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How to keep track of swim distance...I know I'm dumb ok ok
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| General Discussion | Triathlon Talk » How to keep track of swim distance...I know I'm dumb ok ok | Rss Feed  |
 2010-12-03 9:11 AM |
Expert 732   |  Subject: How to keep track of swim distance...I know I'm dumb ok okWhen I'm in the pool, I definitely have a hard time counting my distances. I've tried a couple of things, but when i'm doing sets of 500 yards, etc, above 200-250 I always seem to miss a lap and then wonder if I've missed that lap. Today's swim the main part is 20x50...which I know I won't be able to count effectively. It then leads to me for the next ten minutes of swimming wondering if I counted this lap or not, then thinking I cheated myself if I'm a lap ahead and swam too far if a lap behind, etc. Anyone have any tricks for this? Maybe something physical I could use? Yea...counting isn't that hard but for me it is :P |
| 2010-12-03 9:23 AM in reply to: #3235245 |
New user 112 Breckenridge | Subject: RE: How to keep track of swim distance...I know I'm dumb ok ok Get one of these. Had mine a couple of weeks, working very well http://www.swimoutlet.com/product_p/18030.htm |
| 2010-12-03 9:40 AM in reply to: #3235245 |
Master 2538 Albuquerque | Subject: RE: How to keep track of swim distance...I know I'm dumb ok ok Or one of these http://www.swimoutlet.com/product_p/4028.htm Love it...it has made a world of difference in my swim sessions |
| 2010-12-03 9:48 AM in reply to: #3235245 |
Master 1286 Mt Pleasant, SC | Subject: RE: How to keep track of swim distance...I know I'm dumb ok ok Hello I have this and it works very well. I press the counter after every 50 yards. http://www.sportcount.com/products.php?category=SportCount&PHPSESSID=e10b6d6f5c06b8162acabeea359be672 Kevin |
| 2010-12-03 11:42 AM in reply to: #3235245 |
| Extreme Veteran 562 | Subject: RE: How to keep track of swim distance...I know I'm dumb ok ok I count laps by 10 (or what ever the particular set is), then flip a lane bouy. End of workout or set count the bouys. Last thing I need is another piece of equipment in the pool. |
| 2010-12-03 12:48 PM in reply to: #3235245 |
Extreme Veteran 737 | Subject: RE: How to keep track of swim distance...I know I'm dumb ok ok 100 yards takes me 2 minutes, so I just check the clock each time I turn. If the swim team is there, they have a big fancy digital clock with makes things easier. If it's been 9 minutes since I started the set, I know I've done 450. Doing the math in my head helps kill some of the time. It would suck if I ever got faster and couldn't use that method anymore. When all else fails, just do another lap. |
| 2010-12-03 12:53 PM in reply to: #3235245 |
| Veteran 585 Kenosha, WI | Subject: RE: How to keep track of swim distance...I know I'm dumb ok ok poolmate swim watch. |
| 2010-12-03 12:55 PM in reply to: #3235662 |
Expert 1384 Charlottesville, Virginia | Subject: RE: How to keep track of swim distance...I know I'm dumb ok ok On my longer swims, I'll do an alternative stroke (in my case, backstroke, but any will do) on the 4th lap. Somehow, that's enough for me... then I just count the backstroke laps which I seem to be able to track. I also use a time check like the previous poster mentioned (if there's a clock at the pool). |
| 2010-12-03 12:57 PM in reply to: #3235245 |
| Subject: RE: How to keep track of swim distance...I know I'm dumb ok ok I just use a watch or pace clock. If I'm doing sets of 50's, I'm most likely sending off every minute. So in your case. Start your workout at say 5:30...and you know you're done at 5:50. |
| 2010-12-03 1:06 PM in reply to: #3235245 |
Alpharetta, Georgia Bronze member | Subject: RE: How to keep track of swim distance...I know I'm dumb ok ok I count in 25s instead of laps. So I know if I'm going a certain direction, I'm either on a "25" or "75" and the other way I'm either on a "50" or "100". I literally chant it in my head, so the whole way down the lane I'm thinking "475...475... 475... 475..." and then when I turn to go the other way I chant "500... 500... 500... 500" etc. |
| 2010-12-03 1:14 PM in reply to: #3235245 |
