Hi folks– there’s a particularly vicious cold virus going around, and it finally found me on Saturday. Today I’m in the throes of sleepless, snotty, coughy, crabby ColdWorld. You’ve all been there: can’t find a position for sleeping that doesn’t result in paroxysms of coughing, loud wheezing, breathing obstruction, etc. (Insert more whining here).
Yes, I’m glad it’s not COVID (of course I’ve tested– a couple of times), but it’s just a retro cold. Still, it’s enough to derail my weekend plans, including blog-writing ones. Last weekend I went to a meditation retreat at the Omega Institute, which was a very interesting experience. I’ll be sharing it with you all this week. But right now, I don’t have enough active neurons firing to be particularly expressive or articulate. I had trouble just now typing articulate. You get the picture.
So, until my head clears, here are some pictures of incredible swims people on the Did you swim today? Facebook group have taken recently. A bunch of them are in the Southern Hemisphere, and others in tropical waters, and I am extremely envious. Take a look, and post your own envious thoughts. Or maybe post that you’ve swum there too, and I’ll envy you.
-crabby, coughy Catherine
Happy swimming people off the coast of Turkey on a swim cruise.The same happy swimming people off island off the coast of Turkey swimming in turquoise waters.Blissed-out swimmer in shallow waters off the coast of Mexico.View of Hawaian waters from the Royal Kona hotel, where a lucky swimmer was having a coffee before swimming.
Retouched but gorgeous nonetheless image of a swimming hole in a Queensland national park where some lucky duck took a dip.
Not my idea of nautical fun, but: a swimmer in Montegro, swimming near a WWII submarine tunnel. Pretty water, but too scary for me.
Would you rather be able to fly or be able to breathe under water? My seven-year-old daughter has been entertaining our family the past few suppers with “Would you rather” questions. This one, between flying or breathing under water, comes at a time when my choice is clear. However, if she had asked it two days ago, that clarity may not have been there.
Two days ago, I found myself spiraling towards depression. The current economic climate paired with my four-year-old son’s exercises in emotional regulation had been agitating my anxious mind. The stress had begun to cling to my arms, threatening to squeeze me into suffocation. By the time I sat down at the supper table, I was detached from conversation and desperate for solitude, a state of being that is contrary to my extroverted nature. I felt on the verge of a mental breakdown when, suddenly, I was hit with an undeniable desire: I wanted to go lane swimming.
Swimming is my preferred fitness activity, though, admittedly, I don’t often engage in it. My fitness journey has been one of ideas more than one of action. When I am thinking about fitness it is in the context of “When I have some free time, I’ll get to it.” The problem is that I am the mom of two busy kids, a responsible pet owner to an active dog, a socialite who desires to stay connected, and an aspiring entrepreneur about to jump into a new career—free time evades me. These identities of mine are used as my primary excuses for scarcely devoting time to exercise.
However, that evening at the supper table, I chose to listen to my desire, and I declared to my husband that I was going lane swimming. We had already made plans for him to complete the children’s bedtime routine while I got some work done, but I told him that I needed to go swimming instead. Being the knowledgeable and supportive husband that he is, he heard my desperation and encouraged me to go.
Yet, even after mentally committing to going, I found myself putzing about, slowly gathering my aquatic attire, waiting for the excuses or distractions to come. A small voice trickled in bringing guilt over leaving the family and household responsibilities to my husband. Isn’t that often the case, that women feel guilty about taking time to take care of themselves? I am thankful that my husband doesn’t support that mindset. Seeing my hesitation, he told me again to go. No other excuses came.
So I went. I drove the one kilometer to the pool, navigated the newly renovated changeroom, and walked awkwardly towards the lanes. Feeling out of place and slightly embarrassed by my existence, I paused to confirm with the lifeguard that all lanes were open. They were. Then, after more than five years, I snapped on my goggles and dove in.
What a glorious experience! The salty basin welcomed me freely, extending the kindness of washing the tensions and stresses from my body. Giving way to my strokes, the water let me rise and fall with the movements of my limbs. My muscles propelled me forward in a pattern understood by my lungs, which held air for me until my mouth broke the surface. I swam two lengths, rested for a minute, and then repeated, cycling between the front crawl, breaststroke, and backstroke.
For 30 minutes I resisted the urge to push myself in favour of allowing myself to enjoy my time in the water. That proved to be difficult as two swimmers in the lane next to me had performed their butterfly strokes at twice the speed of my breaststroke. To tame my competitiveness, I allowed myself to admire the strength of these women. Though their skills surpassed mine, I knew that it was a result of ambition, perseverance, and conditioning.
