workouts scheduled

At 5:55 am the alarm when off but I actually got out of bed around 6:15 am. My goal was to find another thermal bath house/swimming pool on the Buda side called Lukács Gyógyfürdő és Uszoda. It's cheaper and apparently had a 50 meter pool. Unfortunately, it's located about 20 minutes away from my house but the cool part is I get to cross the Margaret Island bridge which connects Buda and Pest over the Danube River and it's BEAUTIFUL in the morning! You can see Parlaiment and the Castle District.

When I got to Lukacs Bathhouse it was a bit confusing. All the local elderly folk know exactly what to do and are so cute.

I just followed a lady in her 70's to find the swimming pool. Then I realized I forgot a swimming cap. Darn it! They are brutal here when it comes to swimming without a cap. Last year I was yelled at by a lady when I, for the first time, entered the pool without a swim cap! You would have thought I just murdered her dog or something. So, I was on a hunt for a swim cap and finally ended up being led to a "lost and found" type room where the lady made me pay 800 FT (about $4) for a used, stretched out hair cap. I came all that way so I wasn't about to go home and call it a day! A strong reminder to always remember the hair cap. :D

The pool was not 50 meters, but that's ok. According to the schedule I'm using, my swim for today was 20 minutes, but I also had to make up 15 minutes from last week. Everyone was swimming all over the place in the first pool I entered. It was crazy. No real lanes and lots and lots of elderly leisurely swimming. I think it's great, but it just wasn't the tempo I was going for :D So, I moved to the other pool which was quite a bit colder. I was able to knock out laps and time with very little interference. At one point a lady got into the water and said in Hungarian, "You were fast!" (I thought to myself, anything that's moving in these waters is going to be perceived as fast because most everyone is taking their time to enjoy the pool.) Then, I tried to say to her "I'm learning Hungarian. I understand only a little and I speak badly. But, I'm training for a triathlon. Did you understand that?" She said, "Yes." Then she got out of the water. That's one way to clear the pool!

The thermal baths are awesome. I spent only about 10 minutes there because I didn't have a lot of time. My shoulder is doing alright. It still feels sore so maybe next week I'll go see a doctor just to get an opinion on it. I'm able to swim so that's good. I also had a 25 minute run scheduled. So I got back to my flat and headed across the street for a run through the city park. It feels good to follow a training plan. I realized I like plans and organization when it comes to training. I guess it's the next best thing to having a coach!

Have a great week training everyone!