broke the mile barrier

This morning I headed out to try a different pool -- the Julius Boehm Pool. Armed with Google maps and my Navigon, I headed out to the farthest edge of "downtown" Issaquah, arriving around 7:30. I was nervous -- would it be crowded? Noisy? Full of Speedo Dudes?

None of the above. It was a perfect example of a public pool -- simple locker rooms, plenty of coin-op lockers, group showers in an alcove. Go out to the pool deck and it's got soaring ceilings, 6 lanes for swimming, a separate shallow section, and, glory of glories, very few people.

There were 5 or 6 people in the three lanes, with another gentleman swimming next to the lane in an open swim area. I settled in next to him, following the black line for "lane 5". Happy as a clam. The water was comfortably warm, but not too warm. And there was a ample supply of kickboards and pull buoys. Heaven.

After I'd done 800 meters of freestle, the lanes had emptied out a bit so I moved over to them for my arm work. I did another 700 meters there with swim gloves and a pull buoy, and then finished up with 100 meters of freestyle. Probably the first time I swam a mile since high school.

In the meantime a deep-water exercise class had started (8:30) -- pretty good attendance, too. Got out, did a little stretching, and enjoyed the nearly empty locker room. All in all, a fantastic experience. I think I've found my new morning pool.

Tomorrow I run -- if my knee feels up to it. It's felt better today, but we'll see how I feel tomorrow afternoon.