exercise and aging

I took an hour out of my work day to go to the swimming pool. Left the house a bit before 4:00 (wanted to leave earlier, but it took me a while to find my gym-bag). Got there around 4:15, stood in a line it turned out I didn't need to stand in, then went upstairs and checked in with my membership card and combination lock, no line. There were lots of lap-swim lanes, but more than half of them were closed for no obvious reason. Anyway, I swam nine laps before the lifeguards ordered everybody out of the pool at 5:00. They would reopen at 5:30, but only the "open swim" area, not the lap-swim lanes. Drove home in bad rush-hour traffic and did some more $EMPLOYER work. I think I hadn't swum laps in a regulation-sized pool since 2019.

One of the other guys in my lane commented "You swim really well for your age." I didn't ask him what he thought "my age" was -- I assume he based his estimate on the white hair in my eyebrows and five-o-clock shadow -- but I guess I can check off that Bingo square now.