This week my travels took me to posh Palm Beach and the swanky Breakers Hotel & Resort. The hotel was built by American oil, railroad and real estate tycoon, Henry Flagler in 1896. The expansive hotel complex sits on a low bluff on the Atlantic Ocean. Adjacent to the actual hotel with its prominent twin towers is a fitness center and spa that has four different pools and easy access to the beach.
Some pre-trip planning assured me that I would find a pool worthy of some decent lap swimming. I got up early and headed to the pool at dawn thinking that the well heeled patrons of The Breakers would be sleeping in. That wasn't the case. When I got to the 25 meter three lane pool just before sunrise all the lanes were filled. The three old timer swimmers made it pretty obvious that we wouldn't be splitting lanes or circle swimming. I headed off to the squarish shaped lounging pool to swim by myself to kill some time. My stroke count would suggest it was about 35 meters long. I swam up and down the pool trying to swim straight which wasn't easy without a black line to follow. When I saw the old timers leave the lap pool I went over to swim some laps.
The very nature of a resort pool with only three lanes, no pace clock and bath temperature water isn't conducive to a tough work out. I stuck to easy lap swimming which was luxurious and appropriate for the serene setting.
The next day it was effectively the same drill with a slight diversion of swimming in the ocean for about 300 meters. I didn't swim out too far because it was dawn, I was by myself, and I was swimming in Florida's east coast waters and well you know...it's just not safe to swim in those conditions if you know what I mean.
With the sun rising over the Atlantic both mornings it was a wonderful way to start my days!
The very nature of a resort pool with only three lanes, no pace clock and bath temperature water isn't conducive to a tough work out. I stuck to easy lap swimming which was luxurious and appropriate for the serene setting.
The next day it was effectively the same drill with a slight diversion of swimming in the ocean for about 300 meters. I didn't swim out too far because it was dawn, I was by myself, and I was swimming in Florida's east coast waters and well you know...it's just not safe to swim in those conditions if you know what I mean.
With the sun rising over the Atlantic both mornings it was a wonderful way to start my days!
Earlier in the week I was also on the west coast of Florida in Clearwater Beach and had the chance to take a morning swimming in the Gulf of Mexico. It was like a hot tub!
This pool truly looks like it's at a resort and that it's an Olympic pool. The sunset is beautiful, and the trees look like they provide ideal privacy while swimming. The exterior of the hotel looks beautiful as well and more like a castle instead of a typical hotel that you would find.
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