The Sweet Smell of Summer

I grew up in Florida. This means that I spent my summers in the pool. I was even on the swim team for 5 or so years. During summer break you knew you had a good day when at the end of the day your eyes were stinging and there were halos around every light source you looked at because no kid every wears goggles and we always opened our eyes underwater! The smell of chlorine on your skin was second nature. It wasn't until I stopped spending every waking moment in the pool that I realized that it wasn't natural to smell like chlorine all the time. But to this day one of my favorite smells ever is the smell of chlorine on my skin and in my hair.

One of my favorite pictures ever

I miss those days. Growing up my parents called me their little fish because I would spend hours in the pool. I used to dream of being able to stay in the water all the time and be able to survive without having to come up for air. I finally fulfilled that dream (well kind of) last year by getting my SCUBA certification. I still remember how giddy I was the first time I donned my SCUBA gear and went underwater. It was so natural to me. It was a good 5 minutes before I realized that I had been underwater for 5 minutes without having to go up for air. I LOVED IT! I wish I could live somewhere that allowed me to go SCUBA diving whenever I want. I can't believe I moved to a part of the country that only allows for outdoor swimming about 5 days of the year.

Breathing underwater!

I signed up for a few triathlons this year (one of which I've already completed!) so I knew that I needed to find a place to swim. A few weeks ago Groupon offered 25 drop ins at a local hotel gym with an indoor and outdoor pool for $35 so I snatched it up. I haven't really taken advantage of the opportunity until today. Sadly they only have 1 adult swim lane so the few times I've gone before today they pool was always busy.

Today was a cross training day so I figured I'd try swimming. I lucked out. I walked in and there were a few people in the pool so I went and locked up my stuff and I was going to putz around in the gym until the pool cleared out. I checked on the pool one last time before heading downstairs and everyone was getting out! I jumped in an claimed the only adult swim lane for the next hour and I swam 2.55 miles! Granted it was in a pool and a pool DOES NOT equal open swim but I feel like I really worked out some muscles I haven't used in awhile and I worked on my form. When I got out of the pool I smell the familiar sweet scent of chlorine and I was reluctant to jump into the shower to wash it all off. But alas, all good things must come to an end and I am now clean. I couldn't really delay showering because I knew my hair would be destroyed if I let the chlorine sit there for long enough (the major drawback of swimming in a pool!). I guess I'll just have to go back again soon!

Part 2 of cross training day is tonight. I'm meeting up with a friend at a rock climbing gym for a beginner class! I can't wait! And I'm running the BAA 10k tomorrow morning!

PS I had some old bananas lying around so I whipped up some of these babies today too!

banana chocolate chip muffins!