Who knew swimming in an outdoor pool could be quite so atmospheric?

I don’t mean the pools you find at a holiday resort; I mean a proper swimming pool with lanes to practice the sport. 

I’ve recently decided I’m going to compete in the Bondi to Bronte 2km swim in December this year, which gives me 4 months to go from “can barely swim 50m in a pool without panicking” to “can swim 2km nonstop in open water”!!! As you can imagine I’ve wasted no time finding somewhere to practice and people to teach me, so I can let the progress begin. 

So, this evening, not long after the sun had set, I met my partner at an outdoor swimming pool. It had been raining hard all day, and still was. So the air had the kind of chill that you would usually layer up for – or that you would at least be wearing more than just a swimsuit in! 

Clouds of steam rose from the water giving the illusion of an evening fog as the flood lights over the pool illuminated the scene. The yellow umbrellas that lined the far side of the pool stood out against the black sky and the lifeguard, all in red, strode along underneath them to keep of out the rain. 

The pool itself was bustling with noise – coaches yelling instructions and praise, arms and legs breaking through the water and every now and then, a whistle to set them off again. 

The best part was, each time I reached the far end of the pool, the flood light right above me cast my shadow over the pool’s tiled floor. I could see the shapes my body was making with each arm stroke reaching forwards. It had the added benefit that I was so distracted by how pretty it all was that I barely had time to think about how hard swimming is. Before I knew it I swam 5 lengths (250m) in one go! I realise that’s nothing in the grand scheme of things but it’s a great deal more than I’ve ever swam before so I was happy 🙂

Note to self: exercising in pretty places makes it a whole lot easier.