Holy moly, I'm getting confused....
Like all of us, I learned early on that a mile is defined as 5280'. Simple math coverts 5280' to 1760 yards. But now I've read that a mile in the pool is 1500 meters, or about 1640 yards. :worms:
I swim at a pool that is 25 yards long, so is a mile 66 lengths (or 1650 yards) of a pool, or is it 70 lengths?
I've also heard folks referring to a lap as what I have always thought of as a length...again I swim at a pool that is 25 yards in length....so isn't a "lap" in this case 50 yards (down and back)?
Please set me straight!
:groovy:
This is a very interesting thread! I didn't know a true mile measure was 5280' or 1760 yards, but now I do! Unfortunately, I feel extremely resentful that the Breckenridge Recreation Center counts a mile as 1800 yards. So by the time I make the "50 mile club" and finally get my name on the wall, does that mean I will have swum an additional 40 yards (1800-1760) x 50 miles = 2,000 yards? It should be the 51 Mile Plus Club!! And that's at high altitude!
Length vs. Lap: very good question and food for thought. From now on, when I say "length", I will use a big hand gesture as a line segment. Very pronounced one way only. For "lap", I will make a big line and then a quick jerky motion, and then retrace the same imaginary line backwards to show it is indeed a two way deal.
So here's on more: Do you say "yardage"? Because it could be you are swimming meters, but no one says meterage. Yardage just means how far did you go, in either yards or meters, but I have actually often answered in rounded miles. Depending on who's asking, and the dead giveaway are beginning questions like , Do you win?, are you fast, can you beat Missy Franklin, then you might want to answer in rounded miles when asked how far can you go. I would say something like, I usually swim 2 miles a workout.
This is a very interesting thread! I didn't know a true mile measure was 5280' or 1760 yards, but now I do! Unfortunately, I feel extremely resentful that the Breckenridge Recreation Center counts a mile as 1800 yards. So by the time I make the "50 mile club" and finally get my name on the wall, does that mean I will have swum an additional 40 yards (1800-1760) x 50 miles = 2,000 yards? It should be the 51 Mile Plus Club!! And that's at high altitude!
Length vs. Lap: very good question and food for thought. From now on, when I say "length", I will use a big hand gesture as a line segment. Very pronounced one way only. For "lap", I will make a big line and then a quick jerky motion, and then retrace the same imaginary line backwards to show it is indeed a two way deal.
So here's on more: Do you say "yardage"? Because it could be you are swimming meters, but no one says meterage. Yardage just means how far did you go, in either yards or meters, but I have actually often answered in rounded miles. Depending on who's asking, and the dead giveaway are beginning questions like , Do you win?, are you fast, can you beat Missy Franklin, then you might want to answer in rounded miles when asked how far can you go. I would say something like, I usually swim 2 miles a workout.
