Swimming and the Neighborhood

Day 6
ibuprofen: shockingly, none so far

Today was a swimming workout, which I did. I don't think anything adequately prepared me for all the juggling I was going to have to do with child care in order to get this training in. When I was training for the half marathon I completed in March, I could at least take the wee one in the stroller and get a couple of miles in that way. It's not so easy to do that with the pool!

So for today's workout, I took baby to my mom and swam at the high school pool in the area where she lives. Now, this is not a bad area - it's pretty regular by most peoples' standards. And the pool is adequate (though a bit chilly!), but nothing fancy. There are no locker rooms or facilities for changing in or out of a swimsuit, much less rinsing out the chlorine from your hair. But the lifeguard was super nice, and, you know, it was OK.

Contrast this with the stupendous pool I swam in last Wednesday. In Suburbia, they take their aquatic facilities seriously! The locker room is super clean, super nice, and there are lockers to put your stuff in. The pools are heated. There is music. Everywhere I looked, I said to myself, "Dang, this place is niiiiiice!" Now, mind you, it costs almost twice as much to use this pool as the other one, but ... I think it's probably worth it.

I am going to try very hard not to get on any of my soapboxes about education funding, equal access to facilities, schools and education, cultural experiences and chances to try things you never thought of before....but wow. The differences in these two areas, both of which are within half an hour of my home, are mind-boggling. If anyone is interested in these sorts of issues, there was a really good book published last year by Jonathan Kozol called The Shame of the Nation. I highly recommend it to anyone who is concerned about issues related to equity and education.

But enough of that. I got in the pool today, I did my workout, and I actually feel pretty good. Hair smells like chlorine, but that's all right for now.