Sometimes instead of trying to memorize one of Lisa's crazy 1700yd+ swim workouts with sprints and rests, it's just easiest to jump in and start swimming laps. I thought I would begin with just a 4 lap warmup, but I decided...hey why not turn it into 1/4 mile (9 laps)? But then...actually, I'm at lap 8, why not swim 1/2 mile anyways and do another 9 laps. And later...actually, if I'm this far, I might as well swim 36 laps and finish the whole mile. I did, and swam a couple cool down laps and called it a good workout.
It's crazy the mindset that I get once I'm in the water and I begin zoning out. The first 8-9 laps are always the toughest since my body is still warming up and getting used to breathing just a little heavier. But by lap 20 or so, I feel like I'm in a state of bliss - as if nothing else in the world really matters much anymore but just counting the laps one by one as they go by and hearing the bubbles stream from my nostrils and my mouth once my faces hits the water after each breath looking towards the ceiling.
I hit a constant rhythm, counting strokes in groups of 3, and usually aiming for 8 sets of 3 strokes for length of the pool. I try to gauge my speed by the number of strokes it takes me as long as I feel I keep up the same rhythm.
I finished my mile in about 34 minutes. I forgot to properly set my watch to Chrono stop-watch mode so I didn't get an exact, but I remember seeing my watch at 8:06 when I started and finishing at 8:40. I feel like I could have swam faster, if I was really doing a TT. It's hard to gauge how fast to go and how much energy you can really use per each lap without burning out too early or leaving all the sprints to the last 3-4 laps.
Anyways, it's nice to actually have a swim workout where you just swim nonstop for a certain distance, just so you can really feel that you've accomplished that distance. I'm pretty sure stopping to cling onto the wall for a rest break isn't going to happen out in the open waters...
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