Sunday, February 3, 2008

The Sweet Smell of Chlorine

Today I found myself back in the pool after nearly a year away to give a friend a swim lesson. Every time I get back in I'm reminded of how much I loved it- I am more comfortable and more graceful in the water than I will ever be on land.

Getting back in also reminded me of how out of shape I am. I used to swim two to three times a day, 8-10,000 yards a day (for the non-swimmers, 25 yards = 1 lap). I used to be good- seriously good, and now my arms start to shake after a few laps. Although this time was much better than the last time I jumped in after about a year off- carrying Landon around has kept me pretty toned despite not working out for months.

I think I'm finally ready to start swimming again- although like every other promise I've made recently to work out, it probably won't happen (excuses: lack of time, crossing the Midway to get to the gym is the coldest walk on Earth, etc.). But it was nice to have my signature chlorine perfume back for a day.

7 comments:

  1. I just found out they are closing my neighborhood pool for renovations! I can't really complain because I kinda stopped going because it's so over-chlorinated that my skin stung!

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  2. I admire swimmers...as a runner, I could never master the whole swimming concept. I mean I can dog paddle alright, but that's pretty much it. It takes serious coordination to plan your breathing AND your strokes...

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  3. I miss swimming SO much. I could swim literally before I could walk, and would rather do that than anything else in my life. My sophomore year in high school, I developed an allergy to chlorine. It made me sneeze uncontrollably. Of course, my love for swimming kept me in the sport for another two years, despite the sneezing. But I had to quit after senior year just to keep my head from falling off. I still dream about races and REALLY want to go back to it. Nothing keeps you in better shape than 100's on 1 minute intervals.

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  4. Wow, that is a LOT of laps! Good for you for getting back to it, even in the dead of winter. Good thing you're headed back to a warm climate.

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  5. Holy moly! I'm pretty proud of myself if I can eek out a 1500! It feels so great to get back in after a while though, doesn't it?

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  6. Highs today are in the 80's. Thought you'd like to know ;-)

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  7. OMG! for the kinesiology degree at UT we had to do 2 phys ed classes..and they wouldnt let me do tennis since i played it as a varsity sport.

    soooo..i did swimming and OMG!it was sooooo so hard!the class was at 8am and lasted an hour but it felt like forever when we got out of the TSC!

    im glad i was in athletics and had that network(i.e. ian and brendan gave me sweet swim tips) to get me through!!

    ps that was the best semester because swimming was prob the best workout ever!!!

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