For the past 12 weeks I was just moseying along, minding my own swimming business and stalking swimming articles like anyone who naively signed up for an Ironman should be. But when I stumbled upon an article talking about meters versus yards it stopped me in my tracks, “Oh crap. What is my gym’s pool measured in?”
Instantly, horrifying thoughts (exaggeration intended) all spawned by internet horror stories flooded my mind, “My gym’s pool is actually only 19 yards!” or “I had to count the tiles to figure out how long my pool was.”
Oh no, oh no, oh no. What if I thought I was swimming one thing, but I was actually only swimming another measly amount and I proclaimed to all of the blogland about my improving times?! What if it was all a farce?!
I immediately called my gym:
“Hello, can you please tell me how long the pool is in YARDS or METERS?” (Emphasis implied)
“It’s 25 meters.”
“Are you sure it’s METERS and not YARDS?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“So you’re absolutely sure it’s 25 METERS?”
“Ma’am, yes, I’m 100% sure it’s 25 METERS.”
Hang up phone.
Then a quick Google search as I never claimed to be good at math.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! There was fist pumping and dancing in my seat.
1 meter = 1.0936133 yards
25 meters = 27.3403325 yards
This entire time I thought I was swimming yards, but I was actually swimming meters, meaning that I’ve been swimming longer than I thought. I’d match this experience to finding $20 in your jeans. Awesome.
So what does this mean? Since I’ve been swimming a certain distance in meters, I was able to go through my training log and just change the units of all of my swim workouts. From there, it pumped out my new average pace per 100 yards (that’s it’s default average calculation unit) for the past 12 weeks, making this novice swimmer a very happy camper:
Week 1: 2:27
Week 2: 2:27
Week 3: 2:27
Week 4: 2:24
Week 5: 2:06
week 6: 2:07
Week 7: 2:07
Week 8: 1:58
Week 9: 2:04
Week 10: 1:52
Week 11: 1:48
Week 12: 1:35
Now let’s just hope that the front desk guy was actually right because I like to pretend that I won’t drown come race day. So here’s my PSA to you, my good friends, double check your pool length and units. You might be glad you did.
What would be the sports equivalent to finding 20 bucks in your pocket to you?
Happy Running!
Niiiiiiiiiice. The fine folks at my gym have no freaking clue how long their pool is, which amuses me. It’s 20 somethings, that’s for sure. They did once tell me it was 25 meters, but considering how many more strokes I need to take in a 25-*yard* pool than I do there, that was a bald-faced lie!
I hope that the front desk guy was right!
My gym is at the college I work at so our pool is 25 yards and while 27.something yards isn’t that much different it did make a lot of difference when I was a swimmer!
Great job with all of your swimming, keep it up!
That is great news! I know that yards vs meters makes a big difference, because each lap can add up 1-2 yards! It is like you were training harder without even knowing it, that will help you in the ironman!
Glad you check it before you start your swimming. It means that you need more training right? Keep it up! You can do that. Are you joining in a swimming contest?
Better that direction than the other. Congratulations on finding out that you rock. Because YOU DO!
Someday…I’ll sign up for an IronMan too. As usual, you are a million miles ahead of me. Cheers!
Free bonus speed! WAHOO!
Dang girl, you are one fast swimmer!!! Keep those speeds up and you’re going to be in the front pack of swimmers!
when I joined my gym, THREE different people swore up and down that the pool was meters – one of them the lifeguard. and as it turns out, it’s yards. either that or my arms get shorter in that pool and only that pool.
I’ve now called twice and both people have confidently proclaimed meters. I’m going to be naive and go with it just to feel cool 😉
OH man that is funny! I have so done that before! Pools can be so deceiving with their length! Glad you figured out which one and it shows you are getting faster!
For triathlon purposes it does not matter. You will be swimming in the ocean or a river. You will not be swimming in a straight line. The standard error will be more than few yards.
