I went on a “blog trip” to Vista Verde Ranch in Steamboat. Following that, I stayed for a few extra days in Steamboat. Since my knee still isn’t 100 percent and it was snowing badly the last couple of days, I decided to go swimming at the Old Towne Springs in the center of town in Steamboat Springs.
At the Old Towne, they have a series of hot springs ranging from 98 degrees to 104 degrees Fahrenheit. You can’t swim in these pools but you can soak. It’s such a nice experience to soak in these tubs while outside, especially with snow around.
They also have a large lap pool. It has quite a few lanes, you can almost compare to the aquatic center. It’s that big!
When I heard there was a lap pool, I was excited!
I tried to swim the day before at the Holiday Inn pool. I don’t even think it was 10 feet wide. I took three strokes and was at the end of the pool. It wasn’t fun.
So, the first day I went to the Old Towne Hot Springs, I just checked out the lap pool. It was a blizzard and the winds were around 30 mph. I saw only one person swimming, a woman in her 80s. She was wearing a full wetsuit.
Since I wasn’t wearing the appropriate bathing suit, I decided not to go in. But kept thinking about it.
The Next Day
On the following day, I decided to go for it. It was still snowing but the winds had died down. The Old Towne Hot Springs had a path leading to the pool. I walked outside in my bathing suit in the snow. It didn’t feel that cold.
I put my towel down in a dry spot and proceeded to go in.
The water wasn’t hot but it felt comfortable. The air was very chilly.
The Altitude
In Steamboat, you are nearly 8,000 feet above sea level and you feel winded just doing small things like tying your shoes, so I knew this swim would be a challenge.
I decided to do fifties. I swam to the end of the pool and back and then took a break. I didn’t want to stay at the wall too long because it felt colder to stand still than to move. But I needed to catch my breath from the altitude.
I did it again and again and again. As I was at the wall, I met some amazing swimmers. I couldn’t believe how smooth their strokes were. (At my gym, I’ve only seen a few excellent swimmers.) I’m sure many of them were elite athletes training for the Olympics.
The snow was falling hard
As I was swimming my fifties, the snow started to come down hard. I had been in the lap pool a little more than a half-hour and I was ready to get out and soak in the tubs. My heart was racing but as I was having a hard time breathing (of course I forgot my inhaler), I was focusing on my stroke and feeling it come back.
I felt much stronger in the water than I had in a while, so between that, the snow falling, and the beautiful surroundings, I felt as if I were in my happy place.
