Day 7

We arrived at the ocean pool very early tonight.  As they opened we realized there were a lot of fish today.  There was also some coral growing on the ocean pool floor.  It gave me something to focus on, other than counting, every now and again.  Once the storm started up we decided we couldn't stay too long.  Fighting the waves was a tough job so we only stayed half an hour.

I swam 1,150 yards today.  At the end of day 6 I had 2,807,700 yards left - 1,150 yards swam today = 2,806,550 yards left to swim!

We won't be able to swim again until Monday but at the moment I'm okay with that.  I won't be tomorrow but right now I am.

Day 6

I had a nice, long, leisurely swim today.  The water was calm and there weren't many fish in sight.  There were only 2 sharks in the water today and they were the "Fish are friends not food" type- very friendly.

The lifeguards at the ocean pool know me now.  They sign me in before I can even get to the table.  It's nice to see a friendly face before busting my butt in the water.

I swam further today than I have since I took up this challenge.  I put in an even 2,000 yards.

2,809,700 yards at the end of Day 5 - 2,000 yards swam today = 2,807,700 yards left to my final destination!

Day 5

I'm happy to report the storm died down some today.  The sharks were back again, but they were friendly today.  They agreed to give us some more room so we weren't sharing half a lane.

We were both tired today so we wanted nothing more than to float on our backs and allow the current to take us wherever it wanted.  We knew that if we did that though, we could be thrown way off course and would have even more swimming ahead of us.  So we set our minds to it and swam away.  We did take a few extra moments to relax, and I'm glad tonight's swim is behind us.

Tonight I swam 1,400 yards.  At the end of day 4 I had 2,811,100 yards left to swim. 2,811,100 yards at the end of Day 4 - 1,400 yards swam today = 2,809,700 yards left to my final destination!

Despite being tired and in some pain today, I'm excited to get back into the pool tomorrow.  I'm hoping before too long my stamina has increased some and I wont' be so tired at the end of the day.

Day 4

I'm writing this the next day because I was too tired from a long day yesterday to update then.  I'm on the search for a new ocean pool with better hours.  The one I've been using is only open 1 hour a day, for 4 days a week, and that's only through part of August.  Then their schedule will change, and I know the establishment well enough to know the hours won't become more convenient.  So the search has begun.  I've been pleasantly surprised to see I can save money by getting a membership to one of these other locations while still swimming more than 4 hours a week!

Last night I arrived at the ocean pool to find the sharks had returned.  Not only that, but they brought with them a lot of other fish.  The ocean pool was busier than I had seen it previously.  Then a giant octopus arrived and asked me and my buddy if he could share our lane.  To my dismay, as I got out a short time later, I discovered he had chosen the only lane with more than 1 person already in it >:-(  Ocean Pool Etiquette, people!

It was storming like crazy last night so the waves were bigger than normal.  This had a real impact on how far I could swim so I ended up only putting in 1,200 yards.

2,812,200 yards left as of the end of Day 3 - 1,200 yards swam on Day 4 = 2,811,000 yards left to my destination!

I can't wait to swim again tonight!  I hope the storms and the fish have calmed down some though.  The ocean pool will be open earlier and the earlier days tend to have less people.

Day 3

I wasn't sure my swimming buddy would be able to make it today.  I was determined to swim, even if that meant doing so alone.  I got to the ocean pool just as it opened today.  Oh no!  There are sharks in the water!  Just put your head down and keep swimming.  If you don't bother them they won't bother you.  500 yards later my friend arrived!  I told her I wanted to put in another 1,000 yards before I left and she pressed me to stay until the ocean pool closed.  She said 1,500 yards wasn't enough.  I should try for 1,800 so I did.  And at 1,800 yards I called it quits- 5 minutes before closing.


2,814,000 yards left as of yesterday - 1,800 yards swam today = 2,812,200 yards left!

Day 2

My name is Kelli.  I suffer from a chronic pain condition and for too long have used it as an excuse not to work out.  The sedentary lifestyle I lead cannot be good for anyone so this ends now!  I've been swimming laps because it's a good workout that my body can actually handle.  NO MORE EXCUSES!  That's my new motto.

My husband suggested that I set a goal to help keep me on track and motivated.  Great idea!  so what am I going to do?  I'm going to swim across the Atlantic Ocean!  Now of course I'm not actually swimming across the Atlantic Ocean.  That's just silly.

The shortest distance across the Atlantic Ocean is between SW Senegal, W Africa, and NE Brazil, E South America.  It's 1,600 miles.  I count the distance I've swam in yards since the pool I'm swimming in is 25 yards long.  So here's some math for you to make sure we're all on the same page.

There are 1,760 yards in a mile.  1,760 yards *1,600 miles = 2,816,000 yards across the Atlantic Ocean at it's smallest point.
As previously stated, the pool I swim in is 25 yards long.  2,816,000 yards / 25 yards = 112,640 lengths of the pool.
If I swim an average of 1,000 yards (40 lengths) a day it will take me approximately 2,816 days (or 7.715 years) to swim across the Atlantic.  I think I can do it faster.
Day 1 was Monday.  I didn't actually track the number of yards swam so I'll estimate it to be 900 yards.  At the end of Day 1 I had 2,815,100 yards to go.
Day 2 I swam 1,100 yards.  At the end of Day 2 I had swam a total of 2,000 yards, and had 2,814,000 yards left to go.











I'm excited to get into the pool again tonight and get even closer to my final destination!