Extreme Veteran 605 Centennial, CO | Subject: RE: How to keep track of swim distance...I know I'm dumb ok ok I count 100's during a distance swim, otherwise I count sets. Every 100 I press the lap button on my watch so I only have to count to 4. Then I know based on the time I've been swimming when to start paying attention to how many more 100's I need to do. If I lose count (which rarely happens anymore) I round down  I read a great idea somewhere (I think it was here, so apologies to whomever first posted it) that another idea is to use pennies. This would assume you don't flip turn I spose. So, say you want to swim 20 laps. Bring 20 pennies with you and put them in a pile at one end of the pool. Every time you get to that end of the pool move a penny to a new pile. When all the pennies are transferred...you're done It would slow you down, but might be better than nothing.Edited by syscrash 2010-12-03 1:16 PM |
| 2010-12-03 1:20 PM in reply to: #3235245 |
Extreme Veteran 536 Russiaville, IN | Subject: RE: How to keep track of swim distance...I know I'm dumb ok ok I also just use my ironman watch with 100 laps, each 50 you can hit lap, or what I do I just count every 10 laps (500) yards hit split, then count to 10 again. |
| 2010-12-03 1:34 PM in reply to: #3235245 |
Master 1929 Midlothian, VA | Subject: RE: How to keep track of swim distance...I know I'm dumb ok ok I used to use an abacus, but I got a couple IronMan watches for Christmas last year. I hit the lap button to start my swim, and whenever I finish a set I press it (x-1) times for however many lengths I just did. Once more when I start another set, and the stop button whenever I'm done. I used to lose track sometimes, but my times are predictable if not consistent. So, when in doubt I just look at the time since I started the last set and I'll know if I'm counting correctly or not. There is a strong argument to train by time and not distance anyway, but I do prefer to log my swims in multiples of half miles. -eric |
| 2010-12-03 1:50 PM in reply to: #3235245 |
Master 1484 Sedona, AZ | Subject: RE: How to keep track of swim distance...I know I'm dumb ok ok I count my breaths and add the distance in front of it. E.g. 51, 52, 53 ... 101, 102, 103 ... 501, 502 I think you understand. This helps me keep track of SPL too (since I take a breath every x number of strokes). |
| 2010-12-03 2:16 PM in reply to: #3235245 |
Veteran 732 Pittsburgh, PA | Subject: RE: How to keep track of swim distance...I know I'm dumb ok ok I used to really struggle with this. There's an old thread on here that gave me some ideas. When I'm doing shorter blocks of drills or fast laps I think of each block as a month- like the first 100 meters areJanuary, next 200 were Feb, etc. For some reason I can remember those better than numbers. Now I figure out how many pool lengths I have to swim- like 1000 meters is 40 lengths, and I think of them in fractions, then try to reduce the fractions... like it goes 1/40, 1/20, 3/40, 1/10... between thinking about form and breathing I usually am at the end of the pool by the time I'm finished with the math so I never forget what lap I'm on! |
| 2010-12-03 2:24 PM in reply to: #3235245 |
Pro 5011 Twin Cities | Subject: RE: How to keep track of swim distance...I know I'm dumb ok ok I have a watch. I know roughly how fast I swim. I also count in my head. I can reconcile the two. I hit split every 10 laps. That's for distance swims/warmups. For interval stuff, like repeat 50s or 100s, I either move something (a water bottle, kick board, coin, etc.) over one tile on the deck after every interval or use the lap feature on my watch. An abacus or pile of beads and two bowls would also work. Or a mini-dice game (aka shut the box). Edited by mmrocker13 2010-12-03 2:26 PM |
| 2010-12-03 2:37 PM in reply to: #3235697 |
Master 1888 Winder, GA | Subject: RE: How to keep track of swim distance...I know I'm dumb ok ok lisac957 - 2010-12-03 2:06 PM I count in 25s instead of laps. So I know if I'm going a certain direction, I'm either on a "25" or "75" and the other way I'm either on a "50" or "100". I literally chant it in my head, so the whole way down the lane I'm thinking "475...475... 475... 475..." and then when I turn to go the other way I chant "500... 500... 500... 500" etc. I do something similar except I use the alphabet, by 50's. The whole time I'm swimming the 50 I'm chanting A... A... A... etc. When my sets are longer than 26 I just start over. Sometimes just chanting the letter gets boring so I'll think of things that start with that letter. Or, I use my watch and estimate how long I think the set will take. |
| 2010-12-03 2:38 PM in reply to: #3235245 |
Champion 4942 Richmond, VA | Subject: RE: How to keep track of swim distance...I know I'm dumb ok ok For some reason, one time when I forgot my watch, I had really good luck with rainbow colors. I would remember various laps as being a RED lap, then an ORANGE lap, then the GREEN lap, etc. otherwise, I just use my watch and go by times. for longer distances, I'll check my watch every 250 yards or so, but I usually set around a 1:55 / 2:00 per 100 yard pace. If I had the time, I would find and post the thread that recommends for counting laps, counting the number of threads about people counting laps - that's a good chuckle. |
