I have been getting up and going swimming at 5:30 am at least 3 times per week for the last month.

Since I started, I’ve been gradually adding laps, but sticking to a 20-22 minute long routine. Today was the day I was going to go up to 18 laps.

This morning, I got going like a rock star! I was feeling great, and at 16 laps, I glanced at the clock on the right-hand side of the pool. I’d only been going for about 12 minutes!!!

I was totally shocked. I knew I’d been going fast, but wow! Maybe I could even make half a mile at this pace. (22 laps)

I gave the clock another glance at 18 laps — and was again surprised by how much time I seemed to have, but my glance was quicker. I could definitely go 22 laps in my 20 minutes.

At 20 laps, I looked again, and paused. It still looked like I’d only been going for about 12 minutes.

I turned and looked at the clock on the left. 6:02 am. I’d been swimming for 24 minutes. Doh!

I decided to head out — increasing my workout by 5 laps this week is not the plan. Today was a bonus day, but for the rest of the week, I’m going back to 18 laps. Which is just over 0.4 miles, and seems amazing to me.