Something I never thought of....

I swam for an hour and a half last night (the pool closes, so it's not possible to swim for longer on a Monday night).  I felt like I could easily have done that distance again.  The weather was bad, with heavy downpours and thick, grey clouds, and this lead to the Parliament Lido outdoor pool being pretty empty.  I realised after ten or so minutes that it was raining heavily, and swimming in such a downpour was something quite strange.  The lifeguards were prowling, keeping one eye on the pool and the other on the sky - the reason being that the first flash of lightening, and we'd all be hauled out of the water sharpish.  Swimming in a thunderstorm is something entirely different to swimming in the rain.

Luckily, nothing more came of weather than a thorough soaking, and though it didn't effect me in the water, my bag was drenched (there is nowhere to lock your belongings early in the morning or during an evening swim, so it's safest, if wettest, by the pool).

There is one thing I'm going to have to get used to, or to mitigate against.  I discovered last week that I chaff under the arms if I swim for more than an hour or so.  Vaseline works a treat if put on in huge dollops, but there is a huge drawback - it clogs into great clumps within my armpit hair.  It's hideous, and is a nightmare to get out.  So, I either shrug and ignore it, or I have to decide, at the age of 45, to shave under my arms.

The jury is out on that one right now.