Hey all. So I've been swimming in a pool that I at first thought was 25 yards long. Then someone told me it was 27 yards. I learned today it's 29 yards. I think I knew that at some time, but somehow it got in my mind that it was 27. Who makes a 29 yard pool? Anyhoo, I don't time myself often, but I figured I'd time myself and do a proper calculation. Over 1,500 yards today, not including warmup laps, I was at 2 minutes and 3 seconds per 100 yards. So, essentially 30 seconds per 25 yards. Does that sound right? I can go all day, but I don't think I'm the fastest dude out there.

Respectable pace. That would put you at +/- 90 minutes for a FIM.

Well, it could be the military, or maybe a former hotel resort??? But I can’t say for sure about 29 yards. During my 20 years in the Navy, I encountered a few military bases that had rather old “fitness” pools that were 35 yards long (32.005 meters) that had been built during, or before WWII. That length didn’t equate to an equal number of laps/lengths of any standard race distance. I’ve read that there was a brief time in the U.S. where competition pools were being built at 33⅓ yards. This also is a length that some vacation resorts in the U.S. were using (maybe in an effort to also host swim meets). The Deep Eddy pool in Austin. TX is an example of this. So, at 33⅓ yards (or 100 ft) you’d swim three lengths for a 100 yard race. I’ve swam in a few other (public) fitness pools of odd length from 20 yards, up to 50 yards. But still the 35 yards seemed odd. Then I got transferred to Fort Meade in Maryland where they had another one of those 35 yard pools on the base. Someone there explained to me that in those days, the military built them primarily as water survival training pools for the troops. BUT, they made them the odd length so that outside organizations wouldn’t request to use them for meets since the odd length couldn’t be used for records. Eventually, the pools got turned over to the base recreation department (MWR) who’d set it up as a fitness pool. At that pool in Maryland, they put Jersey barriers in the shallow end to make the lanes exactly 25 meters. between the barriers and the wall, that provided a shallow pool for kids to play in without distrusting lap swimmers. Sorry about the history lesson. But maybe it explains the 29 yards of your pool. — Dan

There's a ton of SCM (Short Course Meter) pools out there that would be a bit of 27 yards. I've also seen a few older pools that are 33 yards (There's one at a local club). I also will occasionally swim in a 50M tank that has a bulkhead that they move. So when it is "set" for 25 yards on one side, the other side is a really random length somewhere around 30 yards.

29 yards sounds odd to me, but if it's not a pool used for competition then there's really no hard reason to stick to a standard distance.

It's odd. But the lesson, I think, is that I have to figure out how to move faster through the water without compromising my endurance capabilities. I just looked at my last Oly time, it was 34 minutes for 1500 yards. But I wasn't wearing a wet suit, and I waited at the back of the start line to let everyone get way ahead of me (we all started in the water.) I also took my sweet-arsed time with the turns and stopped to help some dude that looked like he was drowning. I also got kicked in the face quite a few times (as we all have.) But still, I think I can get my time down. I have to go see a pro for some tips.

Depending on the race organizer of that Oly you mention, and certainly if the course isn’t ”certified” (I can’t find any USAT rule regarding course length certification)…you might take the swim distance with a grain of salt. I volunteered once at a “USAT certified” Oly. When I got to the venue early that morning, the director asked me to go out in the boat with him to set the marks for the swim. He didn’t have any GPS, or other measuring device/system. At one point he just said “This looks good. Throw it out here.” (meaning the turn buoy marker and anchor). I thought to myself there’s NO WAY that’s 1500 meters out-and-back. And sure enough, all the competitors reported really fast swim times. So unless a racecourse ‘length’ is somehow certified (as opposed to an event certification) its length is a crapshoot. — Dan

No you don't. You just need to adjust your expectations to a 25 meter pool, which as others have stated is the likely length. I swim 25 yard and 50 meter at my local recreation center. I know my 100 yd free time should be just under 1:50, my 100 meter about 2 min. Depending on which pool I'm in, I set my Garmin Instinct watch to the correct pool length.

