Into the pool

Today started out beautifully, just like yesterday. Unfortunately, I had to spend all of it inside. By the time I came out, daylight was fading and the sky was covered in clouds. Another storm was blowing in. If the forecast can be trusted, this one will be quick and tomorrow -or at the very latest Saturday- should be fine again.

I drove from my meeting (in Marin) to the club, holding my fingers crossed. The pool closure had been extended for 2 days but I wasn't sure if today was in or out. I.e. was it up to and including December 18 or until December 18? I took some comfort in the fact that the temperatures had gone up a lot last night -and excessive cold had been the reason for extended closure. Maybe it would all be fine.

It was open. Open and empty, the best of all worlds. The water temperature was bizarre though. The shallow end was pretty warm, almost too warm, but the deep end was downright frigid. At first I did not notice, but after about 1.2 miles I started dreading going over to the cold side. Ultimately, it did not matter much and I did not suffer any ill effects. No hypothermia or a need for an excessively long hot shower. So maybe the difference was not that much?

I swam 1.5 miles, non-stop. Ok, with a little stop after about 125 laps (I need 132 to complete 1.5 miles) because of a cramp. But it wasn't too bad and I resumed my swim promptly. So (almost) 1.5 miles non-stop, freestyle. Not bad at all.