These women were working hard, and I knew that they had reached their level of athleticism by choosing to engage in that hard work regularly. I felt inspired by these women by their mere existence in the pool, so I chose to allow myself to think of myself in that light too. I left the pool with a confidence and a knowledge about myself that I had silenced. I learned that in the water I am powerful, graceful, capable. In the water I feel hopeful, patient, and at peace.
Two days later, these feelings linger. The minute tension that remains in my glutes and hamstrings brings me pride. It took more effort to get myself to the pool than the act of swimming did. The only barricade between a lifestyle that heals my anxieties and nourishes my body is me.
My priorities, while focused on good things—like my children, pets, and wanting to contribute to the household in duties and in finances—have needed this awakening to consider the exponential benefits of physical activity.
My fitness journey is alive. When I am not physically moving, I am growing. My life leads me to places that challenge my priorities, my patience, and my fears. Fitness has a place in that growth, and I see it attract me back to it in my most desperate states of being. This time, I am certain that I won’t be waiting five years before visiting the lanes again. In fact, I find myself thinking that next time I’ll ride my bike the one kilometer to the pool.
I couldn’t have imagined that one lane session would be so transformative. So, when I am asked if I would rather be able to fly or breathe under water, my answer is quick and easy: I would rather breathe under water. It takes me to new heights anyway.
Stephanie Morris is a transcriptionist and writer based in Alberta, Canada. She is a wife, a mom of two, and a newcomer to the career-writing world. As a fancier of history and literature, she aspires to blend the two in fiction and nonfiction pieces. To follow Stephanie’s writing adventures, find her at @words.and.smores on Instagram.
There are first day of school photos in my social media newsfeed already. People! Geesh. Why do Americans start school so early?
But then there’s my own life. My 59th birthday is fast approaching. It’s the last day of August. My September calendar is getting pretty full. I’m thinking about a back to school haircut.
Yes, I’m on vacation this week. But the week after is a senior leadership retreat at the university, where retreat doesn’t mean we go anywhere. But it is a very big serious meeting about plans and priorities for the coming academic year.
I’m starting to have that panicky feeling that the end of summer is very much in sight. Ack!
Tonight sunset is 8:28 pm.
Now it’s normal to feel this way in August, especially for a university professor. I won’t tell you about all the writing I haven’t finished. That’s another story.
But this year, I feel the end of summer panic especially intensely. This year has been so much recovery from surgery and so much physio that there’s lots I haven’t done. Between work and physio, it’s been a very busy serious few months.
What exactly haven’t I done?
‣ I haven’t ridden my bike very far at all. No century rides for me this summer.
‣ I haven’t been out sailing in our Snipe. No Snipe racing for me this year.
‣ I haven’t gone back country canoe camping.
‣ I haven’t spent even a single day at the beach.
‣ This was also a summer of no European conferences. It’s been a while. First, no travel because of the pandemic and then no travel because of knee woes, knee surgery, and recovery.
‣ This is connected to the first point, but there’s also been no bike trips.
‣ And there are so many friends I’d like to hang out with on patios, but I am already saying, well, maybe next year.
Summer time flies by so fast.
And I haven’t even mentioned the weather and how much rain there’s been. The poor drenching wet bike rally!
Here’s three positive thoughts though.
First, focusing on my knees has been successful. I’ve been a dedicated physio patient. I’m back in the gym. And recovery is going very well. So it has been a summer of big effort and discipline but in the long run that will serve me well.
Second, summer isn’t over yet. My mum and I have a day trip planned for this week, and Sarah, mum, and I are taking all three dogs for a weekend away to visit my youngest child, Miles. It’s warm enough to enjoy the outdoors well into September and October. The very warm summer weather means that fall may be well be the best season for riding bikes.
Third, I think this year it’s okay to be making plans for next summer already. They say to allow a full year for each knee to recover from surgery. Knee #2 was April 10. So next spring and summer, I’ll be good to go knee wise. I’m hoping to travel and see a bit more of the world.
How do you feel about August and end of summer anxiety? What helps you cope?
Maybe some of you have already seen this on your Facebook feed; a 15 km swim challenge by the Canadian Cancer Society to raise funds for cancer research.
A person wearing a red swim cap swimming in a lake with trees in the background.
I’ve been noticing it on my Facebook feed, and would think “maybe I should try to do that”. Really, 15 km in a month is what I normally do during the swim season. But I was starting to waver, thinking “oh, it’s summertime, I’m going on vacation” etc.
