People People Everywhere

Hi. It's Laura.

I was worried about my swim yesterday because I had been down for so many days but I sucked it up and went to the pool. 

I thought I was going to love swimming after my first lesson. I did so well and the instructor was pretty cool. Because I am not that good at it, most days I dread it. Okay not dread completely. Every day I swim, I am adding a little distance and practicing different drills so I know I am getting stronger as a swimmer. There is a great sense of accomplishment when I have completed my swim workout compared to any other (although the whole sweating in the water is still kind of strange, I am sweating but i am already wet).

The parts I would prefer to do without most are the people. The pool at my health club is just a soap opera and not a good one (it’s more The New Dallas not Revenge). Every day there is someone yelling at someone else because the lifeguards are not policing the pool. People who are too slow are in the fast lanes. People who are too strong of swimmers are in the slower lanes despite the lanes being clearly marked (fast, medium fast, medium slow and slow). Then there are the people who wear flippers or hand fins. And my personal favorite is a snorkel.  

I get it (I think). You want to do the workout of a swim but you don't have any breathe technique. It makes sense BUT, by wearing a snorkel, you never lift your head out of the water. So you never see anything around you. I would have like to cover her snorkel and force her to look up the hard way. Instead I waited at the end of the pool for her to finish her lap and made sure we were on opposite sides the entire time (how grown up of me).

Seriously, every day is something new in the pool but the one thing that stays consistent is the crowd. No matter the day, no matter the time it is always busy. At first I found it very frustrating because I was a newer swimmer and didn't like the crowds. They made me nervous. Since the pool is not going to change, I needed to look at it differently. So since I am training to swim with 3000 people in July, I am using the pool to get used to choppiness of other people and the waves from the river (the bright side).

When I got into the pool yesterday there were at least six people in every lane (talk about crowded). By the time I finished, there were just two of us and we had a lovely rhythm. We spoke for a few minutes after I was done and sitting pool side (wishing there were a margarita in one hand and a cabana boy on the other side [Editor's note: Hey!]) and thanked each other for the drama free swim.

And today, I almost took out at least three tourists on my bike. Not sure if you noticed but it is not a lovely day for a bike ride. It is chilly and very windy. The sun is shining but that is about it and thank goodness for that. A long ride was on my schedule today ( 75 minutes). I had to just not think about it and go. I rode from UWS to The Financial District (near miss on tourists in Battery Park City). By the time I returned, my toes were as frozen as they would have been during a day of skiing (nothing super-hot shower can't fix). I know I need to get the miles/hours in regardless of the weather because they do not cancel races for wind or rain. 

So here we are, two weeks in and so far so good. No major aches or pains yet just a headache from the pool.

Enjoy the blustery day! 

Play hard!

Laura