My regular pool was closed on Monday for Martin Luther King Day. In desperation to get my daily swim in, I considered every backup option.
There was only one – the outdoor pool in Cary, 30 miles away. I have used this facility a dozen times in the past year. It’s a phenomenal aquatic center with 4 pools – 3 inside plus the 1 outside.
Unfortunately for me, there was a huge kid’s swim meet taking up all 3 indoor pools. The only lap lanes available were outdoors.
And it was 36 degrees outside!
Ever since I l dropped to my ideal weight a few years ago, I get really cold all the time. Even when I swim indoors, in a heated pool, I’m freezing when I get out to dry off in temps around 86 degrees. The thought of swimming outside when it’s 36 degrees was almost unbearable.
But, desperate times call for desperate measures.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t too bad. The water was heated to around 82 degrees so it was warm. The air was cold, but there sunshine and little wind. I could feel the chill on bald head and any body parts that rose out of the water, but it wasn’t unbearable.
Getting out sucked. But, I followed other swimmers’ advice I found online and raced to dry off in 15 seconds before donning my coat and running inside to finish getting dried off.
I was grateful for having the chance to swim on MLK day – even if it was outside in a heated pool. It’s a high class problem to have, I know.
With any luck, I’ll never have to do it again.