I have never really been what one would call an active person.
But over the last couple of years, I have become more active, not talking about running several miles a day or bench pressing my bodyweight (which I cannot currently due), but in comparison to my previous lifestyle (consisting of sleeping, eating, driving to work, sitting at a desk for at least 8 hours, then playing video games whenever not doing those other things), then I am an Ironman.
Due to scheduling conflicts I have not been to Gladiator in quite a while, but have taken what I have learned there and been applying it to my own workouts, which consists of a decent amount of swimming. I have managed to go swimming at least a few times a week and for a bit there, I was going to the pool every evening. Then I did the Spartan Race, about four miles of rough, hilly terrain with various obstacles (representing the feats of strength of a Spartan). I completed the race about 15 minutes after when I wanted to and did that with a sprained ankle. (I sprained it fairly bad about 1/2 way through the race.)
This hampered my swimming, causing me to only be able to swim once or twice a week and rarely back-to-back. But the ankle is mostly healed now and I have started swimming on a back-to-back basis. But of course, we are now into the summer months, this means that everyone and their brother (and their brother’s kids) are at the pool. Swimming at the El Salido pool over the fall and winter months has spoiled me something awful, I mean I am used to there being a handful of people swimming in the pool and rarely having to share a lane.
With the triple digit temperatures forcing those seeking relief from the heat with the benefit of some fresh air out to the pool, the place is an utter madhouse, children running everywhere, kids playing basketball, dive board has a line constantly five or six deep, the pool is proverbially popping. I feel like an old man, wanting kids to get off my lawn, I remember feeling spoiled like this when I bowled in a league with Jeremy many years ago, we would close the place, bowling for a few hours after league ended.
But I need to get my lap swimming in right? So I try to get to the pool as early as possible after work, but still it is packed, with them cutting the number of lap lanes down, to make room for the increased number of kids, it means that the lanes are doubled up and often times there are a few folks waiting for a lap lane (myself included). This has put a cramp in my style. So thankfully with summer comes morning swimming hours at many of the pools in the area. (Note, El Salido is the ONLY PUBLIC pool open year round.)
Being a member of the El Salido pool, I also have access to the Anderson Mill pool, which has morning swimming from 7 to 10 am in the morning. But that didn’t feel quite early enough given the distance to the pool from the house, so I looked around some more and found that Cedar Park has a pool that has open lap swimming (from June to the end of August) from 6 am to 9 am, and is only a short distance from the house. I managed to get there three times in a row last week for morning swim before work (scheduling didn’t permit it the rest of the week).
This weekend I didn’t have a chance to get out to El Salido either Saturday or today (Sunday), but there is the Buttercup pool that is only two blocks from our house here in Cedar Park. I have driven by that pool for the last 11 years and never really thought about going to that pool. Mind you, up until October of last year I didn’t swim, at all. But I decided I needed to finally learn, I swim better now than I ever did before, but am still not what one would call a strong swimmer (unless I have my kickboard with me, then I am Michael Phelps).
So today, after having breakfast and working for a bit, I decided I should get a swim in and thought walking over to the Buttercup pool would be a good idea, the public open swim began at 1pm, I was there by 1:10 pm. I got setup and began swimming laps, the pool itself is nice a clean, the ‘deck’ area around the pool could use some cover, again El Salido has spoiled me. I finished up my laps, dried off a bit and walked home. It felt really good.
Just feels weird, like I am finally learning my neighborhood for the first time in 11 years.
Laterz