I am still a swim geek; I just don’t have access to a pool like I once did.

I knew that WMU has open swim hours for the public on the weekends, and it’s only $2. It was just a matter of scheduling. I decided I’d go this past weekend, and I asked Curtis when he was available to watch the children. He said Saturday would work for him, so shortly after 5 P.M. on Saturday, I was off to WMU.

I had enrolled Yanni and Xay in swimming lessons there several years ago, and I knew the pool was twice as big as the usual pools I swim in, and it is deeper, too. It is also the only pool in the area with a high dive. I thought I better not try it with a bun in the oven; swimming 2000 yards would be challenging enough.

I was apprehensive that I’d have to swim 50s rather than 25s, but the pool was divided by a large bulkhead. A lot of pre-teens in bikinis occupied the diving area, trying out the high dive as often as they could. I was surprised to see that most of the pool was full of families, pool toys, and noodles. I thought this was lap swim, not just open swim. I would have taken Yanni or Xay with me if I’d known that.

There were two small lanes set up for lap swimming, and I had to join someone already swimming. I was a little nervous sharing such a narrow lane, but it worked out, and she exited the pool not too far into my set. I swam the whole lane for a while, when a young man came in and asked if he could swim in my lane. I looked over, and there were three people in the other lane, so I said, sure. I was really apprehensive swimming butterfly or elementary back stroke with someone else in the lane; I didn’t want to hit them with flailing limbs, or anything. But, he left before I was done as well, and I was able to practice my flip turns with no one else in the lane.

By the last 400 yards, I felt like I really had to go to the bathroom, but I made myself stick it out until I’d swum a full 2000. It felt slightly longer than that to me. I wonder if the pool is in meters?

Anyway, I usually break down the *yardage*. I’ll try it here. I swam:
200 free
200 back
200 breast
100 IM
100 cool down
100 IM
100 cool down
100 IM
100 cool down
100 IM
100 cool down
100 IM
100 cool down
100 free
100 back
25 free
25 back
25 free
25 back
25 free
25 back
25 free
25 back

By the time I exited the pool, free swim only had 5 minutes left. I was glad I got there when I did!