Swim Team

This will probably be my second to last post from China and perhaps the last one actually posted when I am physically in China. It is so hard for me to grasp the reality that I am leaving China in less than 6 days. Wednesday, July 11 is the big day and I get more excited as the time gets closer and closer.

I joined a master's swim team here in Beijing, by which I mean I showed up today for the master's workout at a park. It was good to get in the water if only for two workouts (today and Saturday). I have not swam all that much in the last few years and it felt pretty good to be back in the water. There were only three of us there today, but it is so much easier to have people to swim with rather than trying to come up with motivation for yourself.

It was not a spectacular workout, but it was something. I did 2000 meters which is actually probably one of the longest workouts I have done since my Calvin days. To make it worse it was in LCM, a 50 meter pool...it is hard to swim that far with half the number of walls. I know that I give my swimmers crap if they complain about things like this, but it is amazing how quickly your tune changes when the shoe is on the other foot. I would try to cram another cliche into that sentance but I feel that I have reached my cliche quota for this post.

The pool was pretty nice, situated in a park in the northeast part of the city. I really enjoy swimming outdoors, looking at the buildings that ring this urban oasis. What I did find odd though was the behavior of so many people that were using the pool. There were signs posted everywhere that said no diving but when people dove no one said anything (the water was about 1.5 meters deep). The attention that the lifeguards were paying to the patrons made my head lifeguard stomach turn. There were conversations, eating and generally not paying much attention to the people in the pool that really left something to be desired when it came to swimming skill. I was yelled at for drinking water while still in the pool, I needed to get out of the water to consume the shui, yet it seemed totally normal for most of the patrons to go for a dip, swim a few laps then get out for a cigarette. The amount of smoking that occurs in this country puts any European nation to shame. It is really something else how much a part of culture smoking has become here.

After the workout I rewarded myself with my last massage this trip in Beijing. I will miss the bi-weekly treat that I have allowed myself, but there is just no way that I can afford that in the States. I am going back to the park on Saturday morning for one last swim. I figure I need all the exercise I can get before sitting on the train for 6 days. I will update as often as possible on the trip home, but many of the updates may need to happen when I get back to the States.

Zai Jian