Returned to the Pool after a 30 Year "break"

Hello imbacktoit: Thank you for your reply. We have much in common it seems. :) Hi Zwemmer: ... I was so burned out & had no idea why I was even swimming, other than because I had been doing so since age eight. Aye, after my college days began to end because of not knowing why I was literally dying in the pool I was definitely burned out. I literally did not touch a pool for years afterward. The look of a pool, the smell of it; it all turned me off. Yes, I know from a therapist acquaintance that I likely had some kind of PTSD and had the same reaction to any kind of pool or chlorine smell. ....I did not gain weight & did maintain a pretty high fitness level thru my life. I guess I was looking for an alternate form of exercise away from the gym (which I was getting pretty tired of). I burned out of the gym, too, though managed to stay in good shape from walking, yoga, and generally being someone that doesn't like to sit still for long. I swam on my own in a local 25-meter 86-degree pool during lap swim hours. There were no lane lines & 'fast' & 'slow' lanes were anyone's guess. That didn't really matter initially, because I started out by doing 25's & resting at every wall. I could stand it for about 1/2 an hour or so. Same here! A few months ago I went to our community "lap pool" and found the same situation though the water was more like 90. I felt most days like I should bring shower gel at least. I swam probably about 500 yards the first day, 25 at a time, and despite the water temp and people barely moving in whatever lane they happened to be in, I felt really good being in the water again. Sounds kind of depressing, right? Only I didn't think so- I was so excited by the whole experience that I couldn't wait to do it again, & bought a multi-swim pass. Not depressing at all! Sounds like me, excited despite the circumstances. And in my case I went and found a local USMS team instead of trying to navigate the community pool which for reasons I won't get into was about to get much worse. (And it hear it has.) Sounds like we're in a similar place, having found the pool & people that make up something to relate to, to be a part of, and to experience as overall happiness. Thanks for your story!

Hello imbacktoit: Thank you for your reply. We have much in common it seems. :) Hi Zwemmer: ... I was so burned out & had no idea why I was even swimming, other than because I had been doing so since age eight. Aye, after my college days began to end because of not knowing why I was literally dying in the pool I was definitely burned out. I literally did not touch a pool for years afterward. The look of a pool, the smell of it; it all turned me off. Yes, I know from a therapist acquaintance that I likely had some kind of PTSD and had the same reaction to any kind of pool or chlorine smell. ....I did not gain weight & did maintain a pretty high fitness level thru my life. I guess I was looking for an alternate form of exercise away from the gym (which I was getting pretty tired of). I burned out of the gym, too, though managed to stay in good shape from walking, yoga, and generally being someone that doesn't like to sit still for long. I swam on my own in a local 25-meter 86-degree pool during lap swim hours. There were no lane lines & 'fast' & 'slow' lanes were anyone's guess. That didn't really matter initially, because I started out by doing 25's & resting at every wall. I could stand it for about 1/2 an hour or so. Same here! A few months ago I went to our community "lap pool" and found the same situation though the water was more like 90. I felt most days like I should bring shower gel at least. I swam probably about 500 yards the first day, 25 at a time, and despite the water temp and people barely moving in whatever lane they happened to be in, I felt really good being in the water again. Sounds kind of depressing, right? Only I didn't think so- I was so excited by the whole experience that I couldn't wait to do it again, & bought a multi-swim pass. Not depressing at all! Sounds like me, excited despite the circumstances. And in my case I went and found a local USMS team instead of trying to navigate the community pool which for reasons I won't get into was about to get much worse. (And it hear it has.) Sounds like we're in a similar place, having found the pool & people that make up something to relate to, to be a part of, and to experience as overall happiness. Thanks for your story!