And then the Fit Feminists came to my rescue! Sarah VS commented on it. Diane Harper was interested. I thought it would be fun to track our swims together. Then I signed up! And Diane signed up! And now we’re both fund-raising for cancer research through swimming.
For me, there are several motivations for signing up. The first is that I’m glad this is a swimming fundraiser and not a running one. When you think about it, there are SO MANY running events that are fundraisers. The Run for the Cure. The Father’s Day Run for Prostate Cancer. And, of course, the Terry Fox Run. Well, I don’t run. It’s not often that I see a fundraiser that involves swimming, my favourite activity. What a great way for me to get involved in raising money for a cause!
The second is cancer research itself. As a health researcher (diabetes research, not cancer), I have colleagues doing some amazing research in cancer, especially in developing innovative imaging techniques to detect very early stage cancer. I also get to see how these techniques directly benefit patients. A recent study showed that the prognosis for breast cancer has dramatically improved since the 1990s. Research is saving and improving lives.
The third (why do I always write in lists?!) is personal. In 2005, I lost my dad to colon cancer. The research around that type of cancer has also dramatically improved survival rates. Drugs have been developed that treat colitis, the inflammatory disease that eventually led to my dad’s cancer diagnosis. And regular colonoscopies are truly saving lives. I will NEVER miss my colonoscopy appointments.
Another plus is this gives me a great reason to not accept ANY meetings between 11:00-1:00 in the summer, since that is now my dedicated swim time!
Swimming is my favourite activity. It just got more special.
Now, I’m not saying that my post was a magic spell or anything but I think you can draw your own conclusions there.
Ahem…let’s carry on with today’s post.
The weather hasn’t been evenly delightful, we’ve still had a few cold days and a few rainy ones but, overall, we’ve been trending toward summer.
And today (Monday), I was able to do TWO of my most important summer activities – hiking and swimming.
My husband, my brother-in-law, and my 20 year old nephew and I went for an hour-long hike on the East Coast Trail this morning.
It was tough in some places but even in the challenging spots it was wonderful to be outside in the warm weather, moving happily along the trail.
I couldn’t see the phone screen when I took this so I didn’t realize that I looked a bit disgruntled, I am far happier than I look here. Image description; A selfie with the ocean in the background with a cliff in the distance. I’m wearing a white shirt, brown sunglasses and my hair is pulled back with a bandana. I’m smirking a little and I am kind of red in the face – it was hot out today!
This afternoon, we drove to a swimming hole about half an hour away and I had a marvellous time swimming and then floating on my back looking at the sky.
It was peaceful and cool – even with a bunch of kids goofing around nearby scaring each other with the idea that they had seen an eel in the water. (There probably wasn’t an eel, there was a bunch of vegetation at the bottom and some of it was pretty eel-like.)
In order to be close enough for a clear picture, I had to stand in ankle-deep mud and vegetation, hence the smile that’s almost a grimace. Again, I’m having way more fun that it looks like. Image description: I’m standing in chest-deep water, wearing a black swim shirt, a black bandana, and brown sunglasses. I’m smiling but it’s a bit of a strange smile like I’m a little uncomfortable because, in the moment, the slimy vegetation was creeping me out a bit.
I felt so relaxed and delighted just to be there in the water, especially after my more challenging activity in the morning.
So, with two key fun activities rolled into one day, that’s my summer fun off to a solid start.
I hope the same holds true for you. 💚⭐️
PS – This won’t be the only times that I go swimming and or hiking, but I’m so happy to have done both of them once already!
I love summer water sports: swimming, paddling, snorkeling (when I can get it), playing in water (in organized fashion or not), you name it. But it’s important to be prepared and informed about safety, cost, and other issues, especially when embarking on some new twist on an old favorite.
For instance, I spent some time looking up how to rig a kayak with glow-in-the-dark lights after reading Elan’s recent post, Night Kayaking in Costumes. After doing some online research, I think I’ll just rent a kayak (maybe with some of the bloggers and assorted friends) when I’m in Ontario in August. You can read about it here, and I will certainly be reporting about it here on the blog.
In 2021 I wrote about swimming pool questions and answers from a Quora discussion. Take a look, and see if the information addresses little worries or gaps you might have had. Have a good summer Sunday, and see you all next week.
Who among us is immune to the pleasures of the hotel pool? Ever since I was little, I always looked forward to checking out pools when we went on vacation. Back then we had diving boards, slides with water hoses affixed to them, and those ropes with blue and white buoys to mark the deep from shallow end.
Those old-style pools have been replaced by shallower and simpler, diving-board-free rectangles, surrounded by a few lounge chairs and devices to make swimming accessible for people with disabilities. There’s a predictable uniformity to them– you know what to expect.
