Swimming Studies

 

I recently finished the book Swimming Studies by Leanne Shapton (on (and lent to me by) R.'s recommendation). I recommend it to you as well. It's mostly a memoir, but I say mostly because it is quite different from other memoirs I have read. It's much more a series of vignettes about Shapton's time as a competitive swimmer (she twice made it to the Canadian Olympic Trials (1988 and 1992) but never to the Olympics) and some on her life post-swimming. There is no clear chronological narrative and sometimes she would give only a few details about something that I really wish she had written pages about, like her relationship with her husband and why she was living in London for several months, and more about her mom and this comment her mom made at her wedding. That said, one of my favourite parts of the book is the section where she includes photographs of her bathing suits and writes little blurbs about them like she where she wore it, where she got it, etc. Shapton is primarily a visual artist - she paints, is an illustrator, and used to be the art director for various newspapers - and that came out in her book too, especially in her section near the end where she included paintings/sketches of many swimming pools she has swum in. It made me think of all the swimming pools I've swum in. So for the rest of this post, I am going to use Swimming Studies as my inspiration and talk about my own favourite pools, and bathing suits.

Last June, A. came to visit me in Montreal. His visit was short but we had a fabulous Friday evening and all day Saturday together. On Saturday morning we hiked up to the top of the mountain. In the afternoon, A. kindly invited D., K. and I to spend the afternoon at the rooftop pool of his hotel. It was probably my favourite day of the summer and one of my most favourite days ever. We all had such a great time just tanning and swimming. It was so sunny and hot and the view from the rooftop was really nice. The pool was just a normal rectangle shape but very blue and I just felt super happy and super relaxed. Hmmm I guess this is less about that pool being my favourite pool and more about that day being my favourite day. But it did involve a pool so I thought it fit here. Here is a picture. It doesn't do the pool justice but it gives the general idea.

I've been in countless other hotel pools but most of them blur together for me. I was impressed with Shapton's memory when it comes to hotel pools. She describes in detail the art deco swimming pool in the Chateau Laurier Hotel in Ottawa and now I really want to swim in it!! Next time I go to Ottawa I'll either have to stay at the Chateau Laurier or try to sneak into the pool :)

Chateau Laurier in Ottawa Swimming Pool

Berkeley had nice swimming pools, which I wish now I had taken more advantage of. L. and I went swimming a few times in the Strawberry Canyon (I love that name!) pool. The few times I was there it was just about fun swimming - no one was doing lengths and it was really packed. It's located in Strawberry Canyon which is this green canyon behind the stadium and has a really nice green lawn where you can lie out both before and after swimming. Right on campus is the Hearst Pool, which is gorgeous. It has tiles and statues and looks more like some ancient Greek or Roman pool. It's grand and fancy. (See picture below). I only went swimming there once but in retrospect, I should have taken advantage of the year round nice weather and gone swimming outside more.

Hearst Pool, UC Berkelely

So much of Shapton's book was about her relationship to swimming and swimming has always been a sport with which I had a particular relationship. I learned to swim really young and was on the swim team at my elementary school, placing either first or second in the 25 metres breaststroke at the city finals in grades 4, 5 and 6. I was fast at swimming and I loved it. But then I got older, went through puberty and wasn't as fast. In elementary school I had always been distinguished for my speed in breaststroke but in high school, I was friends with 3 other girls on the team (which, by the way, anyone could join... no try outs) L., H. and L. Funnily enough, H., L. and I all had the same best stroke: breaststroke and we seemed to go back and forth in terms of who was fastest. But it wasn't like when I was 10, 11 and 12 and was always the fastest at my school. Even in high school, while on some level I must have liked swim team, I don't remember liking it that much and I think I barely went in to practice or meets in my last year. When I left Toronto for Berkelely, I rarely went swimming. I could probably count on my two hands the number of times I went swimming while in Berkelely (even though the pools were so nice & memorable). It wasn't until the summer of 2008 that all that changed.

