I swam in the pool yesterday for the first time in about four months. I live in coastal New England so the water and weather temps are beginning to drop. Since I trained for, and swam my first marathon swim this summer...I did much more open water swimming than in past summers. So much so that I'm was already way ahead of my average annual mileage by August. But, I had decided that when I went back into the pool this fall that I'd take a different approach to long pool swims. Instead of counting laps, I'm simply swimming by time. Through the use of the GPS watch, I realized over the summer that no matter when/where...on long swims I was swimming a pretty even and contestant pace...even in later miles. So in the pool, I'm just counting every ## minutes to equal a mile. Then I just rest/drink for one or two minutes and continue on. Yesterday was my first attempt at it, and I wasn't sure I'b be able to NOT count laps. But it worked. And I find it much less monotonous, and I'm able to ponder a lot more minutiae, and senseless stuff. And, as a strict fitness log maintainer, in the long run (er swim) it doesn't really matter if I'm off by a lap or two.
Dan
I have my swim watch set to vibrate every 20 laps, i.e. 500 yds. No need to count. And uploading it into the app later gives me a stroke by stroke accounting.
That sounds so peaceful, Dan. Did you feel like you kept a good, even pace in the pool as well? Did you find your mind wandering or did you get to a zen-like state where you just were into the rhythm of your strokes?
I swam in the pool yesterday for the first time in about four months. I live in coastal New England so the water and weather temps are beginning to drop. Since I trained for, and swam my first marathon swim this summer...I did much more open water swimming than in past summers. So much so that I'm was already way ahead of my average annual mileage by August. But, I had decided that when I went back into the pool this fall that I'd take a different approach to long pool swims. Instead of counting laps, I'm simply swimming by time. Through the use of the GPS watch, I realized over the summer that no matter when/where...on long swims I was swimming a pretty even and contestant pace...even in later miles. So in the pool, I'm just counting every ## minutes to equal a mile. Then I just rest/drink for one or two minutes and continue on. Yesterday was my first attempt at it, and I wasn't sure I'b be able to NOT count laps. But it worked. And I find it much less monotonous, and I'm able to ponder a lot more minutiae, and senseless stuff. And, as a strict fitness log maintainer, in the long run (er swim) it doesn't really matter if I'm off by a lap or two.
Dan
I call this "penance laps." If I'm off a bit, unsure if I'm on lap 15 or 16 for instance, I always pick the lower number. Penance for my mind straying.
And I can't believe you're not still swimming outside. I went to Nahant up here last weekend and it was "only" 54F. ;)
I call this "penance laps." If I'm off a bit, unsure if I'm on lap 15 or 16 for instance, I always pick the lower number. Penance for my mind straying.
And I can't believe you're not still swimming outside. I went to Nahant up here last weekend and it was "only" 54F. ;)
Well it's not that I won't. But we'd just gotten home from about 2.5 weeks abroad, and it was a crappy day. Which meant no one on the beach to ask to keep "half an eye on me," nor anyone to swim with. So I went to the pool instead. BTW, Mike, I'm still trying to coordinate the "open water" circuit lap swimming at the NAVSTA pool. I'll keep you informed.
Dan
I have my swim watch set to vibrate every 20 laps, i.e. 500 yds. No need to count. And uploading it into the app later gives me a stroke by stroke accounting.
Sumo...which app do you use? And which watch? I'm tossing around the idea of getting one that will count laps.
Dan
That sounds so peaceful, Dan. Did you feel like you kept a good, even pace in the pool as well? Did you find your mind wandering or did you get to a zen-like state where you just were into the rhythm of your strokes?
Kari -- Yeah, I felt like my pace was pretty consistant. Every now and then I'd check it against the pace clock for a lap or two and it didn't vary more than 2-3 seconds throughout the swim. That's even enough for me. And yes, I did wonder about things much more than when I'm counting laps. But it wasn't "zen-like." For instance I'd find myself doing simple math about non-swimming related topics. I.e. how many kilometers was my 51-mile bike ride during our recent trip to Italy? Or how many US dollars was it for the 17 Euro memento that I bought? Usually I don't let myself think about any numbers other than my lap count because as soon as I do I lose track.
Dan
I'm desperately waiting for the water temp to drop in November to start my new round of long distance marathon swimming training. The sea now here I live is 29°C and it is too damn for for me, however it doesn't bother my fellow American friend who also does cold water swimming.