Except… Sometimes you come across a pool that defies hotel-pool expectations. Like this one.
Yes, you are in fact looking at a hotel pool fashioned very roughly after some Grecian-y pool thing. At least that’s what the hotel desk person told me.
I saw a picture of this pool online and honestly thought the columns were photoshopped in. Check it out.
See what I mean?
But I can personally testify that they are real, and they are there. And in the way of any real swimming, although I enjoyed breast-stroking around them, like an aqua-obstacle course.
I imagine that the designers imagined that this pool could transport you to another time, another place, awash in history and beauty. This experience might have been more likely if two workmen hadn’t been there the whole time, trying to fix the hot tub, which was having electrical problems. But hey, as an aquatic time traveler, I should expect the unexpected. So I swam and they repaired in relative peace.
In case you’d like a better look, here are two more views of the pool:
These days, Grecian pools have handrails.But they still have statues and fountains.
This was not a pool for lap swimming or, indeed, for any real exercise. But it was hilarious and delicious and silly and refreshing for this and other weary travelers. I’ll take it.
Now I’m on the lookout for other, shall we say, distinctive pool experiences while I’m traveling this summer. Any tips will be most welcome. Oh, in case you’re wondering, this was the place I stayed (not to promote any commercial enterprises, of course).
Dear readers, have you encountered exotic or strange pools in your travels? Tell me– I’d love to hear about them and also visit with bathing suit and towel!
I want to focus on some swimming goals. My past performances are going to help me shape my swimming goals for 2023.
I track my workouts and activities on an online fitness app. I’ve been doing this for a while, and it’s interesting to see the trends, especially in my swimming activities from year to year. Here are the data for total number of swims from 2012-2016:
2012: 79
2013: 80
2014: 75
2015: 78
2016: 85 (wow!)
From 2012-2016, it was a pretty steady routine, averaging 80 swims per year. I included practices and competitions. Then it dramatically dropped from 2017-2019. I’m trying to remember why. Perhaps I was taking a break; I had been swimming with our Masters team, the London Silver Dolphins, since 2002 and started to ramp up my swimming once I started to go to meets. Maybe I wanted to try other fitness activities. And then it was March 2020, and our swimming seasons got disrupted until September 2022.
So what about my swimming goals for 2023?
I want to get back to what I did from 2012-16. I was averaging 80 swims per year (rounding up). What about the distance? The average mileage was 140.8 km/year. That’s 1760 m per swim.
Ok, so now I have my goal for 2023: 80 swims, 141 km.
So far? 19 swims, 37.8 km: 1989 m per swim. Awesome!
BUT: are numbers all that matter??
Of course not. They’re an easy benchmark, and provide a concrete goal. And, as a scientist by training, it’s easy for me to compile and analysis numerical data. But there’s other types of data that can be collected and analysed. Emotional data. Because that’s the primary driver of going to the pool.
The smell of chlorine is familiar and comforting. It tells me that I’m in a good place and that I’m about to get into the pool. There are times where my motivation wanes; it’s late at night and maybe I’m really NOT in the mood. But lately, that has not been an issue, likely because this is the first full season since the beginning of the pandemic. On the pool deck, I do some warm-up exercises and look at the workout to plan my gear (pull buoys, fins, etc).
That initial dive is exhilarating. I go into autopilot as I find my pace, and focus on my technique. I love an endurance workout because it allows for getting into a rhythm. The sound of my deep breathing, the rush of the water. I love a speed workout because of the feel of slicing through the water. My body feels powerful and coordinated and I love the feel of the water wash over me. I’m always thinking about technique: the alignment of my body; the reach, catch and pull of my arms and upper body; rotation around the long axis; the 3-beat kick of my legs.
After getting out of the pool and changing back into my clothes, I feel pleasantly relaxed. My skin smells like chlorine. I’m thirsty (even though I’ve been drinking water throughout the workout)! I swim late at night, so after I get home, I have a shower and a snack and then relax by playing word games before going to bed. And I SLEEP.
The physical feelings extend into the next day. I feel light and loose and my breathing is relaxed. My brain feels activated. And I’m still thirsty (can’t drink too much at night, because I’ll need to get up to pee)!
How does your favourite exercise make YOU feel? Do you keep a journal? It’s a new experience for me, so any advice is welcome!
A beautiful blue outdoor swimming pool on a sunny day
For decades, families in southwestern Ontario have cooled off in the summertime heat at the St. Marys Quarry, formerly a limestone quarry that was converted to a public swimming area in the 1940s.
