No Pool For Two Weeks

Last week I decided I wanted to add an additional day of swimming to my workout each week because I want to swim farther and faster. Swimming is so much better for your joints and a better exercise in general than anything else. So this morning I went to the pool instead of race walking which was my usual Monday exercise, but I could not swim. Stacy pool is closed for two weeks for maintenance. Although I am bummed about not being able to swim for two weeks, it means that maybe the heat will be working in the pool when it opens back up. This also makes me realize once the nasty, rainy winter junk comes, I won't be able to swim at all at the pool because it's an outdoor pool and if the lifeguards can't see the bottom of the pool, they make everyone get out. So I guess I may need to start checking out the indoor pool situation again. I'm bummed about that because I'm cheap and I love not having to pay for any pool or gym. But now I know I can't do that year round. I think Roger and I are going to have to go check out the Buda YMCA. It's close, only 15 minutes from our current home and once we move it will be a little closer. And as we all know, YMCA's are cheaper than regular gyms. And the Buda YMCA is new, less than two years old, so it's really nice. I've heard it's got a great indoor pool and it's rarely crowded.

At least I was able to get cheap gas this morning on my drive home from the pool. I stopped at the Super Wal-mart at Southpark Meadows because gas was $1.95 a gallon for regular. I had a quarter of a tank but I had to jump on that. I didn't think I'd ever see gas under $2 again.

Cold Front

A cold front came in this week. This is part of our usual fall weather. And one of the nicest parts of the year for us Texans. The temperatures have been down in the 40's at night and getting up between 70 and 80 during the day. So the days have been really nice. Our air conditioner has not turned on all week. We've been opening the windows in the afternoon to let the cool air in and air out the house. We've been grilling dinner a lot lately also. It's just too nice outside to be inside. The weather this weekend was beautiful and it made the events we attended so much better. The World War II battle reenactment we went to Saturday was so much fun and the weather was gorgeous. There's no way in the summer we'd be at an outdoor event from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Then we had dinner on the outside deck at Roadhouse in Bastrop. The food was great. I was glad we finally got to eat there. Roger's company had their 20th anniversary picnic on Sunday afternoon and it was amazing to be sitting in the sun for three hours and not be dying from the heat. The sun still made it warm but because of the temperature and the low humidity it was way more bearable than summer.

The other nice thing about this weather has been the new windows we had installed in June. Before it was cold around all the windows and it made it super cold in the house during the fall nights and all the time in winter. So it has actually been warm in the house when they are all closed and it's not cold near the windows at all. Normally I would be bundled up in flannel or fleece from head to toe in the evenings but I have been fine, except when we have all the windows open until 10:00 p.m. Even when I go to bed I'm still not cold. Before I would be freezing all the way up to the point of jumping in bed and have to be fully clothed and covered. So the windows are doing their job. When we put the earnest money down on the new house we thought, "And we just put all those new windows in the house." We were concerned we made a bad decision by getting the Cadillac of windows and we weren't going to be able to benefit from them at all. But at least we get one fall and winter out of them. It's better than nothing. And it should be great for resale. So we are looking forward to the nice weather this weekend as we finish one last project on the house before we put it on the market in a week or so.

There's only been one down side to this weather and that's been the 50 degree mornings at the pool. The heat is still not working this week and it might not be until after next week that it will be working. A lifeguard told us the plan to finish the electrical project for the pool first changed this week. I think it's starting to take a toll on all the swimmers. Everyone is griping about how cold it is in the pool and it's only getting colder now so it's not going to get better until the heat is working. I'm already a wimp about the cold so jumping into 50 degree water isn't helping me!

