Just finished swimming 80 miles... putting things into perspective

curly

For the record, this could not possibly qualify as an unassisted swim. As a matter of fact it couldn’t even qualify as a marathon swim. Maybe it would qualify as a swim across the Atlantic Ocean…

At any rate, here is the reality. I’m not much of a data geek, but at the beginning of this year I decided to log my workouts just out of curiosity. I do a couple weeks of half decent yardage and then one week of recovery swimming which knocks the yardage and effort down a notch. I usually take the weekend off.

So, at the end of two months, I have swum 81.35 miles. This was accomplished by swimming 38 workouts for a total of 1.72 days. And just because this number was so coincidental, I looked up @ssthomas fabulous Lake Powell swim. She swam 80 miles in 56.5 hours (2.33 days) So that is what a marathon swim looks like next to a guy who swims a long way in 2 months.

Another reason I compared this to Sarah’s swim is that I have been using that swim as an inspiration and motivator for my swimming. I will be plowing through my workout and a set will just be killing me. I will be whining to myself and considering maybe dropping a rep or something. Then I picture Sarah in those waves that are going the wrong way and I will think to myself, Jeez, you are going to be done in another 1500 yards! WTF?!? Finish up that 80 miles and then worry about it.

I think it also drives home just how hard these true marathon swims are. I’m still planning on doing my first 10K’s this summer and I think I’m going to be in good shape to do it. But it sure is fun to put things into perspective.

ssthomas

For what it's worth, I don't think I've swum 80 miles since October if I combined all of my workouts since then.

Thanks for sharing though, @curly. It's nice to know the real impact my swimming had on real people- if it gets you in the water, that means a lot. Just don't build me up too much- I'm a big whiner sometimes. I skip practices or cut them short. I get grumpy. I gain 15 pounds in 3 months... You know, life.

Just keep at it, keep having fun and I can't wait to follow your 10ks! I still remember how terrifying that first leap is to a long distance. It's worth it!