It's a pretty good crowd for a Monday at Lonsdale's Ed Cothran pool as dozens of kids and adults kick off their shoes and plunge in.
"Just trying to get away from the heat, trying to cool down. Beat the heat!" Jacob Norfleet, who is at the pool supervising a bunch of children as part of The Zone's summer programming.
As temperatures creep toward the century mark, the heat index had no problems topping 100 degrees.
The Tennessee Valley Authority said it was too early to give an exact peak power usage estimate for Monday but that the valley had hit 30,500 megawatts of power. That's about 10% shy of the record but still an impressive mark.
With all that, Norfleet decided Monday was about as good as it gets when picking a day to hit the pool.
"That's the way I was growing up, try to find a cool spot and get away from the heat," he said.
But as Lonsdale ditches their shoes to dive in, others are barefoot, working agility drills in West Knox County.
"If we get a good breeze down here in the valley, that's why we open it up a little bit. Back there in that corner, it gets really hot, that's why I bring them down here," Jason Studwell, a trainer with D1 Sports Training in West Knox County said.
As an afternoon class of pre-teens work agility drills to improve their balance, Studwell said part of the trainer's job is to make sure they stay thirsty off the field as well.
"A lot of water, a lot more breaks," he said. "We try to encourage them to drink a lot of water not just the day of, but also the days before. So, they're coming in to workout all week, start hydrating on Saturday."
As the week ahead promises more days with maybe even more sun ahead, Tuesday promises to be at least a repeat of Monday as East Tennessee continues looking for ways to beat the heat.