Credit where its due

For the first time since its opened, Bradley Stoke Swimming Pool has had the honour of having me swim in it. And, as the title suggests I was pleasantly surprised. Now I'm not exactly a brad pitt look-a-like, more the pits really, so I was a little anxious about getting my body out infront of lots of people. Plus having never been there I was unsure of its layout and so taking off my glasses and rendering myself blind didnt seem like a good idea.

The building itself is newer than the leisure centre attached to it, this is because the council ran out of money... Twice. In a further penny saving mode, they made the changing rooms unisex... Not the greatest idea on paper; however with lots of cubicles and lockers it turns out that it isn't a problem. The showers are poolside, so while shampoos can be used, doing a thorough change isn't possible... Especially not while the life guards are looking.

I was also surprised to find the 8 lane pool ( each lane big enough for 2 abreast) to be nearly deserted, there were only 5 of us there. Once I was in the water, everything came back to me. I hadn't been swimming in years, but I found it relaxing to be back.... That and the fact that the water was lovely and warm. I managed 1km today, I'm aiming to get back to my past rate of a mile per swim. This will be easier to do there than use works pool as its only 13 meters so would require more effort, as you cant get a rhythm going.

Overall its good to be getting some exercise again, and to be able to do it in such nice surroundings doesn't really give me much of an excuse not to.