TAI CHI MAN

With all the new people either joining the gym or starting out the yearly one month gym marathon, the pool is now occupied most mornings. In the past, it was either me or another woman, and that was about it. Now, up to 3 people at a time. Its crowded! LOL! Actually, its only a 4 lane pool and its short, so when 3 people are in the pool, you get some serious wave action going on. Good triathlon training though!

A while back, on a day when there were 3 of us in the pool, suddenly as I was finishing a lap in the lane near the steps, a figure appeared it seemed out of no where. And here I was, nearly against the wall and suddenly this guy is squeezing himself in next to me. Doing something, not sure what, but it wasn't swimming. After observing underwater for a few more laps, I determined he must be doing some sort of water tai chi, if there is such a thing.

Since then, I've been on the lookout for Tai Chi man, but until today I haven't seen him. And wouldn't you know it, on a day when the pool was "full," he shows up. And squeezes himself between me and the wall. I moved over as far as I could but barely escaped his movements every time I passed him. If he was half as good looking as the guy above, it might not have been so bad, but to be swimming and observing underwater that closely to someone who, let's say, left a lot to be desired bodywise, wasn't any eye candy. Not only that, he seemed oblivious to the fact that someone was within inches of his lunges, turns, and other arm contortions. I thought Tai Chi was supposed to be fluid movements, but his were more lumbering. Which may be why he chose the liquid form of exercise for the day.

On a better note, my swimming has once again become consistent in the time department. And I've learned how to keep track of laps without crashing into the end of the pool because I'm so deep in thought trying to do calculations (yes, I've done that more than once! If there was a helmet for swimming, I'd need one). I know they have those pool lap counters, but its just one more gadget I don't really want to fuss with and likely I wouldn't be able to read anyway without stopping or getting a magnifying glass. My goal is to get back down to 30 min. for every 3/4 mile. When I started 3 weeks ago, I was at 33:42 and today I hit 31:02. Even with the distraction of Tai Chi man within inches of my face, I managed to keep focused, keep count, and get a little faster than the other day. Or maybe I was just hurrying to get out of there faster?