In the swim
In April 2015 I bought myself an annual swim membership at the pool next door to work. I swam almost every work-day the following 12 months, so I renewed it in April. It's a routine now. I see the same people every week, we smile and exchange pleasantries as we pass in the pool, we chat in the showers (it's communal), but I wouldn't recognise most of them in street clothes!
As well as the recreational swimmers, there are the training teams, made up of school kids and uni students. Almost all the girls have nearly waist-length hair, which they wash every day, and all I can think is how they end up going to school with damp plaits. Occasionally we see the Para-GB swimmers training too, which is quite exciting. Prior to the Paralympics the whole team was in. I think there was an event in December because the main pool was out of action for a week for para-training.
Today was the first day back after the Christmas closure. It's very apparent that the students aren't back yet: there were five of us in the 25m laned pool, so we had a lane each. I did my 500m, 100m of which was front crawl, which is by far my weakest stroke, and 6 months ago I could hardly manage half a length.
The most noticeable thing today, other than the fact that the shower I reported as broken last month is still broken and its neighbour has decided to join it in solidarity, is that the changing room playlist has changed. You get used to the music after a while. In fact, you get to the stage where not only do you know what comes next, if you hear the song on the radio it's startling when the next tune is something completely different! Last autumn Coldplay's "Yellow" was on the playlist and you could tell the approximate age range of the morning swimmers by the fact that almost all of us sang along in our changing cubicles! Today I didn't recognise a single song, although I think one might be an Eliza Doolittle and one a Corinne Bailey Rae. This time next week I'll be singing along to one, at least.
As well as the recreational swimmers, there are the training teams, made up of school kids and uni students. Almost all the girls have nearly waist-length hair, which they wash every day, and all I can think is how they end up going to school with damp plaits. Occasionally we see the Para-GB swimmers training too, which is quite exciting. Prior to the Paralympics the whole team was in. I think there was an event in December because the main pool was out of action for a week for para-training.
Today was the first day back after the Christmas closure. It's very apparent that the students aren't back yet: there were five of us in the 25m laned pool, so we had a lane each. I did my 500m, 100m of which was front crawl, which is by far my weakest stroke, and 6 months ago I could hardly manage half a length.
The most noticeable thing today, other than the fact that the shower I reported as broken last month is still broken and its neighbour has decided to join it in solidarity, is that the changing room playlist has changed. You get used to the music after a while. In fact, you get to the stage where not only do you know what comes next, if you hear the song on the radio it's startling when the next tune is something completely different! Last autumn Coldplay's "Yellow" was on the playlist and you could tell the approximate age range of the morning swimmers by the fact that almost all of us sang along in our changing cubicles! Today I didn't recognise a single song, although I think one might be an Eliza Doolittle and one a Corinne Bailey Rae. This time next week I'll be singing along to one, at least.