Gotta learn to count!

So I made it to the pool yesterday (Sunday)...weather looks good, I feel good...ready, set, swim!

I decided that I needed to swim a LITTLE further than I did last Saturday (remember, I did 1.48 miles?) Well...in my head I'm remembering 104 "laps" equals 1.48 miles so I just need to add 10 "laps" to my count. I don't want to over do it and hurt myself in the beginning of this training thing.

The part I didn't go into detail about last week is the difference between "laps" and "lengths" which I often interchange. A lap is down and back once, a length is just one-way. When I did the math to figure out how far I swam last week I multiplied the total number of lengths (104) I swam by 25 yards and then converted to miles. So when I said I swam 104 "laps" I should have said 104 "lengths"...semantics.

So...I start swimming yesterday at about 2pm. Last week it took me about 55 minutes to swim 104 lengths and I swam 10 laps at at time, stopped for water, stretching, etc. This week I tell myself to swim 20 laps at a time and add an extra 10 or 20 laps to the final count.

So I swim 20 laps freestyle...feeling good, drink some water, stretch out the arms (all in the water of course). Swim 10 laps freestyle (stop to get different goggles because the ones I'm wearing are giving me a huge headache), swim 5 laps of breast stroke and back stroke to use different muscles...swim 30 laps freestyle...drink more water, it's been just over an hour...starting to feel tired...just keep swimming. Swim 30 laps free...more water, water bottle empty now...starting to look at the clock and wonder why this is taking so much longer than last week??? Swim 5 laps breast and backstroke again b/c shoulders and neck are killing me...must keep swimming, still have 10 laps to swim...I'm about halfway through my last 10 laps when BAM it hits me...I'm so freakin' tired b/c I've just DOUBLED what I swam last week!

I verbally abuse myself (in my head) for being an idiot and not remembering that I swam 104 lengths last week...not 104 laps. Being the trooper that I am...I finish my set of 10 laps and just for good measure do two underwater lengths (no coming up for breath). 222 lengths!! 111 laps! However you look at it...it's a lot of swimming!

I drag my sorry ass out of the pool and shuffle over to the nearby table and chairs to collect my towel and clothes. A lady who's been hanging out at the pool all this time with her gaggle of kids says "Wow...how far did you swim??" I opted not to tell her the entire saga from above and just said "3 miles, I think??" She gives me that sort of half smile, half smirk..."why in the hell would you go and do that" look but says "Wow" again, and walks away.

3.15 miles in just under 2 hours. Not great...but not bad for an out-of-shape former athlete turned beer drinker/couch potato/weekend athlete. At least now I can say I just need to multiply my distance by 4 and decrease the time a little (if I want to make it out of the ocean before sunset in Key West!)

I spent the rest of the evening on the couch...and rewarded myself with a root beer float to boot! The bad news is my arms were so tired I could barely pet the dogs...who were both requesting lots of attention! Yes...we officially adopted Kira and are now in the process of making her feel at home and making Patrick understand that it's okay to "share" and we won't run out of food or toys just because there's another dog in the house! Kira really is a beautiful dog and she's a big oaf...her paws are the size of my palm and then some. 96 pounds of fur and muscle! She's content to eat, drink and sleep with the occasional burst of energy to go outside or for a short walk. By the way...Jane C. (I assume it was you and not Jane D!) you, and anyone else, are always welcome to come meet Kira...but yeah, I figure that was mostly sarcasm...it's okay...not everyone is crazy about dogs!!

I probably won't do much tonight in the way of a workout...other than walk two dogs...we'll see how that works out!!

Thanks to all of you for reading my trianing journal...it's nice to know I have supporters out there!

Oh...and "no", I'm not going for 444 lengths next week!! How about 300?? That would be 4.26 miles! I'll let ya know!

Cheers!