I have the same problem counting laps so what I do is hit my split button on my watch every 10 laps (500 yds). That way I just keep track of my 500's. My longest swim right now is 4000 yds so I will count of 8 splits. I have seen a swimmers' watch on www.tri-zone.com that has a little finger button to click off laps but I haven't got one yet. I would be interested in hearing other ways to keep track of laps too.

jaretj

==/==/==/==Police tagline==/==/==Do not cross ==/==/==/==

The strokes per breath should be natural (i am assuming 3?) or will be soon. I wouldn't worry to much about the strokes per length issue - probably focus a single set of intervals working on stroke length at the end of the session....which leaves the number of lengths only....I have been swimming for 32 years this year (and no I'm not that old just became a fish young in life) and never used a watch etc to count laps - find it cumbersome. I use the pool training clock to track rest periods etc

---

http://www.endurancesports.ca
Coaching and Training Camps

Man, I have NO problem keeping up with my laps. I swim "down and back". That's one. I keep doing that over and over. You people that swim more than that continuously are obviously trying to get better, as opposed to just trying to make sure you don't drown!

I DID do half of my swim workout today without nose clips. I do think I can learn to do this some day without gaining 2 pounds of chlorinated/brominated/germified-anyway water in my sinus cavities...but I don't know if it will actually help me in my quest to not drown during my swim workouts.

How I actually do OK in a race (I was 5th out of 40 in my AG in my last half)...I have no idea, because my swim training is really pitiful.

---

Quid quid latine dictum sit altum videtur
(That which is said in Latin sounds profound)

I do lose count sometimes, but I generally go by distance rather than by lap. So if I'm swimming short court, I usually count every 50 or if I'm swimming, I usually count every 100. It's really unusual that I do sets longer than 500 years per repeat, so that works pretty well for me.

Same problem so I bought one of the finger swim watches at Tri Zone and it works. A little get used to time but otherwise you get your laps and times right there. They're not expensive, either.

Bob Sigerson

I don't know that it's a problem worth purchasing a $28 lap counter (at this point). If I swim an extra 50m or so, that only benefits me.

I guess I was misleading in the first post insinuating that I am mentally juggling how many breaths, how many strokes, etc.

I rarely, if ever count strokes per breath. I breath when I feel I need to, sometimes it's 5, sometimes, 3 sometimes 2. I just breath naturally and go by feel (I count breaths during drill workouts). Strokes per 50 ... I don't count these either. I do in drills to ensure that I'm under 30 strokes, and I always am.

I guess what I meant to describe is that while swimming I try to stay relaxed to the point of "zoning out" where I am just relaxed in the water, breathing comfortably, and staying focused on "swimming silently".

Last time I found myself thinking "Is this my 6th 50m or my 7th? I honestly didn't know. When counting 100s, somewhere in the middle I'm wondering "Is this the 1st part of the 100m or did I do that already?" (as part of a long swim -- relative term).

As my distances increase, it seems it will just get more difficult, or perhaps after doing this awhile you think about "swimming" less and can keep better counts (or you purchase a finger counter)

As, I mentioned before, I have only had like 13 swim workouts, and when I swim I'm still thinking to myself "legs straight while kicking, no splash, exhale through nose, elbows up, hand cuts through the water silently, reach, swim through the circle, etc", then after a bit I realize I don't know whether I have swam the first 50m of the third 100 already or not.

Like I said, this is not a critical error that is going to ruin training. I just like to be accurate when recording training distance and time for progress evaluation.

I have tried pennies on the side on the pool, when I touch the wall, I slide a penny form the left side to the right. Then, when there are no more pennies on the left, you're done. But, usually the water splashes and mixes them together because I want to do it quickly so that I don't disrupt the continuous swim. I don't want it turning into an interval.

Maybe I can just take a very small plastic container and place a stack of pennies (or something else) by the wall of the pool. As I touch I can take a pennyt and drop it into the container, and then start my stroke back the other way, as if it were all one motion, taking the amount of time it would normally take to take one breath. I don't want to get too geeky about this, but I'd like to have accurate counts.

---

=======================
-- Every morning brings opportunity;
Each evening offers judgement. --

I just use my watch. If it takes me 1:40 to swim 100 yards at "T-Pace" or at 1/2 IM race pace, then I will finish 500 yards in 8:20, or within 10 seconds of there. I just look at the watch when I start, and look at it when I stop. Also, I don't think you will miss your Kona slot by doing 450 or 550 instead of 500 every once in a while...

I have the same problem,here is how I solved it.There is a clock that is pretty easy to see iat our pool. I look to what minute I start on (0, 5, 7 or whatever.)At my turn I can glance and see Approx. where the second hand is at. My pace is just under 1 min for 50(I am slow)So after every 50 the second hand is little farther back, or before where it was the last time. Eventually it will get all the way bak to the top at the end of a lap. When I get a minute ahead I count that as one. Then I do the same till I get to 2, 3 4 ahead ect.. Here is the example. (This probably not making any sense,kind of hard to explain.)I start with the minute hand at five and second hand at zero. At about 8 or nine laps the second hand gets to zero again(thats one) At about 18 laps the second hand gets to zero again(thats 2)at around lap 27(second hand gets to zero again (thats 3). by this time I am never quite sure what lap I am on,was it 27 or 28 ect..So lets say the second hand gets to zero again(thats 4). I stop and see that the minute hand is at 41. I started at 5 so I now know I swam 40 laps. 41(ended)-5(started)=36+4(minutes gained)=40. So I just keep track of minutes gained and add it to the time elapsed...........................OK.No Laughing anyone.This does work for me.Its easy to just see where the second hand approx is at and it motivates me to make sure I keep that thing going backwards to gain another minute.



Rereading this sure makes me feel like a dork!

First of all, congratulations on having this problem in the first place ;-)

By that I mean you are now swimming for long enough distances that you can lose count! Also, like the 'switch to backstroke' trick. I'm doing that myself as I get back into the pool. Doing stuff like 400m, 2*100m back, 400m one day, then increasing the 400s to 500s a couple of days later. Works well.

As for losing count, it's always going to happen. I use the distance/time method the JohnA described. I know my average 50m pace, so I note the time at a turn and do a quick bit of division. Works a treat.

Thank you all for the comments.

I am trying to get to 1500m continuous swim as fast as I can without burying myself. I'll wait until after my sprint season (3 races) to start adding on more distance (that's the plan anyway. I'm not really the "waiting type").

I guess familiarity with one's own pace will make the problem of counting be less significant. It was a concern of mine (not a major concern), because at these early stages I want to monitor my 100m time, so I can make sure it's going down, down down.

Right now I swim a ~2:20 100m. So, the other day when I swam 500m in 13:39, that would lead me to believe that I swam 5.5 100m laps ... or 550m. I guess that wasn't so difficult.

I'll likely try something so I can see if I am getting "more distance per effort". I'd like to keep the effort the same (not too hard, not too easy) but add on distance and either maintain the 100m pace, or lower it as I am adding distance.

---

=======================
-- Every morning brings opportunity;
Each evening offers judgement. --

I use one of the really cheap Timex Ironman watches that has a countdown timer. I set the countdown to the time I want for a 500. Press start and drop the watch on the bottom of the pool. When I'm hitting the wall at 500yds, the watch starts beeping and then resets and starts the countdown again automatically. When preparing for a 1/2 IM, I'll do 1x2500 yds. The beeping keeps me from losing count, and also provides pace information.