Gasoline Prices

As we all know too well, gasoline prices have been a hot topic this summer. We all wondered how high it would get and when or if it would ever go down. Last Friday I was so excited to see gas was $3.17 at my local Super Wal-mart at Southpark Meadows. So I filled up my gas tank. Then this weekend gas was $3.11 at my local HEB on Manchaca Road at Slaughter Lane. Monday it went to $3.05 at my HEB. Roger kept saying he bet it was going to get under $3 again. I had to wonder if it would just get to $3.00 even and stay there but never get below $3 again. Then yesterday I noticed gas was $2.92 at my HEB and today it was $2.80 at the Super Wal-mart at Southpark Meadows. I know gas in my area is the cheapest for Austin, but I was just shocked that it actually went below $3. I really hope it stays this low for a while. I'm sure we all do.

On another high note...the water at the pool I have been swimming at since my neighborhood pool closed this summer has been really, really cold the last month or two. I thought it might have something to do with the 50-60 degree mornings we have been having lately. I met a friend for coffee last Friday morning which made me have to swim later in the morning and I noticed it was a little easier to swim since it was warmer. I got more sun than I usually do because it was above the top of the trees that surround the pool, but it was a tiny bit easier to swim being a little warmer outside. There's a lot less people swimming at this time. And I was able to meet my new friend Nick who I plan to swim in the 12 mile open water swim relay next year. So since then I have been swimming about the same time later in the morning until today. Roger and I were having lunch with an old friend at 11:30 a.m. so I had to go back to my old time to swim, 8:30 a.m. And boy was I glad I was there at that time. The water was super cold when you first jump in, but while I was swimming my main set and transitioning to start my next lap, I heard one of the lifeguards tell some ladies that the water would not be heated until after the construction on the pool house was completed which would be next week. So after next week, the water in the pool will be warm again! I'm so happy to hear that. Although the water is fine after you start swimming and especially when you are done, that first step in is super hard when you know it's going to be freezing cold. Especially since the mornings this week have been around 57 to 62 degrees at my old swimming time. And with winter coming, I wasn't sure if I would be able to handle the water temperature as it got even colder outside. You know I'm a wimp when it comes to the cold. I was thinking I might have to get a gym membership this winter just for the pool. So now I know the water temperatures have not been normal and this will help me save money from a gym membership even longer than I thought. Bring on the heated pool!

I Found My New Pool

Okay, the gym membership idea is out. I found my new pool. I'm not happy about having to drive there, but it's free, open year round and it's longer so I don't have to swim as many laps to go the same distance. I'm talking about Big Stacy Pool. I swam there once or twice about nine years ago when we lived in East Austin off Oltorf, but once we moved I stopped swimming all together. I swam this morning during the reserved adult lap swimming time, 6am-8am. It wasn't too busy at 7am. I was able to swim no problem, but not in a lane. Still workable. I met some really nice people. Interesting, but very nice. Too much talking though. I rested longer than I would have liked to during the break in my main set, but I didn't want to be rude. And I enjoyed talking with them. I even talked a lady into trying triathlon and doing the Ranger triathlon with me next year.

The pool is fed partially by an artesian well so it's 80 degrees year round. It comes out at 100 degrees but they mix it with city water to cool it down. Now in the dead of winter here, I'll let you know how warm it is. I do not like the cold. I remember when I swam there before that it was after the fall semester ended and my swimming PE class pool was closed so it was probably December when I swam and I remember steam coming off the water and it being cold when I got out of the pool.

And since the pool is 33 yards long instead of the usual 25 yards, I don't have to swim as many laps to go the same distance. Which means it's easier for me to keep up with counting my laps and I just feel like the time goes by faster. Plus this will be better for my training as I will be swimming more and pushing off the wall less. And my 750 meter time was faster than in my neighborhood pool. That's good. So today I swam 1980 yards (30-66 yard laps) which is 1810.5 meters or 1.125 of a mile. Not bad. I am really excited about swimming again. Yeah! What a great way to start the weekend. Thank you God for helping me get motivated again. And I'm home before 9:00 a.m. ready to finish the day. It sucked waking up at 6am (I know, wah!) but I feel great getting over a mile swim in early in the morning and moving on.