SwiMP3 First Impressions
Wednesday, August 5, 2009 at 12:38PM I should write a book on how much listening to music you like improves
your workout effort. Ever since I started listening to Pandora on my
iPhone while biking and running, my whole world has changed for the
better. I go harder and faster and enjoy the heck out of it.
Time to take it to the pool!
The SwiMP3 couldn't be easier to set up. I just plugged it into the
USB port on my PC and it started charging and also shows up as an
external drive. I made a playlist in iTunes and then just dragged and
dropped the files onto the device. Done.
At the pool, I told my coach I was swimming on the other side without
the swim team so I could try out this new device. The earphones clip
to the goggles and they went on easily. Raised buttons on the side do
all of the typical player functions, including shuffling.
Above the water, they sound pretty bad. But that's not the point. Go
under and the transformation begins. They sound pretty good! Swim
slow and deep and the sound is excellent. Go fast on the surface and
the quality diminishes just a little with the water splashing in and
out of your ears. But that's one of the cool things... You can still
hear what's going on around you, which is vital in a pool. I'm a
former lifeguard and you need swimmers to be able to hear you for
their own safety.
I asked another swimmer that was in the lane next to me if my music
was bothering him and he said he never heard it.
Now for the good stuff. Listening to music I liked made the workout
fly by! I swam hard for over an hour and never looked at the time
until I was almost done. I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS FOR YEARS! I've
been swimming competively since I was nine years old. I do math, plan
out my day, sing to myself, whatever it takes to make lap time go by.
Honestly, it's almost maddening. Music? Music makes it fun!
I finished my swim and told the head coach I was leaving. He asked how much I had done. I said, "500 warmup, 20x100s on a 1:30 interval, 500 cooldown." He looked at me and smiled. "20x100s on a 1:30, huh? Good job!" Heck yeah, it was!
So, first impression is a big thumbs up. The device works, is SIMPLE,
and makes swimming hard so much more enjoyable than before. More
details later as I keep using it.