My understanding is that it can be a NCAA competitive pool, which is a 50 meter length when long course, or very common is high school length which is usually 25 yard short course. I sometimes swim at our county aquatic center, built for the Goodwill Games maybe 25 years ago. It's an 8 lane 50 meter and longer as it has 2 bulkheads to vary pool length. They usually have it setup for 16 lanes of 25 yards, then 6 lanes in side to side setup that are 25 meters. Go figure.

I did a "Cal Tri" sprint once, it was one of those "super sprints" with the 400 yard swim. They lined up all the competitors, sprint and Oly. I was standing next to some dude I knew and asked, "does that look like 400 yards to you (between buoys.)" We both estimated it to be about 250-300, max. I decided to just go balz out and swam like a madman. I don't see how any of these organizations are measuring the distances correctly.

That's what I did. I took an actual 1450 yards swam (29 yard lengths x 50 laps), which came in at 29 minutes and 45 seconds. Then I had ChatGPT calculate it how fast I was swimming every 25 yards, and it came to almost 31 seconds. So, just about 2 minutes per 100 yards. I think that with a bit of professional direction, I can knock 5-10 seconds off my 100 yard time. There's got to be a few things that I can be doing better.

Can you measure the lane dividers with a tape measure and multiply or something similar? I would want to know for sure because it makes a difference in this case.

Or ask a pool manager. Pretty sure they would know as they need to tell any teams that rent for practice and swim meets.

how do the length of the lane dividers figure in?

Better than no pool

Many lane dividers alternate colored sections all the way across, so I figured you could measure one section with a tape measure and multiply to get the total length of the lane. Measuring the entire pool would be more direct but a bit awkward to actually do.

What is the facility name, and where exactly is this pool?

Dan

It's in a residential senior community, nestled far away in the hidden corners of the Coachella Valley.

Ahgg....I swim in two pools. One is the aforementioned 29-yard pool. The other is a 25-yard pool. Except, it isn't. I measured it today and it's 26.5 yards long! I've been timing myself at 100 yards over a 106 yards! I'm actually swimming a 750-yard short course at 1:50 per 100 yards, sans the wet suit. I can probably shave a few seconds off that with the suit. I figure with more pool time and a little coaching maybe I can get a little "fast"? Maybe?

How quick are you at getting the wetsuit off? In a 750 yards swim, will the few seconds you save wearing it be lost getting it off?

What’s the deal with odd-length pools in your area?

Dan

I have no idea. Other than the pools belong to community HOAs, which weren't so much concerned about proper lap-length as they were with simply providing a means for lap swimming. I did the 'ole "walking" it out measurement yesterday, and intend on using a proper tape measurer later. Something tells me it's actually longer than 26.5 yards. And I'm with you with the wet suit for a short swim. I won't use it on anything up to 750 yards. But on an Oly, I think it will be worth it. And it's not so much getting out of the suit that bothers me. It's the getting into it. What a PITA! What I'm doing now is focusing more on swim fitness and really developing my pull strength. I'm also running more and not really biking (not enough time.) But I hope that the focus on those two areas will translate into better performance on the bike also.

Well, FWIW…27.34 yards is 25 meters.

Dan

Maybe that's it! Maybe they used meters!

Do you guys ever practice with your wet suit in the pool or only in open water? I have a brand new suit and haven't used it yet. I think Waco will be too warm for it, but in that small chance it's allowable, kind of concerned I haven't had a chance to practice in it. There is one guy at the gym who swims in his wet suit. He has to ask people to zip it up in the back for him. I kind of feel it would be awkward swimming in the pool with it on.

I see people testing their wetsuit at the pool occasionally. Might make you feel odd. But is that better/worse than being unfamiliar with it entirely at the race?

Dan

I've done it briefly if I have a new wet suit (or if it's been a long time since I wore the suit). I will only wear it for a couple hundred meters, I'm not sure, but I doubt Chlorine is good for a wet suit. If I really want to test it out, I will go to the ocean and/or a lake where I can do a longer swim.