Babes Only

Reserve cycling day but although I feel better I now have a cough, so again I decide not to risk biking. Hopefully I'd be able to manage it on Friday.

To compensate I'm going to meet L for a post work swim, the downside of this means I have to go in the car. Traffic predictable awful.

Take advantage of having the car and pop into town. Buy the long sleeved Berghaus base layer that was top of my Christmas list but no one took the bait on. While in town I notice that an alleyway off Irongate has been cordoned off. I find out later from the radio that the body of a 25-year-old mother of four has been found. Apparently the death is 'not suspicious'.

Looking at the FA Cup fantasy, I’ve done rather well. I'm top of our mini league by a mile but also I’m 23rd overall out of 1800 and that’s without a full squad of players. Shame I can’t do that in the main game.

Either L's email or mine is on the blink. Nothing new there. She has just received my email from yesterday. Now as I reply to her emails from today, she isn't getting them, presumably they'll show up tomorrow. Apparently she has bought a surprise for me; unfortunately she won't get my requests to tell me what it is.

Meet L at the pool as arranged for the post work swim. The surprise turns out to be some new swimming goggles, which will come in very useful, my existing ones leak.

It is a lane swim session and it's extremely popular. This really does make you wonder why the council persist in putting on a multitude of different sessions at odd times of the day when the evidence today clearly says that people want a post-work lane session. Simple really.

First though, I have to do a double take because I'm convinced I've walked into one of those 'different sessions' e.g. a ladies only. This however appears to be not your typical 'ladies only' session this appears to be a 'young, slim, fit, good-looking babes only' session which I don't remember seeing on the timetable. Wonder how they police that one. That's a job worth applying for.

Well if they've made a mistake in letting me in I'm not going to be the one to point it out. They'll have to physically pull me from the pool. I get into the nearest lane, not because it's got some good-looking female in it, although indeed it does have, but because it's the only lane that had any room in it. Am surprised when L gets into a lane at the other end of the pool, she's very trusting, was sure she wouldn't leave me alone with all these women.

L tells me later that I got into the slow lane and she went for the fast lane. As it happens the girl I share the lane with is far from slow but all the same I obviously intimidate her and soon see her off. As soon as she gets out another young babe replaces her. I wonder why I haven't been to this session before.

This girl's even faster. She swims breaststroke as quickly as I front crawl. Which means I daren't take much of a break in between my lengths. Don't want to look a wimp. Been playing 'British Sea Power' on my Ipod today and as I do my lengths I can't help humming their track 'Fear Of Drowning' to myself.

Manage to get a bit of a float session in. I do ten lengths legs only, so get quite a bit of kicking practice in. Two girls in the next lane, who are also using floats, give me a knowing smile. Unfortunately it doesn't appear to a smile of admiration, more the understanding smile of one learner swimmer to another. I feel like shouting "I'm not a beginner, I'm triathlon training" but I don't.

Then our 'fun' is spoilt by some huge woman who gets in our lane, well I suppose it is the slow lane. Faced with having to swim round that, I get out and move lanes. L, looking splendid, in her sexy suit beckons to me and I move into her lane, the fast lane. This is L's second swim session of the day and I wonder how she'd have dried her swimsuit but it turns out she is organised enough to bring two with her. She'd done her morning swim in the more intimidating blue/green one and saved the sexier translucent yellow/blue one for swimming with me. Not sure if it's deliberate or not but it's appreciated.

I notice that the girl from my old lane soon moves too, as a second huge woman gets into that lane.

Thoroughly enjoyed the session, for more than one reason and I've done around 40 lengths. Shame we can't come next week because L is working late. Wonder if she'll let me come on my own.

Drop L at home, chauffeur Daughter to guides then back home for an unhealthy snack before we and Doggo go off to TYOD (train your own dog) session at dog club. It’s quite a good session. I even get some speed out of Doggo due of the fact that we have a few new dogs in the class that's he's taken umbrage to.

Get home and knackered. Regrettably AF but I do talk L into giving me a reprise of the previous night's torture.