64 laps = 2 miles. Or so I've been told. After years (I mean YEARS!) of swimming at the same pace and getting frustrated that I couldn't ever seem to go faster, I finally signed up for a swim clinic. I immediately sped up. It was thrilling to make little changes and see dramatic results. I was set on practicing and perfecting my form and stroke, but as luck would have it I got pretty sick a few days later. I was too sick to swim for a few weeks. Until today. I could've stayed in bed and been justified, but I know what happens to me when I do that too often - I stop getting up to exercise even when I feel good. So dragging myself to the pool was a painful chore, but I did it. My first goal was to just swim a mile. At the mile's end, my next goal was to swim another quarter. Then my goal after that was to speed up for the next quarter. At 1 1/2 miles, I was feeling strong so I decided to go for speed and for distance, and finished my last 1/2 mile as my fastest. This ALWAYS happens when I swim. I start slow, finish fast. It just takes me way too long to warm up.
"Fast", by the way, is relative. I wouldn't win any races, but it was fast for me. I've finally broken my 40 minute mile pace that I've had since I started my mile swims when I was 15 years old. That's 21 years of being stuck. Old habits hang on tightly, but they can die quickly with a little help. My pace today: Mile 1 - 38 minutes. Mile 2 - 34 minutes.
Hooray!
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