| 2010-12-03 4:09 PM in reply to: #3235245 |
| 105 | Subject: RE: How to keep track of swim distance...I know I'm dumb ok ok For long sets (200's and over) I count by 25's and if it is closer to a 500 I have to count backward. When I count backward I tend not to mess up as much and if you do you end up going long instead of cutting short. If it is a set of something like 20x50's then I make sure my interval is not on the top of the miunte. I would do it on the 55 or the 1:05 (1:10 1:15...)and then I just have to keep track of when I left for the last 50 and can figure it out from there. If I am going on the1:05 I know it takes 12x50's to make it around the clock and start on the top again. I try to make it at least on a multiple of 15 or less so I can essentially count by 4s or more. I also sometime break it up and do 4x5x50s and take a short break (30sec or so) after each set of 5 and can keep track better. |
| 2010-12-03 4:49 PM in reply to: #3235662 |
Elite 3090 Spokane, WA | Subject: RE: How to keep track of swim distance...I know I'm dumb ok ok mrheathen - 2010-12-03 12:48 PM 100 yards takes me 2 minutes, so I just check the clock each time I turn. If the swim team is there, they have a big fancy digital clock with makes things easier. If it's been 9 minutes since I started the set, I know I've done 450. Doing the math in my head helps kill some of the time. It would suck if I ever got faster and couldn't use that method anymore. When all else fails, just do another lap. This is the correct answer. It's the old DiRT formula: Distance=Rate x Time It's nice not having to count laps, and I very rarely do. Edited by zed707 2010-12-03 4:50 PM |
| 2010-12-03 4:55 PM in reply to: #3235245 |
| Master 2083 Houston, TX | Subject: RE: How to keep track of swim distance...I know I'm dumb ok ok I count in 50s because I hit the same wall every time. I just hit the lap on my watch and the laps show up on the face of my watch while total time is displayed. That way I don't have to count, and I don't have to worry about missing a wall. I can do the math in my head as I swim I f I need to. |
| 2010-12-03 5:05 PM in reply to: #3235245 |
Expert 602 Las Vegas | Subject: RE: How to keep track of swim distance...I know I'm dumb ok ok I practice my sighting on the even numbered laps. If I lose count, its usually only by one lap so I can tell if I'm on odds or evens if I am sighting or not. |
| 2010-12-03 5:46 PM in reply to: #3235711 |
| Expert 732 | Subject: RE: How to keep track of swim distance...I know I'm dumb ok ok syscrash - 2010-12-03 1:14 PM I count 100's during a distance swim, otherwise I count sets. Every 100 I press the lap button on my watch so I only have to count to 4. Then I know based on the time I've been swimming when to start paying attention to how many more 100's I need to do. If I lose count (which rarely happens anymore) I round down I read a great idea somewhere (I think it was here, so apologies to whomever first posted it) that another idea is to use pennies. This would assume you don't flip turn I spose. So, say you want to swim 20 laps. Bring 20 pennies with you and put them in a pile at one end of the pool. Every time you get to that end of the pool move a penny to a new pile. When all the pennies are transferred...you're done It would slow you down, but might be better than nothing.This is actually what I've been doing more or less. I just brought a bunch of pennies and every lap i would slide one to the wall, when I had none left I was done. I also try to count in my head but I really don't want equipment in the pool for some reason. My swims are already kind of dreadful and I don't want to introduce those mechanics i dont think. Maybe if i tried it it'd be different. I swim in between 2-230 so me just looking at the lap clock doesnt work unfortunately. |
| 2010-12-03 6:31 PM in reply to: #3235245 |
Master 1810 Morse Lake, Noblesville, Indiana | Subject: RE: How to keep track of swim distance...I know I'm dumb ok ok Everyone has forgotten the obvious. I just tend to go with a coach on deck counting laps for me. Find a good US Masters swim group, or a local triathlon coach running group swims, and let them count for you, and I would venture to guess you'll get in a much more quality workout... |
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