Good News?

I got some good news today. At least I think I did. I read in the paper a couple of weeks back that Valley just reopened their renovated HPER Center. The Commonwealth had a big write up with pictures and a text that gushed with praise but contained not narry a word about the pool. From what I have been hearing through the grapevine, the pool would not be ready until at least next summer. By then I have Twin Rivers so it would do me not good then. After attempting to get into that pool for the last three years, I felt like Odysseus cursed by Poseidon: "You shall suffer and you shall not be able to swim. Much." I need to swim. Much. The winds, however, have been contrary.

But I don't believe in Poseidon; I believe in God. So I maintained hope, not much but some.

The idea of a renovated pool and one that I may have access to has had me squirming in my sleep. But the wait has been like a child counting down the days until Christmas. Then one of our campus police officers told me that the Valley pool is opening the 28th of this month. What?!?!?!?! Now I have real hope of getting in there some, a hope that is more than a mere wish.

In the past, my Chicot buildups have always been a matter of great stress. Achieving the kind of distance I need has been difficult, frustrating, almost impossible. In January and February, DSU hosts several swim meets that knock the Masters practices out a few nights and also takes up some Fridays. That plus our climate-change springs really puts me to get into a tizzy. Springs around here are a lot colder and cold a lot longer than they used to be, as are our winters. Nowadays, I can just begin to venture out into the ponds with a wetsuit around mid-March for the first time or two. It is April before I can swim over a few minutes at a time in my beloved ponds.

However, if I can just swim Valley's pool one day per week, just once, I should be able to achieve a much higher level of fitness than I have ever attained come June. I will need the added fitness because I plan a longer swim than I have ever done. The goal for Chicot VI is 24 miles. Yeehaaa!!! Why dream small?

To make a short story long, I have several plans to boost my fitness over the winter and the Valley pool is only one of them. Stay tuned for more updates on my old and new training routines. Chicot cometh.