minutes and cool-down with a few more kickboard laps. This week I'm feeling tired, but I figure the more I do it, the more endurance I'll build up.

[octoprof]

Re: suits, I have had Speedos, Nikes, Tyrs, and now the Sportis. Speedos and Nikes didn't fit me so well, particularly in the arms--I was always getting chafed under the arm, and I think I was in the largest size--the straps just hit in a weird place. Tyrs are great for me, but the Sportis are half the price, and last just as long. The one thing I did like about the Tyrs over the Sporti suits is that the Tyrs had a "shelf bra" that was actually a compression band, which was minimizing and really comfy. The Sportis have the "soft cup" top, which is not as tight or minimizing. But it isn't enough to pay more--not at this point, anyway.

I think I'm doing about 2,000 yards at this point....I just learned that my pool is 75 yards long. (Why can't they use meters?!). I warm up for 10-15 minutes using the kickboard, and then I alternate breast and back for about 30 minutes and cool-down with a few more kickboard laps. This week I'm feeling tired, but I figure the more I do it, the more endurance I'll build up.

I don't believe your pool is 75 yards long...?  75 feet maybe (25 yards), but 75 yards would be a very unusual pool length. If you are in the US, 75 feet (25) yards is pretty standard for a lap pool. a 75 yard pool would be even longer than an olympic pool (50 meters).