Chemistry and the Beauty of Pink

The best laid plans can sometimes crash and burn. Yesterday's swim was certainly planned. I was at the gym's door, along with the usual 5:00 am crowd (yes, there are actually quite a few of us who want to be there when the doors unlock). When Ed unlocked the door, he met us with the news that the pool was closed - chemical issue. Rosemary immediately dropped her gym bag in the middle of the floor and rushed off to talk to the lifeguard. After rescuing her bag and putting it onto the counter out of the walking space of sleepy people, I wandered down the hall and joined her. 

The last thing we want to see when entering the YMCA for our
morning swim is the "Pool Closed" sign still on the pool door. 

The lifeguard was explaining that the water in the test tube she was holding should be pink on the scale she held in her other hand. It wasn't. It was a clear, very light yellow color, and slightly murky (although the murk could have been the walls of the test tube - hard to say. The color wasn't anywhere near pink. The "Maintenance Man" had been called and was coming in to add more chemicals to the pool, but it would be at least an hour before the pool opened. 

Pools are tested before opening in the morning and possibly again
during the day if they are heavily used. pool water is put into
a calibrated container, chemicals are added, and the resultant
color is compared to a chart. This tester looks rather high-end, but
actually it's closer to what would be used for a home pool. Still,
you can get an idea of what the lifeguard is looking for.
Ideally you want 1.0 on the left and 7.4-7.6 on the right. 

It was hard to argue with fact. The color most definitely wasn't pink. Rosemary left after wishing me a good weekend and telling me she would be out of town all next week, I continued onward into the locker room. Pool or not, I still needed to shower and then head to breakfast and to the shop. No pool would give me a bit more time to relax at the shop and over breakfast, but I would rather have had my morning swim. 

I have no idea where this personal hotel pool is actually
located, the language that the accompanying article was
written in was unfamiliar to me. Still, it's a gorgeous
pool. This one would be a LOT of fun to swim in. 

I'm hoping that today the pool will test out fine. That's twice in September when the pool had to open late because of a chemical imbalance. I know it's a bit harder when the outdoor pool is closed (and with today's temp in the 30's, it's really WAY too cold to be swimming outdoors), but the indoor pool is rather essential to a lot of us who love to swim 3-6 times a week. Additionally, several people are in training for next month's Ironman competition. Not having the pool available cuts into their training schedule. 

The annual Ironman World Championship will be held in Hawaii
on October 13th. Two YMCA members from the Twin Cities
qualified and were invited to partake. Although Kevin had qualified
in the past, he didn't go because it's expensive. This year, however,
he accepted the invitation and will be competing in his age
bracket. He's a great athlete and a super nice person. His strong
area is the bike. 

So I'm hoping that everything is back to normal, that the pool is open and that my day goes smoothly. After all, it's a Saturday and I want nice, easy, and fun. Tomorrow is the final day of this year's Renaissance Festival. We're still undecided about whether or not we'll go out there, but whatever we decide will be good for me. Have a great weekend and I'll be back on Monday - at least, that's the plan.