40 becomes 41

 Consecutive situps without a break, that is. And 41 was difficult. But that's the point, isn't it? 42 is next.

Tomorrow (which is sooner than expected) I should receive my combination swim buoy and paddleboard. With it, I can do swimming exercises that focus on just my arms (by holding the float between my knees or ankles to keep them afloat) or just my legs (by resting my chest on the float). The training plan I've chosen is broken down mostly into 25-meter chunks, or multiples thereof. The only problem with that is that the ocean doesn't come with tidy distance markers. I've considered simply assuming each stroke is one meter, but that begs the question of what to do during leg-only portions. I could, potentially, bring some sort of float and anchor and mark a 25-meter point myself. That might also give me some practice aiming for a given point. And, of course, there's nothing stopping me from using the same float to mark 50 meters, or any other distance, later. On the other hand, if I just use a conservative estimate for distance, like 1 meter for every swimming stroke, or 1 meter for however many kicks, then I'll be getting a better workout than otherwise planned.

I should also be receiving a tow float/backpack shortly. If I carry my fitness watch inside it, I should be able to get a decent distance estimate, since it will never be submerged and therefore should never lose the GPS signal. So I could use that to "calibrate" the various strokes. I'm also curious about what to carry in the bag. At some point, I'm going to have my cell phone with me. Is it better to try to lock it up on shore, or trust it in the tow float? Should it go into a redundant dry pouch inside the float? What about my keys? It's something to think about.