WOMEN ONLY
150 free
50 breast
100 free
100 medley
100 free
100 breast
100 medley
100 free
100 back
100 breast
100 free
===========
1100 free (actually I think more but I lost count)
I was feeling a bit weak after a 4 day bout of the flu, and didn't swim in my club yesterday (also we had to tidy up so our new cleaners could come clean our house). But I had read about swimming for women only from 8-9pm at one of the local swimming pools. "Great", I thought, "One of those well-meaning projects to try to get immigrant women to exercise more - there won't be a soul". When I showed up there was a line of about 30 women (half of which with a hijab) waiting to be let into the pool. My dreams of an empty pool were dashed, and I considered leaving. As I vascillated, a voice of sense spoke to me - "Not all of these women will be swimming laps - they're probably just coming to have a good time - give it a chance"
Although I had become the last in line, I stripped off my clothes quickly so I could get into the first wave of showers and stake my claim on the fast lane of the pool. I was the first one in the lane and swam at my usual speed when I was joined first by one hopeless swimmer unaware of the keep right lane etiquette and then yet another. I was so frustrated I forgot to count laps. Eventually one of the swimmers left the lane, and I was sharing my lane with a woman 10-20 years older than me with no clue how to swim. I quickly found out that I was swimming 4 times faster than her, and suddenly it was a sport for me to finish my 100 meter sets before she finished one lane.
Around 600 meters along, my respect for this woman grew. Not only was I unable to scare her out of the lane by swimming butterfly, but she just kept plodding along, taking no longer breaks at the end of her lane than I did at the end of my 100 meter set. She did eventually move over to the lane that had emptied next to us, but in my eyes she had transformed from an irritating poor swimmer to the toughest bird in the pool - plodding along at her own pace and swimming for 45 minutes. Swim cap off for you my dear!
50 breast
100 free
100 medley
100 free
100 breast
100 medley
100 free
100 back
100 breast
100 free
===========
1100 free (actually I think more but I lost count)
I was feeling a bit weak after a 4 day bout of the flu, and didn't swim in my club yesterday (also we had to tidy up so our new cleaners could come clean our house). But I had read about swimming for women only from 8-9pm at one of the local swimming pools. "Great", I thought, "One of those well-meaning projects to try to get immigrant women to exercise more - there won't be a soul". When I showed up there was a line of about 30 women (half of which with a hijab) waiting to be let into the pool. My dreams of an empty pool were dashed, and I considered leaving. As I vascillated, a voice of sense spoke to me - "Not all of these women will be swimming laps - they're probably just coming to have a good time - give it a chance"
Although I had become the last in line, I stripped off my clothes quickly so I could get into the first wave of showers and stake my claim on the fast lane of the pool. I was the first one in the lane and swam at my usual speed when I was joined first by one hopeless swimmer unaware of the keep right lane etiquette and then yet another. I was so frustrated I forgot to count laps. Eventually one of the swimmers left the lane, and I was sharing my lane with a woman 10-20 years older than me with no clue how to swim. I quickly found out that I was swimming 4 times faster than her, and suddenly it was a sport for me to finish my 100 meter sets before she finished one lane.
Around 600 meters along, my respect for this woman grew. Not only was I unable to scare her out of the lane by swimming butterfly, but she just kept plodding along, taking no longer breaks at the end of her lane than I did at the end of my 100 meter set. She did eventually move over to the lane that had emptied next to us, but in my eyes she had transformed from an irritating poor swimmer to the toughest bird in the pool - plodding along at her own pace and swimming for 45 minutes. Swim cap off for you my dear!
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