Thank to a recent addition to the quarry—the Super Splash Waterpark—there are two different swimming experiences for quarry goers. I share about my one experience, which was shaped in part by the other that I did not have.
Basic and Super
Before the coming of the Super Splash Waterpark (SSW), with an admission ticket guests could swim around freely to about the middle of the quarry. The basic park now includes play features like a few rafts, a slide, and a trampoline.
The Super Splash Waterpark website explains that for this added option guests pay general admission and then 3x more to access to a giant inflatable on-the-water playground. Only a limited number of tickets are available for 2-hour time slots. Reservations are made through an online portal.
With one of the hundred spots reserved for SSW, at the quarry get a wristband, a fitted yellow life jacket, and a safety primer. SSW guests must access the inflatable playground by swimming through the “basic” swim area, now limited to the front quarter of the quarry.
The SSW park has a large set of access and safety rules. Few if any of the quarry’s water features are fully accessible, but the SSW definitely isn’t. Here’s a view of the quarry from land.
The St Mary’s Quarry, featuring the roped off Super Splash WaterPark behind the general admission section. Pic by me.
A Super Time at the Basic End
You might predict where my story of goes next. Some friends and I decide to go to the quarry, but due to the limited number of SSW tickets only half of us get access to the inflatable park. The rest of us—basic access only.
Let me tell you—there is nothing that makes an inflatable water park look like more fun than when your friends can go but you can’t (even if you are an otherwise mature, mid-life, child-free cis-woman). I sat on the grass in my suit, grumpily contemplating whether I would go in the water at all. Take that, quarry!
I asked a friend (who had walked away from her computer mid-reservation so was similarly relegated to the basic quarry area) how a 10 year-old kid might feel seeing but not being able to access the SSW. She recited some parenting wisdom about how making one’s own fun on the basic quarry side is better because it builds character. But I already had character, my 10 year-old self whined—what I wanted was the fun-looking waterpark!
My gaze could not even escape the inflatable obstacles that filled the quarry horizon, a constant reminder of where I could not go, the fun I could not have. Even my once-greater swimming freedom was reduced to a quarter of the quarry by that blow up monstrosity!
My friends eventually came back from the inflatable side—removing their special wrist bands and yellow life jackets—to spend time with the rest of us. And, as the oldest ladies on the trampoline on the “basic” side of the quarry, we did indeed make our own fun.
Next Time at the Quarry
Aside from my poutiness, it all seemed some sort of microcosm of the inequalities besetting some exercise activities in a capitalist society: only a percentage of people get access to what looks like a bigger and better time if they plan in advance, have the added money to spend, and are physically able to participate. Those with less info/tech savvy, disposable cash, and/or differences in ability are more likely to be excluded but must also watch from the sidelines.
My friends reported that the SSW part of the quarry was harder and more tiring than they had expected, and they probably wouldn’t pay for it again.
If I went back, would I choose to plan further ahead to reserve a limited SSW ticket, even if the park is less accessible, I have to pay 3 times as much, and I may not even have that much more fun?
Sadly, my answer is probably yes—because I know that the real privilege of privilege (in a capitalist society or a two-tiered Waterpark) is having the freedom to choose.
A while ago, I blogged about how the pandemic had affected not just my swimming habits, but also the great plans I had for my child’s early contact with water. More than two years of COVID-related disruptions mean that there are now huge waiting lists for swimming lessons at any age, and many baby swimming classes that took place at small school or hospital pools are still not taking place.
In July, I managed to snag a spot for the small human in a toddler swimming class on Sunday mornings. The class would start in mid-September. I was elated. I managed to get him in because I was actually awake during our holidays when the email came in early in the morning; five minutes later all spots had been filled. My son loves the water. It’s been a very hot summer and he’s been in the paddling pool a lot. He loves baths (most days). He loves going to the pool with mama. But I want him to learn proper water skills and I feel like it’s better for both of us if he’s taught by… not me. I was so, so excited for that spot and couldn’t wait to start. Big win!
Today, I heard the rumour that due to the energy crisis following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the pools are going to be closed in the autumn and winter. AGAIN. I’m completely deflated. Not only will my lifesaving team not be able to train if they decide to also close the small school pool we use for practice, but again, countless kids including my own will be left without the chance to learn how to swim or learn valuable water skills. This is awful.
I get that this is very much a first-world problem. But I know how good swimming is for my mental health, and I love watching my child having fun in the water. I get the need to save energy, I really do. But does it really have to be the pools again, after two seasons of pandemic-related closures? I just can’t anymore.
