General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Lap Counting Rss Feed  
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2015-07-02 8:50 AM
in reply to: Eucid

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Subject: RE: Lap Counting
My garmin swim was worth every penny for its lap counting abilities. Its not 100% accurate but it sure is better then whatI can do on my own.


2015-07-02 10:08 AM
in reply to: Antoine tri

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Subject: RE: Lap Counting

Add me to the list of folks that say learn how to use the pace clock to keep up with where you are on your interval distance. Not so much because it is better than counting rocks, pennies, disks, alphabets, or even army men, but instead because it will help you also learn your paces and efforts, which is important when structuring your workouts toward targeted goals.

2015-07-02 10:12 AM
in reply to: bigevilgrape

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Subject: RE: Lap Counting

For easy laps, I spell names of people I know.  For example, "Evan" is 4 laps, "Robert" is 6.  It's a nice way to do a meditation on the person whose name I'm spelling.  I also use little glass stones so I can remember how many 200s I've done. That's especially helpful when I'm doing sets of progressively faster 25's or 50's.  Between the 2, I can usually keep track of how much I've done.  Admittedly, when I'm getting tired, I still lose track sometimes.

2015-07-02 10:44 AM
in reply to: laffinrock

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Subject: RE: Lap Counting

I don't have much of an issue counting laps - I count by 50's at the flip and always think of what the distance will be at the next flip.  As a backup, I roughly calculate how long the distance should take and add that to the start time.  If I get to the wall 40 seconds early I know I miss counted and have another 50 to go.  I'm pretty aware of my splits because we have clocks on both sides of the pool which are easily seen.

2015-07-02 8:32 PM
in reply to: #5126234


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Subject: RE: Lap Counting
If you Forget to count or increment your laps, there are chances you will forget to press on the button of your lap counting watch. This is what happened to me when i was lent one of those.
2015-07-02 9:05 PM
in reply to: TankBoy

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Subject: RE: Lap Counting

Originally posted by TankBoy

Add me to the list of folks that say learn how to use the pace clock to keep up with where you are on your interval distance. Not so much because it is better than counting rocks, pennies, disks, alphabets, or even army men, but instead because it will help you also learn your paces and efforts, which is important when structuring your workouts toward targeted goals.

/thread



2015-07-03 1:21 PM
in reply to: jblamb1401

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Subject: RE: Lap Counting
Originally posted by jblamb1401

I've moved small rocks around the deck in the past, but my best technique is that if you forget the count, you're required to do whatever you think you are on + 1.


^^This^^
2015-07-03 1:54 PM
in reply to: brigby1

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Subject: RE: Lap Counting
Originally posted by brigby1

Originally posted by CycloneVM
Originally posted by jblamb1401 I've moved small rocks around the deck in the past, but my best technique is that if you forget the count, you're required to do whatever you think you are on + 1.
^^^ This The problem for me comes because as you are swimming your lap your brain switches from "just got done with Lap X" to "now I'm on Lap X" to "X Laps to go" and I screw it all up. Often I can look at the clock and figure out where I'm at, but sometimes not and that's when the +1 rule applies. Another easier method is to stick to shorter distances in your sets Hard to forget where you are when you are only swimming 200 or less!

That's what I've done. It's always the lesser. I count by 25 though, so every length adds up to the total.




I'll usually use 25 also. I think in my head "I just hit 825 yards, my next turn will be at 850 yards".
2015-07-03 4:25 PM
in reply to: Dunn Right

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Subject: RE: Lap Counting

Originally posted by Dunn Right

If there's that much room on the lane line you have other things to worry about.

It's good practice at aquatic facilities to leave little to no extra room on the line. Most of the newer cables have a protective covering on them that will wear off over time leaving (potentially) sharp wires exposed. Also, a lot of exposed space like that could mean the lane line is older and the discs are brittle (some have broken off over time). This means that the line is more fragile and could easily break.

So, you might save some money without the equipment but you might have to buy a new lane line when you break it!

Well, it has served me well for over 40-years.  The lane lines normally have a bit of give in them so you can indeed pull the discs down.  That is especially helpful when you are counting reps - something like 20 x 100, or 30 x 50.

