Lap swimming has always been a part of outdoor recreation for me since moving to California. About 15 years ago Andy and I would do laps in his apartment complex pool for exercise after work.
A couple of years later after Andy moved to Seattle, Mark and I would go swimming regularly on Sunday nights. The Americana had a full 25 meter pool. You could actually get a full lap in before having to do a flip turn. The complex even heated the pool during the winter. It could be 40°F outside but the pool would be toasty warm. It wasn’t the most efficient use of energy, but we appreciated it in the winter. The only real problem with getting out. Then you were cold like no tomorrow.
After Mark moved further north, I started swimming at the Mountain View city pool. They had many of the same entities of the Americana, but way more people.
I’ve been away from swimming for a while. Part of it was a long commute, and part of it was rationalizing laziness by saying I had a long commute. In either case, it’s been a long time since I’ve had a good workout in the pool. When wondering around the neighborhood here, I stumbled upon the North Sydney Olympic Pool. It’s a full 50 m pool! Mark and I would always count a “lap” as two lengths of his 25 m pool. In the 50 m pool. One length was one lap. You also didn’t get to the relief of a flip turn in the middle of the lap. The full 50 m makes you work harder. 🙂
The Olympic pool is a beautiful setting. It’s right below the Sydney Harbor Bridge right on the water. I don’t think you could find a more beautiful view. It’s twice the price of the Mountain View pool, but location, location, location. I’ve also never swam in a saline pool. Right after jumping in I could taste the salt on my lips. They say salinization is better than chlorination. I felt lighter in the pool but I’m not sure how much that was actually believing that the salt was driving flotation rather than just experiencing something new.
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