I joined a new gym last month. I joined exclusively for the use of the indoor pool. I already "belonged" somewhere, but something about that first pool did something nasty to my sinuses. So I found a new pool. This one is indoors, so I can swim throughout the winter. I'm not going to tell you which one, because I don't want you to see me in a bathing suit. It's a relatively small pool- 20 yards and just 4 lanes. It's also unusually hot. The water is kept at about 89 degrees, which I appreciate when I first jump in, but after a few lanes, I quickly get overheated. Just one more challenge in my journey to IMOO.
The gym opens at 5:30.....ish..... And so I arrive at 5:25 in typical type A, anxious me fashion. Half of the time the gym is already open by the time I get there. The other half of the time, I end up waiting at the door with a couple other people for the ceremonial opening of the doors. It's a little irritating that, even on those mornings that the gym doesn't open early, I inevitably find some woman feverishly grinding away on on the elliptical. I discovered that she is the wife of the gym employee who opens up. So no big deal, but, hey, if the gym's ready to go, open the door a few minutes early for us early birds.
Then comes the morning race. Who can get into the pool first? Only 4 lanes, so walk fast, tear off clothes and jump in. I was relieved to be the first in the water today, so I chose the lane designated for "fast lap swimming", which I find ironic because I'm not all that fast. Though I do seem to tick off my laps a little faster than most in the pool at that hour. Beside the fast lane is the water-walking lane.
So off I go on my morning swim workout:
-1000 yards
-600 yards
-400 yards
-200 yards
I barely get 5 laps into my workout when someone decided to share my narrow lane. I'm not a pool snob, but I'm still finding my comfort in the water, so I like my space. I move to the outer half of the lane and I chug along. Imagine my surprise when he and I crossed paths for the first time this morning and, either he wasn't far enough over or he liked the way I looked in a bathing suit and I felt the full width of his palm on my behind. I looked over but couldn't tell if he winked from behind his goggles.
The truth is, it was probably a good experience for me- not just the unexpected contact, but the sharing of a narrow lane. Somehow I'm going to have to swim 2.4 miles in Lake Monona with 2499 others, and for someone who could hardly swim 3 months ago, that's an intimidating prospect.
So maybe I should tell myself that there's no need to rush to the gym in the morning. Regardless of when I get there, there's a good chance I'll be sharing a lane with someone. It may not be such a bad thing for me, after all. But then again, I'm not sure I can easily rid myself of my anxious obsessiveness. More than likely, I'll continue to wake at 4:45 on the mornings of my swim workouts so I can continue to race to the gym three times a week, hoping, praying that I will be the first one in the not-so-fast fast-lane!
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