Cleansing swim

I went back to the pool today in a bit of a funk. After a holiday that, while wonderful, generally did not go as planned (from not being able to take our bikes, to spending only 3 days on the road, and waaay too much time in malls), we spent three days of glorious sunshine running errands and trying to finally finish moving, taking solace from the fact that we had seven more days of holiday to enjoy each other, our bikes and our new home turf.

Today was the first day of our "second" holiday and it dawned grey. P woke up with a scratchy throat and a bad mood. I woke up to a trapped bird, a messy house, ten kilos gained, and a big heap of grouchy self pity. A "new" Jodi Piccoult to read didn't help, and doing some housework (grudgingly) wasn't at all satisfying. I finally decided to hit the pool (nowhere near as easy from here as it was from our old place), and arranged to kill two birds with one stone by meeting a friend for coffee at the same time.

It took 100 yards to wash away the funk. It helped that that first 100 was a 1:37, which is probably one of my better efforts (I'm used to meters, so it's hard to say). Or that the water is so forgiving. Running on vacation involved heavy legs, chaffed thights and the disconcerting feeling of 20lb of extra belly fat jiggling. Cycling meant hauling my heavy ass up little rises in my granny chain ring, too tight shorts, and a jersey that rode up, exposing my back to the high-UV Kiwi sun. But in the pool it didn't matter if my suit was a little snugger than it was 12 months ago, or that I haven't swum regularly in months. I churned out 2100 yards without feeling waterlogged, bored, or sore.

Now, after failing to realise that my train was an express that didn't stop until three stops after my stop and having to cab it home from the station because it was raining and our car battery had gone flat, the funk has returned a little. But I am already looking forward to swimming, baking and a matinee movie tomorrow if the weather stays like this, and to a swim, a long ride and a big fruity frozen yoghurt if summer returns!!