the swim saga continues

So swimming has become something of a traumatic experience for me.

Part of this is because every time I go to the community pool, there is an older Asian woman who decides to shower right next to me, even if all of the other showers are free. And then I feel really weird because it's like I'm naked with my grandmother.

I also seem to have developed a horrible chlorine allergy, and as soon as I am done swimming, I start sneezing violently and am congested for at least 24 hours afterward. It's disgusting.

But mostly I'm traumatized because I don't have a home pool anymore. Shortly after the "chemical issues" incident at the gym, the pool there was permanently closed. (To this day, I have no idea why. But I still stand by the fact that it was not my pee.) I ended up cancelling my membership since the only reason I joined that gym in the first place was the pool. (And coincidentally, cancelling was a good call; today I got an e-mail telling me the gym will permanently close at the end of the month. Seriously, I have no idea what is going on. Just glad I'm not part of the madness anymore.)

So now I am pool-homeless. I've been using the community pool in my neighborhood, but this has been stressful because the lap swim is only 1.5 hours, which is fine for now, but once my workouts get longer, there is no way I can physically complete them before it's time to get out of the pool.

And then there's lane sharing. The community pool has two slow lanes, two medium lanes, a fast lane and a very fast lane. And quite a few swimmers. My speed is somewhere between slow and medium. I usually warm up in the slow lane and then move into the medium lane for the main set, but this doesn't always work out. Sometimes I end up being the aggressive person in the slow lane who rides everyone's toes. Other times, I'm the traffic jam in the medium lane, and people have to swim around me. Either way, it's stressful, and I have to stand my ground and not let anyone get to me if I want to stay on my intervals. I guess it's good practice for the mass start at IMAZ.

At 6 a.m., this turns into a war zone.

I know I'm going to have to find a new pool soon. Not the easiest thing in Seattle.

(Side note: When I was in Hamilton, Ohio, last month -- long story, but it's a good one -- I swam at the YMCA there and had the entire pool all to myself, plus my very own lifeguard. It was amazing. Apparently, you have to go to the middle of nowhere to find the perfect swim situation.)