How not to get bored swimming lap after lap without stop?

Got a related question: when you swim long distance, is it usually exclusively freestyle, or do you alternate, do some breaststroke, for example?

Try splitting the total distance in intervals. For example 100m free with & without fins, 100 m kicking on your back and all sorts of variations. Add breastroke so you can emphasize your legs. Working with all four strokes will help you improve on your balance and propulsion. Additionally a lap counter (such as http://www.sportcount.com/) works wonders since the counter keep track of the total amount of laps while you worry about the laps for each interval. Also add paddles to your training as well as short and long blade fins. I typically cover between 1500 m to 4000 m a day on a SCM pool. As a last suggestion check out some DVD about swimming technique.

...so I wonder how come you don't get bored immersing yourself underwater doing the same basic thing repeatedly for an hour or more?.... breathing is a good thing to focus on. especially when under water for long periods of time. there are lots of Yoga practices that can enhance your understanding of breath. also... think of it as a zen meditation... focus on technique (as many have mentioned). not sure about what zen is about? try reading "Zen in the Art of Archery" by Eugen Herrigel en.wikipedia.org/.../Zen_in_the_Art_of_Archery ...a quote from this link: Herrigel describes Zen in archery as follows: "The archer ceases to be conscious of himself as the one who is engaged in hitting the bull's-eye which confronts him. This state of unconscious is realized only when, completely empty and rid of the self, he becomes one with the perfecting of his technical skill, though there is in it something of a quite different order which cannot be attained by any progressive study of the art..." It has been some time since I read this text, but as I recall the key element is in the 'loosing' of the arrow... the letting go, which is in effect what Buddhism is all about (as I understand it anyway), particularly the letting go of the 'self', the ego. one lil' nugget that is permanently etched in my brain (again, as i recall it), is a bit about how the master brought the student (the author) into the practice hall (an indoor range) in the middle of the night... no lights, except a small lamp/candle to walk with. the master notches an arrow and 'looses' it at the target... it disappears into the blackness. he then notches a second arrow and releases it in the same fashion. they gather up the light and go to the target. the first arrow was dead center on the target... the second arrow split the first one. :eek: How's that for concentration (or the lack thereof?) and technique? the other thing i recall was him standing for interminably long periods of time, holding the bow and arrow ready for release, waiting for that self-less moment to 'loose' the arrow. talk about boredom? crikey! :o Good Luck! Have Fun! P.S. I can assure you it is depth resistance. I can't imagine releasing a product for in water use that is guaranteed to fail after 50m of distance. :eek: "Luck is when preparation meets opportunity."

Additionally a lap counter (such as http://www.sportcount.com/) Thanks. Looks like nice lap counters. Are they adjustable to fit different fingers? And what does "Water resistant to 50 meters" mean--50m deep or long? Re variations: what about when you swim non-stop for more than 2000? Do you alternate strokes or not?

I bought an underwater mp3 player (Dolphin). I found that it helps the laps go by MUCH faster and it gives my head something to do. It's also a good distraction--even though I still "think" and count and all that stuff. My workout is typically 3800-4000m. Now, I can't swim without it because it helps not hear the bubbles so much. I'm spoiled now.