Slappy, Stud Muffin, and Shamu

Swimming in Seattle....

While preparing for my trip to Seattle, I hopped online and checked out the details for the hotel's pool; 15 meters, lap layout. I was planning on swimming each day, if possible, and was looking forward to having some extra time to work on my stroke and technique. As with most good intentions, this didn't quite happen. I awoke at 3 am CST on Sunday morning and arrived in Seattle at 11 am PST. By the time I met up with Julie, ate lunch, checked in at the hotel, set up the booth, did some sightseeing, and ate dinner I was thoroughly exhausted.

We ended up calling it a night fairly early and spent the evening in our jammies, visiting and relaxing. Julie and I decided that we'd like to do some shopping the next morning so I gladly put off another swim until a later time. (After all, this is about as much "vacation" as I get lately.) Before heading to our room that evening, we decided to check out the fitness room and pool. I was impressed with the set up and was really looking forward to a good swim in the morning.

I forgot to pack workout clothes, but I did have my suit, goggles, and swim cap. I couldn't talk Julie into letting me traipse through the hotel in that lovely outfit so I picked up some items the day before during one of our stops. The next morning, I headed to the pool.

Before I reached the locked glass entrance door to the pool, I heard an unusual sound; a rhythmic slapping of sorts. I didn't know if there was someone cleaning the pool or beating a wet towel on the tiles..... I opened the door and discovered the slapping sound was someone swimming laps. I've never heard such a ruckus! Wouldn't that hurt? Not that I'm a proper form aficionado but I DO know that there should not be that much noise when one swims. I then began wondering if that's what I sound like......impossible.

I changed out of my workout clothes and entered the pool. The water was a little cool but nothing like what I'll experience in Lake Michigan next fall. I had factored the distance I wanted to swim the day before; a 15 meter pool would require about 106 lengths to equal a mile. I had been swimming a little short of that at home so I decided that I'd set a goal for 100 lengths / 50 laps.

I felt good in the water and tried to focus on my stroke rather than become distracted by the commotion next to me. I soon realized that my quiet, smooth stroke was just as efficient as the thrashing going on next to me. Boy, did I feel great! Let me remind everyone that I'm still focusing on my upper body.....mostly because I can't get my legs to kick the way they're supposed to with this modified version, but also because I figure the stronger I am in my upper body, the better off I'll be.

About halfway through my laps, I noticed another swimmer entering the water. The pool was beginning to feel a little crowded, but I need to get used to that. I was expecting this swimmer to join in on the laps and viewed a pretty aggressive freestyle, not nearly as noisy as my neighbor. It's fun to observe and pretend as though you're not and I detected this new visitor taking a prolonged break after his first length. I began to worry that he'd need CPR and I certainly wasn't going to oblige. The amount of huffing and puffing going on was a little reminiscent of my first time back in the pool. He then proceeded to start the next lap with the butterfly.....a pretty ambitious endeavor considering his condition after the freestyle lap. My first thought was that this was going to get pretty obnoxious but after one lap the "stud muffin" exited the pool to sit in the hot tub. What was that about?!?! I giggled a little to myself and kept on swimming.

About the time Slappy ended his swim and headed for the hot tub, another swimmer showed up. This guy at least looked serious with his goggles and swim cap. Did I mention that this pool was quite narrow? He opted for the center lane, eventhough the far lane became available shortly after he began his swim.

I continued on with my laps, nearing the end of my goal for the day, when I noticed an unusual amount of turbulence. I took a peek and saw that this new swimmer was swimming the breast stroke.....not a stroke one would imagine to produce waves of any size. I'm not sure if it was the size of the swimmer or the dimensions of the pool but I was being tossed about as if I were a dinghy in the middle of the Pacific. I doubt Shamu causes this much motion at Sea World! I was expecting to see white caps soon and decided that I couldn't have asked for a better pool companion. This experience gave me a teeny, tiny taste of what to expect not only in the channel but in any open body of water. Each challenge can be viewed as an opportunity when wearing the right goggles....

I completed my goal of 50 laps / 100 lengths and felt great. Julie had already finished her run on the treadmill and was waiting poolside. After a quick dip in the hot tub, we headed back to the room to prepare for the day. I didn't have the opportunity to return to the pool before the end of my trip but thoroughly enjoyed Seattle and can't wait to return for a REAL vacation!