Yay for the extra $20!! 🙂 and 1:35!? Dang girl, that is fast! I’m lucky if I can pull a 1:35 when I’m all-out sprinting and that’s in my 25 YARD pool. Hmm, maybe I SHOULD double check that! 😉 you are doing an awesome job, and tou’re going to be an amazing triathlete!!
Who knew? I just looked at my pool’s website and it claims to be 25 meters as well. Yay! I’ve never thought to actually check my pace while swimming. Now you’ve given me a new project for this week’s swim. happy training.
I’m glad we both made the same mistake! The funny part is, I was on the swim team in high school. I should know all of this. Doh!
I had to laugh when I read this because I did the same thing when I first joined 24-Hr (where I swim). I think I called them about 5 times to verify that it was a “Jr Olympic” size pool. I recently caved and got the Garmin 910 and I have to say, it is SO NICE to have something else track my distance versus me counting alphabets to keep track of how many laps I’ve swam. I *highly* recommend it 😀 😀 😀
Page- if there is anyway you can measure your pool, I would recommend it just to give you peace of mind. Most new pools are build to 25 yards, not meters (mostly due to space contraints). The pool at 24hr being relatively new, I suspect it is 25 yards. One of the pools at the Aquatic Center in P-town is 25 meters, but it was built a long time ago. Is the deck tiled? If so, measure a tile and then count tiles.
You might also ask other swimmers. Someone that has been swimming for a long time, should have a good idea about the length of the pool since they probably know their stroke count per lap for both meter and yard pools.
Either way, your times are very impressive. Keep up the hard work.
Found this post a little late, but I am STILL LMAO ! I did the exact same thing!!
Anita
Of course, what a fantastic website and instructive posts, I definitely will bookmark your blog.All the Best!
askno695 https://askno695.tumblr.com/
I see you don’t monetize your site, don’t waste your traffic,
you can earn extra cash every month. You can use the best adsense alternative for any type of website
(they approve all websites), for more details simply
search in gooogle: boorfe’s tips monetize your website
Hello
NO MATTER WHAT YOU WANT, WE HAVE – so do not hesitate to ask even if it is not listed below !!
I provide the following mentioned services.
* ADWORDS $100 coupon
* BING $100 coupon – now you can use two bing ads coupons per account.
* AWS Amazon $150 coupons
* Digital ocean $50 coupon
* WINDOWS keys lifetime license -version 7,8 and 10
* OFFICE 365 lifetime access
* OFFICE 2016 AND 2019 Product Keys
* NETFLIX Accounts with 6 months validity
* ADWORDS Verified account with $500 credits + VPS
* BING verified account with $100 credits + VPS
* AMAZON AWS RDP/VPS Free Tier accounts
* Google CLOUD accounts with $300 credits.
* Lynda.com Accounts
* DOMINOS & PIZZA HUT PIZZAS available(for USA) only
* AZURE Accounts with $200 credits
* ADSENSE Accounts with domain and Website
* Quality NICHE Websites/Blogs
* CPA Accounts Approval of any company
* PAYPAL verified accounts with NO 21 days hold
* ANY OTHER SERVICE you are looking for
……………………………………………………………………………
All this below I have NEW & AGED Accounts, minimum order: 100 acounts
* Google Voice Accounts
* Gmail Email Accounts
* Yahoo Email Accounts
* Hotmail Email Accounts
* Outlook Email Accounts
* Gmx.com Email Accounts
* AOL Email Accounts
* EDU Email Accounts
* Facebook Accounts
* LinkedIn Accounts
* Twitter Accounts
* Instagram Accounts
* Reddit Accounts
* Pinterest accounts
If you are interested in the following services, please let me know here: bestservice@post.com
Thanks
Hi!
You Need Leads, Sales, Conversions, Traffic for twentysixandthensome.com ? Will Findet…
I WILL SEND 5 MILLION MESSAGES VIA WEBSITE CONTACT FORM
Don’t believe me? Since you’re reading this message then you’re living proof that contact form advertising works!
We can send your ad to people via their Website Contact Form.
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED, Contact us => lisaf2zw526@gmail.com
Regards,
Baltzell