Anyone give up on swimming to the pace clock and find comfort in just lap swimming for exercise? I have never swam any other way than intervals even after a 20 year layoff.
But I have been on a three month downward spiral. I'm so far out of shape that the couple of workouts I tried were so discouraging that I just want to quit. Yet I swam in a lake last week and felt pretty good. Went to the pool today and intended to just try to swim for 30 minutes straight but damn that clock - swam 6x200 on 4:00. Three months ago I could do 10 on the 3:30 in my sleep and 10 seconds faster per. I just don't want to do this anymore at least not now to even get back to that point. I wouldn't mind just trying to swim a 5k this summer nice and slow instead of competing. I pretty much just need the exercise to lose some weight and be healthy. Yet compteting was what always had motivated me even if it was just against myself and the clock.
So did anyone take this tact and live to tell me how awesome it is? You burn more calories, no more flip turns, no more clock, just swimming.
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I'm so glad you brought this up! I prefer to swim like this, too, when I can. I love the weekends when the pool is quiet, it's LCM, and the sun is shining in through the windows and gently making patterns on the bottom of the pool. Swimming long and strong on days like that is just so awesome and feels so good. I still do the workout, but i don't do it for time, just to swim it. Usually by the end I will do a bit of the pacing/speed stuff, but that's after an hour or so, and it feels better at that time since I'm all loosened up. I used to swim with a Swimman and loved listening to Enya or other soothing music while I did long and strong. I still would if I didn't know so many darn people at the pool to talk to these days. :)
I still chase my friends some days during the week, and that's alright and fun, too, but I think my body feels better after just swimming for myself. It feels more like a nice long run in the woods, you know? I don't like to race when I jog, either, so why should swimming be so much more different?
I'm so glad you brought this up! I prefer to swim like this, too, when I can. I love the weekends when the pool is quiet, it's LCM, and the sun is shining in through the windows and gently making patterns on the bottom of the pool. Swimming long and strong on days like that is just so awesome and feels so good. I still do the workout, but i don't do it for time, just to swim it. Usually by the end I will do a bit of the pacing/speed stuff, but that's after an hour or so, and it feels better at that time since I'm all loosened up. I used to swim with a Swimman and loved listening to Enya or other soothing music while I did long and strong. I still would if I didn't know so many darn people at the pool to talk to these days. :)
I still chase my friends some days during the week, and that's alright and fun, too, but I think my body feels better after just swimming for myself. It feels more like a nice long run in the woods, you know? I don't like to race when I jog, either, so why should swimming be so much more different?
