100 laps today.
I like swimming on Saturday mornings because I'm not constrained by time and I don't have to get out and go to work. I was going to do 86 laps and then I tacked on 10 more and then I just thought, why not make it an even 100? So here I am and despite taking a shower I feel like I smell faintly of chlorine.
What I do not like about swimming on Saturdays is that the pool is only open certain hours for lap swimming, beginning with an early morning chunk from 5:30-8:30 AM.* Since it's Saturday, I figured I would show up at 7:30 and take advantage of that last hour. So did everyone else apparently. Another woman and I were waiting on the side of the pool to see if anyone was close to getting out. I've seen her at the pool almost every day this week and she recognized me too. She came over and said, "It's a beautiful day. Why are all these people here, inside?" I said, "Yeah, go for a run, people!"
I had to circle swim for the first 20 minutes, which I despise. Circle swimming is when there are three or more people in a lane, so you swim up the right side of the black line and back down the other side. When you're on a team you usually do this with at least 4 other people. However, unlike when you circle swim during team practice with lots of people who know what they're doing, the odds of you winding up in a lane with people who swim the same pace as you and/or know what they're doing are not so high.
Both of the guys I was sharing with decided to do breaststroke up and freestyle back. A) I kind of hate sharing a lane with someone who insists on doing breaststroke because I feel like every time I go by them I'm dodging flailing feet and arms. I've been kicked in the gut and the thigh a couple of times by wayward breaststrokers and it's not really something I want to repeat. B) Unless you really know how to do it, breaststroke is sloooooow. Heck, I know how to swim and I can't do a 50 of breaststroke in under a minute to save my life. Since I was swimming freestyle, I would go to pass one guy, and the other guy would be coming down the other side of the lane and I would have to stop in the middle of the pool and wait.
It's just annoying. Thankfully, most of the time I only had to share with one person.
So I swam 5 times this week and according the the SparkPeople fitness calculator I burned about 4000 calories. I think the calculator is probably a little off. I'm going to say it was more like 2000-2500. Unlike the elliptical, I do not get bored of swimming, especially with fancy SwimPlan workouts to keep me motivated. It definitely keeps me going to the gym.
* Anyone else feel really sorry for the lifeguard who has to be there at 5:30 on a Saturday?
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