Laps

Swimming laps as become my most effective therapy. I have been a member of the gym since Saturday and I have already swam 74 laps! That is 4.1 miles. I love how I feel when I climb out of the pool - calm, contented, relaxed. The only thing that I wanted to change was having to keep a count in my head of how many laps I was swimming during each visit. Sounds a little pathetic but I have so much in my head, keeping count of laps is an extra that I can't seem to manage. Joyce said she felt the same way so, we set out to figure out a way to track them without have to memorize what lap we were on. Above is my first idea, put together with things I had laying around the house. That beetle incased in plastic is from an old keychain we had.. and it's not where the magic happens anyway.

The beetle is just an anchor for a strand of thin ribbon with 18 tiny knots in it (18 laps = 1/2 mile). Each time I complete a lap I move the button one "click" over. The knots are just the right size so I can slide the button quickly without having to wrestle with it, but not so small that it could slide on it's own and mess my count up. As I am sure you have figured out, once the button is at the end.. I have reached my goal. I am currently trying to swim 18 laps each visit. Planning to add 2 laps each week until I reach a mile but last night my asthma was bugging me so I left out the last two and settled for my 18.

I am sure this seems like a silly gadget for anyone who was ever on a swim team and has no trouble keeping count in their head, but as I don't do flip turns anyway .. stopping for a second to move the my button allows me to let my mind relax and be completely empty.. something that I really need these days.

I think I am going to figure out a way to keep a tracker on here somewhere.. I want to see how many miles I swim this year.