Strode Swimming and Fitness Street

6am wake-up alarm. Yep, time for another swim before work. Six hours of sleep and an evening swim the night before did not have me in prime swim-ready condition, but off I go.

Arrived for the 6:30am session—always a busy one. Officially listed as an hour, but my booking confirmation said 50 minutes. Classic.

Changed and wandered out to the pool deck. First glance: a double-width lane! Thankfully, it's only the 'slow' lane—everything else is single width. I look up the pool and have to grab my phone to double-check the length. I arrived thinking it was 25m, turns out it's 33.3m! Might even be longer… or maybe my pacing is just way off today.

Toe in the water felt jacuzzi-warm, but once I jumped in, pleasantly surprised—it's actually spot on. Even more surprising: the water is super clear. None of that misty doom you often get in older pools.

It's busy—several swimmers per lane—except mine. Apart from a couple of brief minutes, I had it entirely to myself! I'd planned a 3.2km swim, starting with a mile (1600m) then some 400s. But wow, this is a slow pool. Not a tub design, but there's this 'micro-chop' that sets up a weird oscillating wave. It sort of judders you backwards in the water and slaps you in the face with every breath!

Got through the 400s and suddenly realised the pool had emptied out completely—I was the only one left. Started sighting for the lifeguard… who'd shut the metal gate on the ladies' changing room and was standing by the men's. Quick glance at the clock—7:30am. Session over. Stopped the watch on a rather awkward 2733m total.

Quick shower, change, then a drive across the Somerset Levels to work. Gorgeous morning view of the sun rising behind Glastonbury Tor. Hopefully I'll manage another Street swim soon—if Millfield ever reopen their 50m pool to the public again…