Tualatin Hills Aquatic Center

Saturday morning in Portland started with a walk through a very bright, sunny, but cold downtown. On my way back up the I-5 to Seattle to watch the Seahawks take on the Cleveland Browns at Lumen Field tomorrow, I stopped for a swim – and what a spot it was.

I clocked 3,500 yards in total. When I first jumped in, I wasn’t sure if the pool was set up in 25 yards or meters – even the lifeguard wasn’t certain! After checking my average pace with a couple of 100s, I decided it had to be yards.

Settled into a groove doing 150s and ended up knocking out 22 of them, then added a couple of 100s to round up to 3,500 yards. I figured I’d hit the 1,000-calorie mark for the swim, but annoyingly, it stopped just short at 980!

The pool itself is a 50m x 25 yard setup with 10 lanes running the width and a diving pit off to one side. There was a diving session going on – I think it’s the first time I’ve actually seen proper competitive-style dives at a pool.

What I didn’t realise was that the pool and athletic center are right across the road from the Nike Campus. I read Phil Knight’s Shoe Dog earlier this year, so I found it fascinating to see the area up close.

Had to wait in the lobby for about 15 minutes before the session started. The reception area – like everywhere else in the US this week – was decked out in Halloween decorations. As I was waiting, the kids’ swim club was leaving the pool, emerging from the changing rooms dressed in Halloween costumes. It’s the Saturday before Halloween, so I wasn’t sure if they were heading to a party or if it was fancy dress swim training – either way, it added a fun twist to the morning!