I awaken around 6AM this morning and my mind gropes in search of what day of the week it is. When my mental rebooting is complete, I conclude that it's Saturday. Ahhhhhh. In a split second, I download my initial decision of the day: there's no way I'm getting up yet. An hour passes. I peek at the clock again. It's still too early to start the day. Even though I'm not even sleepy, I refuse to rise. Another hour passes.
Somehow, I manage to extract myself from between the bedsheets at 8AM. I stagger to where April's YMCA pool schedule is posted inside my closet door. I squint at the blue sheet of paper and confirm that if I hurry I can lane swim before the youngsters take over the pool at 9AM. I throw on some clothes, cram swim gear and toiletry items into my vinyl-lined leather tote bag, pour coffee into my favorite mug and slide into the Avalanche.
Five minutes later, I park, grab my bag and enter the Y. Looking down at the pool, I'm relieved to see there's only one swimmer in one of the six lanes. Downstairs, in the locker room, I undress. I slip into my swimsuit, stretch my swim cap over my head, snap on my goggles and step into my shower sandals. I slide my indispensable lap counter onto my first finger, grab my shampoo and body wash and head to the showers and on into the pool area.
The water feels slightly cool as I ease myself over the edge of the pool. I lower myself until only my neck and head are dry. Brrrrr. For about 5 seconds, I feel chilled. The best way to solve that is to get moving. I start my lap counter, push off the end of the pool and begin swimming. When I reach the opposite end of the pool, I press the counter button with my thumb, turn around and head back from whence I came. I swim 36 lengths of the pool before I call it quits. Ahhhhh. Then, and only then, I stop and let myself relax. After two or three minutes of floating and easing my muscles, I pull myself up over the pool edge and head for the locker room. I don't have to get rush anywhere so I reward myself with a nice, long shower. I have all the time in the world to dress and put on a touch of makeup. I'm so used to hurrying to get to the office that it feels odd to take my time.
When I get in my truck, I can smell the hazelwood coffee left in my cup. What the heck. Even though it's cold, I enjoy the last swallows as I drive home. After I unpack my bag, I record several statistics from my lap counter into my exercise log book. My total swim time was 25 minutes, 11 seconds. My average time for swimming each length was 41.99 seconds. My fastest length was length number 36 at 35.27 seconds. My slowest length was number 27 at 47.97 seconds. I love my lap counter. Focusing on stroke mechanics and counting at the same time is more than I want to cope with.
I'm training for a sprint triathlon. The event will take place in July so I'm gearing up for the challenge. I'll run 3 miles on Monday and cycle 12 miles on Wednesday. An upper body workout Thursday or Friday and another swim on Saturday or Sunday will complete another week's training.
I've begun my day on schedule. Who cares about the rest of the day! After all, it's Saturday.
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