I am figuring out my swimming schedule for the rest of the year. On one hand is the University swimming pool, which just reopened after a year-long renovation. It is as pristine and immaculate as a well endowed University can afford to pay . On the other hand is the local Masters Swimming club, where practices are in a less attractive pool. I tend to prefer the Masters club for a few reasons: the workouts are given by a coach, and the people who show up become your accountability partners. In the long run, what gets you ahead is not the fancy environments you practice but the people you choose to surround yourself.