We dont have all federal holidays off throughout the year but this is one we do close the office for. I always find it so close to Christmas and New Years and hard to take a break. Silly, I know. But I do. I feel like I am just getting into the rhythm of the new year and boom there is a day off. So I struggled with relaxing with the day off. Yesterday I did a lot of home office stuff and some work. I was feeling the previous 2 days' swims so I decided to just do office stuff and watch the Golden Globes. It was such a relaxing day I think I made myself tired from the tedium. So today I decided that I needed to get that gym visit into the mix as well as some work.
So after some coffee and a breakfast smoothie I headed out to the office. I just needed to print a few things to prep for binding tomorrow. From there I went to the Y. WOW was it ever crowded. I don't know if it s a normal Monday crowd or what. There was a seniors water class going on. Well I am sure it is open to everyone but that was the general populous. There were little kids swimming. And ALL the lanes were jam packed. That's the part I am not sure of. Was it because of the holiday or is that the normal Monday close to lunch time crowd.
I worked up my nerve and asked to share a lane. I don't know why but that always makes me feel like I am imposing. Truth be told I think I swim a little better when I have to share a lane. Hugging the rope makes me more aware of how high my head comes out of the water etc.
I did a similar routine as the other day 100 warm up, 600, 2x300, 100 cool down. I wasn't as successful with the left-hand breathing but I did OK. I think the longer stint at the beginning of the mix took it out of me for the latter laps. And there is something to be said for what you eat before you hit the water. I had an early lunch that was probably too fatty. I could tell it was there. Not that it bothered me but I think I prefer that empty stomache almost hungry feeling when I swim instead.
And let's give some page time to the guy that ultimately shared my lane with me. It would be entertaining to say he was some tall tan blonde surfer lifeguard type but that wasn't the point of my distraction. I guess he first caught my eye because he had a swim cap on. Most of the guys I have seen recently just have really short hair and dont do the swim cap thing. And he took some time prepping the cap before he put it on his head. I notice this because I am still looking some secret to get the darned thing on my head on the first try and to get it to stay. And then there was a similar extended routine with the goggles. Again I wonder is there a secret to keep them from fogging up that I have yet to learn. I only know of spit and soapy water (the latter not readily available poolside). And finally he was in the water. He wasn't a fast swimmer - well he was faster than me- but had a consistent SMOOTH pace. He would swim by me and I barely noticed. I stopped and seriously watched him at one point. You could barely see his head turn and come out fo the water to breathe. I was very impressed as I continue to work on breathing on both sides. I suppose consistently visiting the pool will help with that for me. On occassion he and I were stopped at the same time... And THIS is what really intrigued me... I think he had one of those water-proof headsets on. He definitely had some sort of bulky something sticking out the back of his head. The girl in the lane next to ours commented that she thought it was music. So then I started to think. What would I listen to in the water? Would it distract me? Would it help my pace? Would I inevitably lose count of the laps as a result of the music? And look at how well I do these days without music?
He was still swimming, barely breathing and jamming out to his music when I left.
And the senior water class - they were all in the showers when I got there. Thankfully they were more modest than that other crowd from the other weekend.
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