100-Day Swim Challenge Update

I first posted 100-Day Swim Challenge in November 2015.  In case you are still wondering, I am still participating in this challenge, and the work I do during this challenge directly feeds the Kwitchyerbellyakin Fitness Challenge.  I am losing weight, getting stronger and developing good habits that will help me achieve my 100-pound weight loss goal in 2016.

100-Day Swim Challenge Update

100-Day Swim Challenge - Swimmer and Pool

On November 1, 2015, a brave few of us that signed up for Redbeard’s 100-Day Swim Challenge started. We set daily goals of swimming 1/4 mile, 1/2 mile and 1 mile distances, and most swimmers chose to swim 1/2 mile.

A couple of brave souls reached for the 1-mile ring at the start.  Needless to say, it is better to build up to a 1-mile distance over time because those longer distance swimmers have moved on to other exercises (i.e., running and lifting weights)!

Julie and I have been the most consistent swimmers in the Swim Challenge, and our average distance per week is 1/2-mile or more. Typically we swim 3/4 to a mile per session as we have gotten stronger in the pool.  I am finding that swimming a mile is taking me about 60 minutes (more or less depending on the day), and it is taking Julie about 45 minutes.  I tend to warm up with a paddle board for 10 lengths to focus on improving my kicking technique and working out those kinks and stiff joints.  Using the paddle board adds a minute per length to my swim time (I have measured it using a stopwatch).  Yes, ladies and gentleman, I am an engineer geek underneath the charm and good looks.

Swim Challenge Results

So…..the question is: how is it going?

The easiest way to answer that question is to show a chart of my progress from November 1, 2015 to January 18, 2016.  This chart represents almost 80 days of swimming.  The green line shows the 1/2-mile mark while the red line is the 1 mile mark.

100-Day Swim Challenge Progress Chart - 1/18/2016

100-Day Swim Challenge Progress Chart – 1/18/2016

I am very proud of the results and work I have put in to get this far.  Data backs up this chart, and some of the numbers that stand out to me are the following:

  • 52% of my total swim sessions were longer than 3/4-mile
  • 32% of my total swim sessions were over a mile
  • Overall, I have swam 3,290 lengths in the pool
  • With an average of 25 strokes per length, that is 82,250 strokes
  • 3290 lengths is equal to 82,250 meters (the Ridgedale YMCA has a 25-meter pool)
  • 82,250 meters is approximately 269,849 feet
  • 269,849 feet is 51.1 miles

Yes, you read that correctly.

I swam 51.1 miles since November 1, 2015!  Incredible!

That is pretty amazing if I stop and think about it for a minute.  That means I swam from our house in Oswego to Chicago, Illinois.  THAT is an amazing statistic!

Timing is Everything….

Meanwhile, I am participating in the Kwitchyerbellyakin Fitness Challenge, and Redbeard rolled out a couple of new twists with his post below:

Kwitchyerbellyakin Fitness Challenge - Week 3 is Beastmode!

Kwitchyerbellyakin Fitness Challenge – It is Beastmode Week! 1/18/16

 

I am looking to move up the rankings in this challenge.  This week I am getting stronger in the pool, and I am also adding some work on the treadmill.  I will keep working, and I will continue to get stronger and work on that weight goal.

Stay tuned!  A big Kwitchyerbellyakin Fitness Challenge update is coming this week!

 

Learn. Do. Grow.