By Y

Well... I have to admit it was time.  The "new" Y in Westwood had lost its new-ness about 5 years ago and they seemed to have no preventative maintenance plan in place, so slowly but surely the paint had chipped one too many times and the things that broke simply were never being fixed... like the bathroom door in the family chance room that has not been able to lock for the past 4 years due to rust.  Or the water features that worked for the first year only and then were never repaired.

So.... whether they won the 649 or found a beneficiary, they have closed until July for some much needed repair to the pool area.

That puts me in an awkward spot with only weeks to go before my race, I am without a place to swim. After little consideration, I decided to switch to the Centennial pool just a short skip and a hop away.  Their hours are not nearly as convenient, but it will do.

I go there at 5:55 and got into the change room and out onto the deck and found a lane in no time.  Mostly geriatrics anyway, so I felt like the Flash in the water.

One big shock, though.....  the pool was a freakin' hot tub.  It had to be at least 90˚F.  I felt like I was swimming in soup.

Regardless, I was off into my set of 3X150 (100 free/ 50 choice), 200 kick and then 5X300m with 20 sec rest.  Never in my life has 20 seconds gone by so fast. .... couple of beats of the heart and a few gasps of air and then back into the set.

I know that the distances are now true, as opposed to the weird distance of 18m at the Y,  so I was happy to see my times for the 300's as:  4:49. 4:53, 4:56, 4:56 and 4:56.

I'm happy... and to be truthful.. it was nice to swim over the deep-end.