Some thoughts on swimming

I went swimming again today. I was pretty apprehensive but it turned out OK. At least I got a good workout.

I went to Steiner Aquatic Center, which is only a 5 minute drive (it's pretty near the East High track where I often work out). The first thing I noticed is that I had to pack a lot of stuff to swim. Cap, goggles, towel, soap, shampoo, deodorant, clean socks & underwear, $5 for the fee, a brush, and a lock for the locker. I didn't forget anything important, thankfully. I suppose if I had decided to shower at home I wouldn't have had to bring so much stuff, but honestly, who wants to drive home when the weather is below freezing wet and smelling of chlorine? When I worked out w/my brother and SIL we did that, but it wasn't so cold outside there. Besides, this way I could get a shower without any little ones peering in and saying "mommy...", and without getting in Loren's way as he gets ready for work.

I paid my fee, asked where the locker rooms and pool were, and walked in. I was wearing my suit under some sweats, so I peeled them off and shoved my stuff in the locker and grabbed my towel and goggles and cap and headed for the pool. I surveyed the scene. Half the lanes were occupied by the East High swim team. The other half had 1-2 people each lane, except one lane on the end which was empty :)! I asked the East High coach if there were any rules for which lane was which (slow, med, fast, etc.) and he said no, but he wished there were. I thanked him and got in the empty lane, next to some of the East High swimmers. I tried not to pay attention to how fast they were.

The workout itself was a bit boring since I didn't have anything in particular planned. I just thought I'd swim at an easy aerobic pace for an hour and not stress about anything. That was good for today, actually. I did in the neighborhood of 40 laps (I'm terrible at counting them!) of the 25 yd pool for about 2000 yds. Most of them were freestyle but I did about 6 laps (?) of breaststroke for something a little different. My knee (IT band) actually bothered me a little bit pushing off the wall during some of the freestyle laps and also a little during some of the breaststroke laps. I don't think it was a big deal, just a little tweak, but it was a good reminder of why I was in the pool. It was still great to get some exercise, and every time I checked my heart rate it was about 135-150, which was exactly where I wanted it.

Things I like about swimming:
1. You don't notice sweat in the pool. I am not one to enjoy getting really sweaty, though obviously racewalking is a pretty good sweat generator.
2. Weather is a non-issue in an indoor pool.
3. It's pretty easy to tune out the world when you can't hear or see much. I think once I got better at this it would be a good time to think about things.
4. Once you're in the pool no one notices much about how you look. That's a happy thing.
5. The showers had private stalls with a bench in each. Yay!
6. I wasn't the slowest person in the pool today. Not that I'm fast (I was very slow, with most of my laps around 1:00-1:05, which is 2:00-2:10 for 100yd).

Things I didn't particularly care for:
1. The chlorine smell which is still on me 8 hours later, even after a shower.
2. The large number of teenage girls in the locker room after the workout - the East High contingent. I actually didn't mind their gossip and camaraderie with each other, but I was acutely aware of my age and my cellulite. Hopefully they didn't mind the old lady (me!) in there with them. Not that I'm old, but I sure felt that way next to them!
3. I missed my mp3 player. I love listening to music/books/podcasts while I racewalk.
4. It was on the boring side. If I'm going to have to do this for several months (which I might) I am definitely joining the Master's team so I can get some coaching and do real workouts. That would be more fun.

I miss racewalking SO much. I popped a DVD of the Olympics in the other day, and watched a little. I had to turn it off after a few minutes because I just couldn't stand watching it knowing that I couldn't get out there for a walk.

However, overall my mood is much better since Tuesday. I'm not exactly sure why, but I'm grateful for it. I think part of it is just being back in a routine again after the holidays. Whatever the reason, I'll take it.