Marathon Math

32 miles (the length of Lake George) = 56,320 yards = 1,126.4 laps in a standard 50 yard pool.  

The most commonly accepted estimate for a mile in a pool is 36 laps, or 1800 yards (A real mile is 1,760 yards).  So, 32 pool miles = 57,600 yards.  That is 1,280 yards more than real miles!  (Wow- I should be ready for anything, right?)

Sometimes I can swim 50 yards in 50 seconds.  That is 2 miles an hour.  

In a magical world, I could maintain that to swim 32 miles in 16 hours.  

Reality check:

540 laps (15 pool miles) took me about 10:14.  

The first two miles took me 1:12, the last two took me 1:27.  

If all 32 miles are at a rate of 2 miles every hour and a half, I can expect to swim for 24 hours.  

A portion of each mile will likely be spent slowing down or stopping as briefly as possible for food and/or water, as well as adjusting goggles, maybe replacing a nose clip, changing swim caps, or rubbing on more Destine. Whether I add 15 seconds or 2 minutes of non-swim time to my miles, I could add anywhere from 8 minutes to more than an hour of in-water time to my swim time.  Then, there are variables like the course from start to finish, wind, and other boat traffic.  

I am not the fastest open water swimmer by any stretch, and I’m ok with that.  I do hope to get faster as I train, but i also love swimming long distances, and right now, my priority is adding my ability to continuously swim for hours.  Since January, I have increased my long swims from just a few miles to fairly steady 8-13 mile swims.  Doing a 15 mile swim the day after a 10 mile swim was challenging, and I was a bit slower for a few weeks after.  Between now and July and August, I think it is much more reasonable that I will be able to double or triple the number of consecutive miles I manage, rather than cut my mile times by 1/3.  Dropping my mile time from 38 to 35 minutes, with the occasional 34 minute mile is reasonable, so while I may incorporate sprints into my workouts, my overriding focus is on gaining the power to swim the distance.  

I will get there. . .