The Slow Submerge

It took me 2.5 hours to mow the lawn today because I hit the primer button too many times and flooded whatever gets flooded. Sigh.

After trimming a few weeds and dragging some exceptionally large Poke Salad down the alley to the yard trash bin, I got clean so that I could go to the pool.

Polk Salad spreads like a virus but, apparently, some folks are crazy about the stuff.

I'm still swimming indoors since the weather has been unseasonably cool.

Now, Mehlville Pool bills itself as a best kept secret.

Come on in, the water is ALWAYS fine!

It doesn’t matter what the temperature is outside, the Mehlville School District indoor swimming pool is waiting for you. From swimnastics classes to springboard diving, the Mehlville pool offers something for everyone with its year around swimming programs.

The promotional brochure even goes on to describe the pool as heated. Ha, ha. Even when the water is not frigid, it's a close call. My strategy is to just dive right in and not try to slowly submerge myself because, really, the slow submerge is tortuous.

I had to buy myself a new swimming suit because I destroyed the other one; it's loose, showing white fissures and catching water. My first swimming suit lasted over 10 years because, frankly, I was never in it. I found a $25 dollar suit at Dillard's at the end of the season last year. Then, I got another one for my birthday but they had to all be adjusted once I started loosing inches and the suits were not ideal for lap swimming anyway.

I first went looking for a swimsuit at B & B Aquatics because they were the only local store that sold plus-size fitness swimwear even though I ended up making an Ebay purchase since they had a color and style that I liked.

My favorite swimsuit so far is the Solid Ultraback Conservative.

I'm hoping that this new suit will last for awhile. Although my conviction, from the start, has been that any investment in fitness attire is a worthwhile one.

Swimming Takes Me Away

I wanted to go to an outdoor pool but the weather wasn't warm enough. I headed to Mehlville's 7:30 p.m. open swim even though I knew the water might be cold there as well. To my surprise, the water wasn't frigid.

Instead of slicing through the water, I felt as if I was weighted down -- maybe by a rather long day at work.

Between watching this father teach his two boys to swim and listening to chatty Kathleen, I got in only 11 laps but I was satisfied and relaxed afterwards.

I practiced my sidestroke and my front crawl breathing seems to be a little better.

This sign amuses me.



As a new or non-swimmer, I certainly wouldn't want to go to the pool with an irresponsible adult.

Inaugural Outdoor Swim

I went by Marquette Pool this morning to see what was going on because when I went by there on Tuesday, the only water I saw was the dew on the grass even though city pools were slated to open on June 15th. I was delighted to see water this morning.




I gathered my swim gear and headed for the pool immediately after work. To say that the pool was crowded is an understatement but most people were in the shallow end.

In addition to the people in the pool, there were quite a few folks hanging around the gate.

I actually stood by the gate for quite awhile trying to decide if I should just go to afternoon swim in Mehlville. I began to see little strips of spots to swim. I also had my eye on the deep end -- the perfect spot for laps. But how deep was the water? I definitely need to work on my treading skills and depth won't be an issue.

I asked where the locker room was after someone told me that I could not go in the gym which was not my intended destination anyway. After I changed, I came out and was greeted by Dana who is usually at The Wreck Center. I cannot tell you how nice it was to see a familiar face. Dana said that she had been trying to get my attention but I had been so deep in thought that I hadn't heard her.

She asked me if I was going to do laps in the deep end and that sealed the deal. I got in the water and was surprised by the coolness. It was 97 degrees outside but the sun hadn't had a chance to work its magic yet.

I was in the pool for about two minutes when a fight broke out. Everyone had to get out of the pool as security and the lifeguards tried to break it up.

After the fight, the lifeguards never returned to the deep end. I swam for a little bit longer but didn't stay in the shallow end long; there was too much activity and not enough space. I didn't bother to change clothes. As I was leaving, I saw Paris, a lifeguard from The Wohl Center. It was nice to see him as well.

The swimming pool is wonderfully situated. The trees are a nice backdrop and it was amazing doing the back crawl while looking at the clouds and clear sky.


It was sad, though, that the opening of the pool was marred by violence. Those kids would be better served by taking the free swimming lessons that Marquette offers or taking that aggression into, at least, a boxing ring.

Standstill

Today is normally a swimming day but The Wreck Center is closed. Of course, I could have gone to The Heights or somewhere to swim but a storm was brewing and I put my swimming plans on the shelf.

I'm so glad that I went to the Mehlville Pool on Saturday or else I would be seriously jonesing.

Speaking of swimming, my little weight tracking swimmer has not budged recently. Plateaus are so freaking frustrating and it makes you feel like the scale is broken because it does not waver in one direction or the other. Of course, the standstill has nothing to do with the carb fest that I had yesterday which included a diet of Special K crackers and Cheez-Its. I even had some reduced fat Cheez-Its in my car but did I go and get them? No. Frankly, cracker lady had forgotten the reduced Its were even in my trunk and when g'ma asked me if I wanted some Cheez-Its, I couldn't resist.

Denting the Statistic

Today was supposed to be my day off from exercise since I went to the gym yesterday in order to catch some of the Cavaliers/Magic game.

At times, it's hard not to exercise. Even though I was feeling sluggish and weary, the pool was calling my name. I wanted to practice front crawl breathing. I found a video that I had not seen on YouTube that had some helpful hints.



Since I stopped swimming on Saturday, I hadn't been to the The Poo in awhile -- maybe it's because they keep the water so dang chilly. I reminded myself that competitive swimmers like the water cool so I was surprised when a member of the swim team looked at me, opened her mouth wide with excitement and said the water is so cold today. I like the Mehlville pool with its unusual hardwood ceiling but...
I was watching the local news yesterday and they talked about how the swimming pools will open soon and that 60% of African-Americans don't know how to swim. One gentleman, the director of the city pools, says that lots of parents push their children to play football and basketball, a trend documented in Hoop Dreams.

When I went swimming on Wednesday, there were about 20 kids in the pool taking lessons. Several of the kiddos have been taking lessons for quite awhile and, judging by their skills, there will be a dent in that statistic very soon.