New Year New Pool

I had an appointment in Torrance this morning and time to kill between the end of it and the start of work, so I decided to look up local pools in Torrance. As luck would have it, the Victor E. Benstead Plunge was a few minutes drive away and would open for lap swimming just after I finished the appointment. Brilliant!

I arrived just before opening and joined a line of eager swimmers. I was pleasantly surprised to see so many lanes available, so almost everyone was able to have their own lane. I jumped on in and had a great swim in what I learned was the 26 meter side; there is a bulkhead installed during the school year as the local swim teams use the pool.

The water felt a bit on the cool side, but with the clear sunny day, it was a nice contrast. My workout was fairly straightforward, and it felt so good after a few days of indulging over the New Year holiday (we drank so much wine….).

• 500 free

• 6 x 150; 100 free with 50 pull

• 100 pull

• 500 kick, mixed stroke back, fly, free

• 200 cool down

The pool deck had quite a large mural that gave the pool deck a nice atmosphere. I think there should be murals at every pool…although I must stay I did wonder how she was swimming without goggles and a swim cap. ha!

The ladies locker room was the one weird experience. Most locker rooms I visit are segmented into areas, like the showers are in a room, then there are the lockers themselves with benches, and the changing stalls are in another area. This one, however, was one big room with benches scattered around, all the showers open to the space, and a weird line of changing stalls.

Also, the showers were cold, with the exception of a spigot coming out of the wall that was waist high. So all of us ladies were taking turns using the hot water and crouched down to use it. It was bizarre. The other bizarre thing? This odd little bench and the sign on it, tucked into a corner. By the way, I NEVER sit on the benches.