Lightning and Thunder

I was planning on going to The Wreck Center to swim but didn't because the pool was closed due to the chlorine level. I took a look at the Mehlville Pool brochure but afternoon open swim wasn't on tap until Thursday. So, I decided to pack my gym bag and head to the faraway Wohl Center.

As I'm driving toward Wohl, I see lightning and the zigzag pattern continues to divide the sky. I detour and head home because I know that there will be no swimming with the lightning and thunder.

A funnel cloud is spotted at I-255 and Telegraph and there are storm warnings all over the place.

I miss the pool when I don't go. It's been only four days since I last swam but it seems like forever.

I decided to nix the gym too since I've been exercising for 11 straight days.

I had to live vicariously through my aquatic frog whose breastroke kick is superb. Well, he's not kicking it in this pic; you'll just have to take my word for it.



And, of course, lightning and thunder reminds me of Bob Marley's Revolution.

Back-Up Pool

Just as I was gathering my swimwear, I found out that my regular pool was having some pump situation taken care of. I pulled out my unofficial directory of pools and started making some calls.

I hauled it to the North side in record time and was able to swim for about 35 minutes before open swim ended. I haven't been to the Wohl Center in ages and was surprised to see quite a few kids taking lessons. I stopped to chit chat with the lifeguard who told me that it felt like a sauna. I forget that it's warmer for the lifeguards while they're perched on those chairs. I headed to the deep end since the divider was in place. I should get a sticker for bravery since the deep end at Wohl is ten feet and the lifeguard was not close to me.

When I stuck my face in the water, all I could feel was heat. It was like a sauna instead of a pool but I got to experience different temperatures when I swam by the pipe disbursing water. I literally went from one temperature extreme to the other.

The water was so warm that it looks all foggy in this pic. I love the block glass windows at Wohl.

Doing Better

I went swimming yesterday even though my arms were still quite sore from Thursday's rock climbing. I completed about 13 laps but can't be sure since I misplaced my lap counter. I sometimes lose count even with the lap counter; c'est la vie.

I'm trying to decide if I should order a new ultra-cool counter or get a used one from Amazon like the one I lost. Maybe I should get a red one which would be a little harder to leave behind.

I went to swim at one of my favorite places which will now be known, from this point on, as "The Poo."

"The Poo" is almost my favorite watering hole but I would really like for the water to be a tad bit warmer. I hear that competitive swimmers like the water cold but cold water is not my cup of tea. I can't imagine why. Of course, I wasn't imagining why when I went to the Wohl center once and the water was very cold. Since I had traveled so far, I stubbornly went ahead and got in the shockingly cold water. Once in, it wasn't so bad since I was continuously moving around but I did have to tell the disappointed woman who had come for water aerobics and who followed me into the locker room to get my opinion about the water that, yes, the water was artic-like.

Mehlville's pool was pretty crowded yesterday. There were two girls from the school district's swimming team. Their black team swimsuits are rather cool with green panther tracks on the suit and swimming cap. The one girl's butterfly stroke is a thing of beauty to behold.

Several kids were taking swimming lessons and the ones who weren't were exuberantly jumping off the creaky diving boards. Twin five-year-olds, who had on bulky floating devices, got into the act and started jumping off the boards too. I was later surprised to see one twin treading water without her float suit. I wish that I had learned to swim as a child.

I also heard the swim team crew talking about how many calories they had possibly burned. I never thought about such things in high school. Although, I'm sure we burned quite a few calories playing basketball.

I also wish that I had paid better attention to nutrition and fitness before. Oprah Winfrey likes to report that Maya Angelou told her "when you know better, you do better." So, here's to doing better.

Instant Karma

I was teasing Jessica, one of my 9 to 5 comrades, about her anger. Well, little did I know...

After work, I headed to the Wohl Center to swim. First, the security was a little beefed up. Hmmm, what was up with that? I headed back to the pool and the door to the staff office was closed. No signs, nothing and, not to be deterred, I checked the locker room door and it was open. I figured that by the time I changed into my swimming gear, a lifeguard would appear. Not. I also pinpoint the noise that I've been hearing. There is water being pumped into the pool. Not a good sign for someone who wants to be in the pool.

While I'm waiting for a sign of life, I notice how nice the pool area is because I'm seeing the light stream through for the first time since the days have gotten longer. There's one whole wall of block glass and the rest is regular glass; it's literally a glass pool house.

The lifeguard finally appeared and said the pool was semi-open. Hunh? The water was not warm enough because someone did not adjust the temperature in a timely fashion and there's a chlorine glitch too. After the unscheduled pool draining, I was not expecting any other problems so soon.

I was utterly and completely annoyed since I had trekked from the South side to the North side and I couldn't even head straight to the gym without my other set of workout stuff: MP3 player, towel, socks and tennis shoes.

I was angry because my plans felt wrecked and my schedule is such a tightrope act these days. I was beginning to feel like David Banner when he's spiraling out of control and not even Outkast was working any magic. I had a lot of energy and no outlet. It would have been so satisfying to make contact with a punching bag.

I went home and thought about working out to a dvd but I'm having converter box/dvd compatibility problems and trouble with the computer dvd-r as well. I eventually regrouped and headed to Webster Groves to work out. It was crowded at 7:30 p.m. and the three working AMT's were spoken for. Perfect. I decided to take my fury to the StairMaster and, let me tell you, they don't call it the StairMaster for nothing.