Swimming

Today I tried something a little different...I met fellow tri-girl wannabe, Erica, at LA Fitness. She's a member there and needed someone to swim with, so I took advantage of her guest pass and tried it out. I really like the facility and the best part is that there are multiple lanes open, so we weren't sharing a lane with 3 people. :-)

Overall, I felt like the swim went well. I am getting better and better at the laps, with less rest time...but I do tend to get out of breath sometimes, which means I have to take some time to catch my breath. I still want some lessons though...I filled out a lesson request form at the Y a week ago and have yet to hear anything. I did find out that FINS is having a tri swim class, but it's the week that we'll be on vacation. Sigh!

Here's my take on LA Fitness vs. the Y.

The pros:

• It's much nicer than the Shadowbend Y where I've been swimming (of course the Branch Crossing Y is very nice, but they only have the outdoor pool there)
• The pool is MUCH cleaner
• There are 5 or 6 lap lanes - which are actually open most of the time (instead of all kinds of kid's swim classes going on)
• It's 15-20 minutes closer to my house
• It's cheaper than the Y

The cons:

• It has more of a "meat market" feel that's common at gyms (the Y has more of a family atmosphere)
• They have a water aerobics class from 6-7 every T & Th, which are the only nights I can go (which means I'd have to come home first and then go swim)
• There's only one location near me...there's a Y near my work and two in The Woodlands
• If I happened to switch, I wouldn't be able to take the spin classes during lunch
• There are swim classes at the Y - something we'll take advantage of this summer with kiddo