I said goodbye to a good friend this morning: my beloved pool at the National Naval Medical Center-Bethesda, which closes for good tomorrow as the base becomes part of Walter Reed.
Since learning a couple weeks ago that the pool would be closing (full post here), something funny has happened: I sorta got my swimming mojo back. I’d been avoiding the pool, dreading the time and effort it would take to get in a good workout, considering I’ve been spending so much time training for the Marine Corps Marathon on Oct. 25. But knowing my time at the pool was limited forced me to reconsider, and I’ve had a lovely two weeks of using swimming to recover from running, rather than to beat the crap out of myself, which is my usual M.O.
Swimming is one of my most favorite things to do with my husband, and as luck would have it, he had today off work, so he was able to join me for one last swim date at our old haunt. My legs were sore and creaky from yesterday’s speed workout, short one though it was, but they loosened right up once I swam a few laps. The fact that I had such a wonderful swim stemmed directly from the fact that, rather than thinking constantly about how many yards I had left, or which set came next, I just appreciated the fact that I COULD swim at all. Totally liberating.
On the way home, we stopped at my favorite farm stand, Norman’s Farm Market, and seeing the bursts of orange and yellow squashes and the baskets of pears and apples reminded me that change is a good thing, and that it’s hard to know what kind of opportunities lie in what at first seem like obstacles.
Next up: Being a spectator at the Baltimore Marathon tomorrow, where the Back on My Feet group I’m writing about for Urbanite magazine is competing. Keep these guys in your thoughts tomorrow morning!
Amy Reinink 