As to breaking a lane line, WOW, you must be superman cause normal folks ain't that strong!

2015-07-05 12:01 PM
in reply to: #5126416


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Subject: RE: Lap Counting
I used pennies. My gym doesnt have one of those clocks so...otherwise i would have looked at that as another new thing to learn. However, in the end, I stopped actually using the pennies as I got better counting in my head. And if I lose count, I always err on the side of potentially doing a little extra. I still take pennies. I get them from the family penny jar and put them in a different jar when I get home.

One more set of lap swims this week before Muncie. I'm going to take all those pennies and treat myself with something during this final week. I should have enough to by lunch at Panera or something.
2015-07-06 12:40 AM
in reply to: popsracer

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Subject: RE: Lap Counting
Originally posted by popsracer

I've been using this for years.  Tried other swim watches but always went back to the Sportcount.  Simplest, easist to read, least disruptive to my stroke to read.  Only downside is I'm on about my fifth one. 



That was my problem with the sportcount. It lasted about 3 months before I couldn't read the screen through the fog and about another month before it died completely.


2015-07-06 11:10 AM
in reply to: bufordt


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Subject: RE: Lap Counting
I felt stupid the first week in training and lost count. How hard is counting really? Glad I'm not the only one.
I practice in a junior size outdoor pool so started counting every time I returned to my starting side and this seemed to make
counting easier. I kind of feel relying on something is just being lazy, but I'm considering chalk, because
repeating #'s in your head gets annoying. Just like some prefer listening to music while running; do what
you can to make it more enjoyable. Some good suggestions on here that I will look into.
2015-07-06 11:26 AM
in reply to: runtim23

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Subject: RE: Lap Counting

Some of my masters swim buddies are hopeless when it comes to keeping track of how many intervals they've done, so for Christmas one year I made them each a little bracelet that had 10 beads on them, with a little swim related graphic on them. The 5th and 10th beads were different colors to make it easier to see with foggy goggles, and at the end of every interval they could just move another bead over, like a swim abacus. 

2015-07-06 11:57 AM
in reply to: 0


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Subject: RE: Lap Counting
Originally posted by runtim23

I felt stupid the first week in training and lost count. How hard is counting really? Glad I'm not the only one.
I practice in a junior size outdoor pool so started counting every time I returned to my starting side and this seemed to make
counting easier. I kind of feel relying on something is just being lazy, but I'm considering chalk, because
repeating #'s in your head gets annoying. Just like some prefer listening to music while running; do what
you can to make it more enjoyable. Some good suggestions on here that I will look into.


I find it's just concentration....a skill like any other. The more you do it, the better you get.
If I get lost on what number I'm at....I default to the previous known count. Worse case, I swim an extra lap or 3.
I count laps as you do, not lengths. I also use the lane line using one side for say "lap 1" and the other side for "lap 2".
10 on "this side"...10 on "that" side equals 10 laps total. Then I only need to keep track to 10 twice.
Rinse and repeat.

Edited by jhaack39 2015-07-06 11:58 AM
2015-07-06 3:42 PM
in reply to: popsracer

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Subject: RE: Lap Counting

Originally posted by popsracer

I've been using this for years.  Tried other swim watches but always went back to the Sportcount.  Simplest, easist to read, least disruptive to my stroke to read.  Only downside is I'm on about my fifth one. 

 

 

I started using this a few months ago.  The only thing I don't like is it doesn't give me the elapsed time between sets.  For example when I swam with my ironman watch I'd hit the lap button then once my pre-determined rest period was up I'd start the next set, regardless of how hard I was breathing.

The finger timer just gives you the split after you hit the button, not a running clock...

I've tried various memorization techniques.  one I invented for myself was saying in my head every athlete I could think of who wore/wears #1, # 2 etc.. 

I've found no matter what technique I use, including the finger lap counter, I can lose track of the # of sets overall unless all are the same distance... The nice thing is after the swim I can get my exact totals... I've been pretty upset with myself for being 50 or 100 yards short on the total workout once I went to log the splits..

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