I went for a swim...

After living across from Chase Park for a year and a half, it occurred to me that they might have a lap swim in their pool, and I might like to do that there, rather than driving to my gym in Evanston or biking to the lake. So I checked their schedule, and indeed there are about 8 lap swims every week, each one 1 1/2 to 2 hours longs. So I went at 7pm last Thursday, just me with my bathing suit, towel, and sandles, crossing the street. I felt a bit naked.

The pool itself is not terribly long — 15 to 20 yards. It's about wide enough for 4 lanes, but instead it's divided into 3 rather wide lanes. This is just as well, since the people swimming there seemed to have very little idea of pool etiquette: one at a time, swim on the right side, etc. At one point in my swim, I took off across the pool and saw that all three of the guys sharing the lane with me (my lane happened to be all-male at the beginning) had taken off from the opposite side and were swimming more or less abreast. I managed to squeeze through, however.

A number of people, who seemed to congregate in the farthest lane, weren't swimming at all, but more or less lounging along the wall. Perhaps they were left over from the earlier "Adult Swim" period. It was a hot evening (the last night of the heat wave) and so I figured they didn't want to get out just yet. The water was cooler than the air, after all, if not especially cool for lap swimming.

When I got home my eyes were burning from the heavy dose of chlorine. I will need to haul out the goggles next time.

(I experimented with color here, two show what's above water and what's below. I'm pleased with the result; I think it creates a nice feeling of depth.)

Labels: drawings, journal, personal

posted by Tony at 6:44 AM