Karen writes: Good old Otara pool

I left home early while the whanau were still asleep and went to the Otara pool for a swim this morning.  The pool was quite dark when I got there, with the lights on in the foyer and changing rooms being the only real illumination.   There were plenty of people, and looking from one end of the pool to the windows at the other end as the sun started shining through the glass, it was quite stunning, with the light haloing behind the heads of swimmers and water-walkers.   

Swim number 3 since Ironman back in March and I did 900meters of mixed freestyle and backstroke before deciding it was time for work.  Funny how for years my main swimming style was breaststroke, now I cant remember when I last did that stroke, and that has been because of the practice and getting confident with the faster strokes...and sorting out the breathing.  This morning I battled a bit with trying to not put too much pressure on the recently recovered shoulder, versus the desire to make the swim an even 1000m.  My mind was made up when a man swimming in the same lane as me asked if I “was tired”.  I thought, am I swimming that slow, do I look that bad?  I thought I was swimming ok, but yes, I was probably looking a bit uninspired by that point, if you want to show your best face you might want to stay out of the pool, plus those cute red rings around your eyes from the goggles are just the icing on the cake.

A hot shower, even if you have to keep pushing the button to prevent the water from going cold and stopping is an absolute treat after a good swim.  I felt fabulous and wondered why I didn’t do it more often than my current once a week…actually I do know why, I have to actually do the swim part to get to the feel-good shower. It was an excellent start to a Wednesday.