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Bay Area pool tour 2007

I swam five times this week for a total of 12,500 yards. That is a pretty impressive number for me. It might be the most I've ever swum in a week, but it's hard to say because before this year I have always swum in meters (12,500 yards = 11,430 meters). Also, I'm too lazy to go through my old workout logs to check.

I didn't just swim five times, though: I swam in five different pools. That's right, each of those five swims was in a different pool. Here's the rundown:

1) Embarcadero YMCA. This is the pool where I've done most of my swimming in the last six years. It's indoors, five lanes, four feet deep all the way, and generally crowded with the downtown work crowd. The water is pretty cloudy as the result of high traffic, and the floating-crud-o-meter is high. I did a tri club swim of 2100 meters (2300 yards) as a post-race recovery workout on Tuesday.

2) Presidio YMCA. This is where I've done most of my swimming this year since I stopped working downtown. It's the old Presidio Army base pool and a great place to swim. It's indoors, six lanes, deep end, never too crowded, water is cool and clear, and parking is free and plentiful. Plus the Presidio is a fantastic place to tack on a run or ride. My love for this pool is deep and abiding. I did 2700 yards on Wednesday with my favorite coach, Oleg, who is a taskmaster complete with Eastern Bloc accent.

3) Rossi Pool. This is a public pool in the SF Parks and Rec system. Like (I believe) all pools in the SF system, it is 100 feet (33.3 yards) long, indoors, has six lanes, and is heated to a balmy 82 degrees. During lap swim, it is divided into three double-wide lanes, and swimmers circle, passing easily on the left when necessary. This system works well, but with the double-lane system, I wouldn't want to do serious intervals here. Also, the water is too warm for a hard workout. The locker rooms are decrepit but the pool itself is very clean. I did 39 laps (2600 yards) on Thursday. Doing the math for the 100-foot pool kept my brain plenty occupied. $4 drop-in fee.

4) Burlingame Pool. This is a public pool down in a local suburb, also their high school pool. I had an errand to run in Burlingame so I figured I'd combine it with a nice outdoor swim in this swank pool. It's a 50-meter-by-25-yard pool, and on weekdays the lane lines are set up short-course, meaning there are twenty 25-yard lanes. I got a lane to myself way out in the 13-foot-deep end. It was sunny and spectacular. This pool is treated with bromine and tastes salty. I did 2500 yards on Friday. $5 drop-in fee.

5) Bakar Fitness & Recreation Center at UCSF Mission Bay. UCSF recently bought up a bunch of underused land in a heavily industrial part of the city and is building a new research campus, plus a gorgeous new fitness center for all the people who work or live nearby. The outdoor, rooftop pool is six lanes and rarely crowded. It is, however, extremely windy later in the day. I swam 2400 yards there this morning with a friend who's a member. $10 guest fee.

My mom has always been the water-loving type. My grandma gave swimming lessons to little kids for decades, and still gets into her local pool regularly. My dad, however, is completely aquaphobic. I remember him telling us about the Chicago pools of his childhood being shut down during the polio epidemic to prevent the spread of the disease. I don't think he ever got over that. I have never seen him get into a swimming pool, lake, ocean, or river. Except in waders, holding a fly rod.

I think it's fun to look for pools while traveling. Thanks to my YMCA membership, I can often get into pools in other cities for free. My triathlon training has had me swimming in some awesome places. The worst was a YMCA in Boston with water so salty I nearly gagged. The best was the Intercontinental in Chicago, which has an ancient, ornate pool that makes you feel like you're swimming at Hearst Castle. Swimming in a new pool is always an adventure. I'm glad I inherited the love of water from my maternal side of the family.

Now I just need to convince my husband that swimming is fun.

September 16, 2007 9:07 PM