Triathlon Update

WHAT!?! I JUST READ A NOTE AT THE YMCA BLAISDELL STATING YOU ARE CLOSING THE POOL FROM 8/11 TO 9/22. THAT'S 6 WEEKS! AND IT INCLUDES AN ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT DAY FOR ME REVOLVING AROUND THAT POOL. TO SAY I AM UNHAPPY WITH THIS IS A HUGE UNDERSTATEMENT. PLEASE SEND ME THE NAME, PHONE NUMBER, AND E-MAIL ADDRESS OF A SPECIFIC PERSON THAT I CAN DIRECT MY COMPLAINT TO AND PROVIDE MORE DETAILS AS TO THE NATURE AND DEGREE OF MY DISAPPOINTMENT.

Above is an email I wrote to customer service at the YMCA a week ago. Yeah, I was not happy. I'm still not. So, I have two things to figure out now. 1) What am I going to do about my triathlon. I can cancel it, reschedule it, or pick a new location. None of those are all that easy to do. The other pools available to me with my YMCA membership are downtown and New Hope. I will not be biking downtown, so that's out. And, I know nothing about what routes I would take to walk or bike around New Hope. As for the date, the 15th has a lot of meaning to me. It's my birthday, and the day I did a step-down of this current version of a triathlon three years ago. None-the-less, it's better to change the date than to just cancel the whole event. So, I think I have decided to change the date to August 8. I have to get that day off and get Joanne to get that day off and decide if that means I am working on my birthday this year. As for doing the triathlon a week early, I'm ready for the biking and swimming, and honestly, an extra week would not have added that much to get me ready for the walking. I would still enjoy company during this event. If you are considering that, check with myself or Joanne to verify the date, the location, and that I didn't just get frustrated and cancel it completely. Now, for 2) I have to figure out where I am going to swim for 6 weeks. Again, my options for twice a week swimming if I stick with the YMCA are downtown and New Hope. New Hope will not work for mornings before I start my work day. It's the opposite direction from work, I'd be traveling during rush hour, and I already cut it close to be at work on time. Honestly, if I were to swim at New Hope before work I'd have to get up at 5:00. I don't like the idea of swimming at the downtown location at all. I have heard parking is horrible, and my guess is the pool is packed with downtown business people right when I want to swim in the morning. If I stick with my YMCA membership, that's where I have to go though. I am going to check out the YWCA. It's a little more expensive, and a little less convenient, but honestly, this is my second displacement from the YMCA pool due to long-term, temporary closings. I don' t know for sure what will happen yet. I need to check out the YWCA, and am waiting to hear back from the person at the YMCA. They wrote me back, and on Friday I left a message for the contact person they gave me. Honestly though, what is she going to do - keep the pool open just for me? Obviously, that won't happen.