Total Immersion Forums - Almost there!

Hey guys!

I've been swimming for about a year now and started because I was intrigued with TI. It's been great getting on a swimming regimen. I''m not too worried about time, but there's always a little part of me that wonders how I'm doing. :)
Up until recently, my workouts consisted of 500m in one go, and then breaking up into sets 200's, 100's, and 50s with each one using a little more energy.
I have a finger lap counter and use it during workout. During my initial 500, I always found myself getting anxious towards the end because I was looking forward to getting my face out of the water so that I could take a little breather before moving on to the smaller sets. I never thought I could swim much farther than 500 without resting a bit.
The other night I decided to stop trying to keep up with the laps mentally and just use the finger counter along with a playlist of about 20 minutes. I told myself I'd just relax until the music stopped playing.
It worked! I got over a little plateau and really got to relax at around 700m, I believe. I finished 1100m in 22 min at a really relaxed pace.
For the next swim, I extended the playlist a bit. This took me to 1250m. I finished with a little sprinting to verify that I wasn't all that tired. :)
Now I just need to figure out what playlist will take me past a mile!
I think my mental counting was getting in the way. It's nice to have your mind wander a bit. Also, to know that I can relax in the water the way I've been wanting to for so long. I surprised myself!

-Tim