Happy swimming
Hey guys, its already summer.. The sun is up and we can really feel the heat! And with that, did any of your planned outings happened yet? I know many of your friends or you yourself is thinking to have that dip in the pool already. The real question now here is "How ready are you?"If you are living near Marikina and is planning to cool things up a bit, don't worry because we got you covered. We will also teach you a trick for you to enjoy more those swimming experiences.
We recently visited Marikina Sports Center which is a city sports complex that houses multi-sport facilities covering not only various sports but also other fun indoor and outdoor activities. They have courts for basketball, badminton, volleyball, tennis.. they even have spaces for a gym, a full oval, a soccer field.. and classes for zumba, boxing, taekwondo, karate and a whole lot more that is too many to mention lol.
Starting block or platform at Marikina Sports Center
But for now let us focus on their swimming pool area which I think many locals are underestimating in terms of priority. Based on experience when swimming is concerned, this facility may get through in that list but always places in one of the bottom ones. Well, if we are talking about a "swimming outing".. it is a totally different idea since of course having a new environment is one of the obvious concerns. So rather than focusing on the negatives, let me share to you why you need to think it over and just schedule a swim here.
1. Availability. They open daily (except Mondays). 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM and extends until 9:30 PM during summers for night sessions.
2. Affordability. With the starting rate of P50 per head, how can you not even think about that deal. I mean, yes, it may not be that intricately beautiful compared to other private pools but come on, your main purpose is served. Some private pools are not even "that private" to be honest. Think of it.
3. Space. Man, it boasts an Olympic-size swimming pool. How rare is that? I actually enjoy how spacious it gets inside. So claustrophobic people, you are welcome.
4. Options. If you suddenly changed your mind on continuing that swim on the last minute well maybe you might want to have a jog instead or select from the numerous things you can do here. By the way, the area outside the center is famous of having a lot of restaurants, fast food chains and takeout food stalls to eat in so you actually won't run of options to visit here unless you are a very picky person.
Guidelines of the Marikina Sports Center swimming pool
Now, lets go to the fun part where we discover on enjoying those swimming experiences more. Have you tried staying under the water (sitting on the pool floor) for quite a time without having any gear and just purely being calm there with minimal movement? If you haven't, well I feel very sorry for you as it is just as relaxing as your latest massage session - not my fault if your last one was bad haha!
Personally, I was visually inspired when I saw the opening of the movie "Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief". It was the first installment of the trilogy where the opening shot was taken under the pool and Percy (played by the Hollywood actor "Logan Lerman") was so comfortable in there. I was like "I think it is possible to really enjoy that moment and not just act it out". And after doing it on some of our swimming pool visits, I was right. As of now, I still do it every single time possible when I have the opportunity. It'll take a number of practices to pull it off and be able to be comfortable with it but when you do, it is actually a rewarding skill you'll definitely enjoy doing from time to time.
Sitting on the pool floor
How to do it? By doing exactly the opposite of everything before going under the water.
So what do we usually do before going under the water? We breathe-in as much air as possible, close our eyes, cover the noses (for some) and move from one place to another. Preferably too if available, we want to do it with gadgets that can help us do it with ease like the goggles, some snorkeling gears, diving equipment, etc..
So simply, the opposite would be..
Breathing-out out air, keeping our eyes open, nose (keep'em normal lol) and staying still as much as possible once we achieve our comfortable sitting position below. As given the opposite conditions, doing this without and gears will make it more rewarding as per relaxation is concerned.
The only other option to achieve it is through the presence of weights which I suppose you'll not even dare to try since its prohibited haha!
The fact
Some people might need the help of the goggles (which is not bad) to be able to do it because they are either afraid to open their eyes below the water or they are not comfortable opening it under. A few are so scared of the reality that you cannot breathe-in some air for quite a time that simply trying it is impossible to do.. while some are just too afraid to go in water levels that are much higher than their normal height. So in short, not everyone is brave enough to do this so not all people can actually experience this.
The ultimate challenge is, will you try this until you succeed?
The pressure below is quite high but you'll get use to it after a number of attempts. It is not simple to hold your breath with your lungs near empty but your ability to hold it will improve time after time. Trial and error can be a daunting task because you have to do it comfortably to achieve your desired stance below.. So are you up for these challenges? If you are, don't waste anytime and try it on your next summer pool getaway! Don't forget to let me know how you did and thank me later when you have done it already.
By the way, I made a video here with my friend Villy for a visual presentation of this blog post covering both the Olympic-size pool of the complex and the under water takes. Haha! Enjoy!