I decided then, to take up swimming. For two weeks during August 2008, I would swim 100 "lengths" (more like widths because the pool is small) in my backyard pool. When I got back to Austin, I was determined to swim on a regular basis. And I did! For the next 8 months I swam 2-3 times per week, in the early morning usually getting into the pool around 7 or 7:15 am. There were never that many people there at that time and quite often I would have a lane to myself. I got really into it and really enjoyed going. I was steadily increasing the number of lengths I could do and I really enjoyed being in the water. I mostly swam in the indoor pool, and I'll always love it just because I was happy swimming there. The UT Austin gym also had a really nice outdoor pool which I would swim in sometimes too. But almost always it was the indoor pool. I'd always have such a sense of accomplishment on my walk home from the pool. Sadly, I didn't really continue swimming once I left Austin. I tried to go a few times at the pool at Hart House in Toronto but it was always so crowded and I didn't get a good feeling from the pool. So I stopped. In Montreal I never started - not sure why. Partly because the thought of going outside in the winter with wet hair is so unappealing and partly because I am into step more and only have so much time. But I do hope to take up swimming again eventually. I just need to find the right pool. 

I have also always loved backyard pools. Something about having a swimming pool in your own backyard is so cool. I love the pool in my backyard and which I had a picture to put on this post. I like how it has a slope to the deep end and doesn't just quickly drop off. I have lots of great memories of swimming in it, especially with A., E. and L. in high school. I need to swim in it more though! Reading Shapton's book I wish I had more favourite pool memories or that I could clearly point to a specific pool and describe so many of its features and say this is my favourite pool. (Although one of my very favourite swimming pools is in Mont Tremblant, but since my next post is going to be about Tremblant I'll mention the pool there.)  I've swum in hundreds of pools probably starting with my swimming lessons as a little kid, and I wish I could remember some of them more.

Now moving on to bathing suits. All of my bathing suits (except the one Speedo I have for "serious" (ie. lengths) swimming) are from J Crew. I got my first J Crew Bathing Suit in the summer of 2004 (a pink with white polka dots one piece that ties at the neck) which I still wear today. I most distinctly remember wearing it on the beach in Vina del Mar in Chile when L. and I took the bus there from Santiago one Sunday in February 2005. Whenever I wear it now, I feel like I could be one of those vintage pin-up girls. If I were in a calendar, I'd want to be the month of either January or April or May or June or July. Unfortunately, that bathing suit is at my house in Toronto so I don't have a picture of it. About two years ago, I got another one piece from J Crew. This one has a paisley print and makes me feel a bit like Marilyn Monroe. It can either be worn strapless or with a thin band that goes around the neck. I really like it and have gotten lots of compliments. I wore it last June at A.'s hotel's rooftop pool.

I have three J Crew bikinis. The first is a simple black one I ordered in February 2005 and which my mom delivered to me when she came to visit me in Santiago in May of that year. I wanted a black bikini because I think black is a classic colour and because I think black bikinis look good. There is a picture of my mom standing on a beach in Barbados when she was about 30 or 31 wearing a black bikini which I first saw as a little kid. I would sometimes try on that bikini and always thought black was the way to go. I've worn this black one so much it's starting to get thin and I'm probably going to have to stop wearing it soon but I just love it.

My next J Crew bikini purchase was a bright blue bandeau that can be worn with or without thin strap that goes around neck. I liked this one a lot more when I first bought it in 2009 than I do now, but it's still very nice and I should wear it more.

Finally, in 2010 I bought a purple bikini that also ties at the neck and which I really like. I love the colour. My most memorable time wearing it is in the pool and steam room at the La Source Aqua Club in Mont Tremblant. I love steam rooms and it was funny to leave the steam room and see that my purple bikini top looked as if I had been swimming but really it was just wet from the steam. 

In writing this I realize I do have quite the bathing suit collection. I am sorry the bathing suit pictures aren't better - Shapton had hers on a model which looked better. But alas, this was fun to write and put together and I hope you enjoyed reading/looking at it.

From Swimming Studies