It has been two months to the day since I last hit the water. My club closed down for Christmas, and the Omicron hit, so this was the first practice of the new session for my Masters swim club.
I spent a ridiculous amount of time yesterday checking my gear to be ready for this morning. Before and after our time in the water, everyone was chatty and excited to be back.
Because of the gradual reopening, we are back at the temporary pool we have been using since the first reopening, but at slightly different times. We had been scheduled to return to our regular pool, so we are very grateful to the Ottawa Parks and Recreation staff who managed to accommodate my club on short notice. Given that our regular pool has less parking and is closer to downtown, this switch has worked out well, at least while the protests continue.
How was the actual swimming? It was hard work! I felt like I was losing circulation in my arms for a while, and I was definitely very slow. My lane mate and I put on flippers for the last bit but we still managed only 1650 M. The muscles on my weaker side reminded me why swimming is such a good overall fitness activity. I needed a little nap afterwards.
I am already looking forward to next week.
Diane Harper lives and swims in Ottawa.
Oh, it’s so good to see you back in the pool! I remember how excited I was last year when the pools reopened in our area. It’s exhausting after such a long time but also wonderful. Enjoy!