What Kills Your Swim?

RE: What Kills Your Swim?

Former Member — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 07:32:36 GMT

Seeing an overweight swimmer with a way too small speedo.. uggg..

RE: What Kills Your Swim?

Former Member — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 13:03:34 GMT

Lets see? Besides the usual rant stuff-sharing lanes or yucky floaters? I don't mind feeling sore,but intense pain would def. be a reason.I also usually am able to zone out during a workout,almost like meditating, and when I loose focus, sometimes it is just better to call it a day.At that point it just feels like I am fighting the water and my technique goes to crap and I know I will be in more pain then neccessary the next day. The loosing focus part usually happens when there are extremely strong odors(BO,perfume,deck cleaner or food)or someone gets in the lane who is just a spaz.So I guess I'm back to the ranting....dang.:bitching:

RE: What Kills Your Swim?

funkyfish — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 11:27:11 GMT

Why would a swim instructor wear such strong pungent perfume at a class session? To impress the Ladies? Guys? Anyone within nose-shot? :D I've encountered numerous items listed above, so it's good (or bad) to know this happens to others as well. Really haven't had anything outside of physical problems ruin my swim. Recently the pool thermostat has been on the mend, so they've been adjusting the temp manually. When it was 78° it was great, although chilly if you weren't moving. When they cranked it up to 88° two days later, I got in, swam about 1000yds, and couldn't do much more than that. I've found the following in the pool when swimming: scorpions, brown grass spiders, band-aids, hair, pieces of toilet? paper, rocks, ear plugs, and possibly some other stuff that I can't remember currently. Please understand, these items have been found on random occasions, and for the most part our pool is clean and pretty much uncrowded. On the other hand, we have a local outdoor 50m pool that doubles as a lap pool in the mornings, and a rec pool in the afternoons. One summer while swimming laps, I observed a tampon at the bottom of the lane I was swimming in. That was enough to get me out. :p

RE: What Kills Your Swim?

Former Member — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 05:47:37 GMT

There is a swimming instructor (who is never seen swimming ;)) at our pool who, heaven knows why, from time to time would show up with outrageously strong perfume--no exaggeration. The smell gets all over the pool and deck. He only stands on the deck, never gets in water. The perfume was strong enough to disturb our swims since we couldn't cover our noses. But when he's standing on the deck right above you at the pool end, it was simply suffocating, truly suffocating. Why would a swim instructor wear such strong pungent perfume at a class session?

RE: What Kills Your Swim?

Former Member — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 16:03:59 GMT

This post is so perfect for me after the week I had working out!!! First of all, I am newly back in the pool and thanks to an irratic work schedule and a young child, I am forced to work out at a gym within the confines of daycare hours, so that is really my only hindrance.... However, some notable mentions: 1) Water walkers! I get it, it is good exercise, but please, you are only using up 2 square feet of space. Please group yourselves into one lane only. It is sad to see all the swimmers in one lane and water walkers taking up the other two! And if you ask to share with them, well, I have never had another swimmer be that rude! 2) The eternal lane pausers/loungers. Just last week I had a guy get into my lane (it's fine, I can share). However, he swam one lap and then proceeded to just stand in the shallow end of my lane. I swam on and finally he decided to move to the deeper end. And then he just stood there! Blocking my wall! I waited and waited and finally something clued him in that the tatted up lady whose swim cap just ripped, the one with dang near smoke coming out of her nostrils, would like you, sir, to get out of the lane unless you want plan on actually swimming. 3) Cutesy couples frolicking in the pool also get me... I should probably get out of the gym here pretty soon....

RE: What Kills Your Swim?

__steve__ — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 09:47:13 GMT

I'll get plastered for this but I have nothing to lose - H2O temperature 'm not much of a noodler either, contrary to what I've seen otherwise, they like it cool where I'm from, like below 80˚:worms: I don't know why, maybe lack of insulation, thermoregulation malfunction, or perhaps lack of CNS excitation (I'm lazy):D?

RE: What Kills Your Swim?

Former Member — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 05:07:54 GMT

I stopped the day a guy had a seizure on the side of the pool, fell in, and had to be rescued by the lifeguard. Other people kept swimming and I took it upon myself to stop everyone in the other lanes so that the lifeguard could focus and we would be available to get additional help if needed. The ambulance came, the man was taken to the hospital, and while some folks started swimming again, I just couldn't get there. Somehow, it felt disrespectful. We did find out later that he was fine, thankfully. Back when I was a lifeguard, I was told if there was an emergency that required the use of the lifeguards (1 or more), the pool was to be cleared because now no one is watching the water. Good for you for getting the other people out of the water. Glad to hear the guy is ok. I had a small kid have a seizure in the pool once. Scariest moment of my life. I know seizures are "common" (relatively speaking) in children and that they aren't known to cause direct damage (usually the result of instantly using consciousness causes the problems- traumatic injuries, drowning, etc). Being a kid its concerning, and knowing there is nothing you can really do except wait sucks. Back to the subject: Away meets at pools with gross locker rooms. I feel like dirty locker rooms equates to dirty pools. If they can't take care of the lock room, how can they take care of the pool. I once had a meet at an inner city school. The pool tasted like sweat and was like 99 degrees. The locker room looked like something out of the SAW movies. There was blood on the floor and walls in one area. Everything was rusted or tarnished. Garbage everywhere. I heard the girls locker room was even worse with used tampons and pads all over the place. Finding a carrot in the pool killed my swim once. I finished my set, pulled my goggles up to rest and get a drink. Next to me floating in the water is a carrot. I'm not sure if someone was eating in the natatorium or if someone vomited it up. I got out of the pool immediately suspecting the worst.

RE: What Kills Your Swim?

Former Member — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 14:03:18 GMT

Water temps >83 degrees.

RE: What Kills Your Swim?

TRYM_Swimmer — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 09:45:39 GMT

Water temps >83 degrees. Ditto!

RE: What Kills Your Swim?

rxleakem — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 08:44:46 GMT

There are not too many things that can zap my desire to swim. I usually try to make the best of my time in and swim around folks who are going different speeds, and I am used to the warmer water that I cherish times that I can get in colder pools. That being said, here are two things recently that have distracted me: 1. Our pool is going to be closed this summer to rebuild the walls that enclose the pool. Well, the town was in and had two guys on ladders removing the panels near the ceiling - it was just gross lokking on the other side of those pretty whitewashed walls, and I did not want to breathe any of that stuff in. Good thing it will be fixed! 2. I get annoyed when something happens when splitting the lane and then ... Some slower swimmers will move into the lane from the medium lane, and then more follow, and soon there are six people circling in the fast lane and two splitting the medium lane. :bump: :2cents:

RE: What Kills Your Swim?

Celestial — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 04:48:41 GMT

I stopped the day a guy had a seizure on the side of the pool, fell in, and had to be rescued by the lifeguard. . . The ambulance came, the man was taken to the hospital, and while some folks started swimming again, I just couldn't get there. Somehow, it felt disrespectful. Glad to hear it! That would mess with my swim too. My brain is usually what interferes with a good swim. Sometimes I am so emotional about something totally unrelated to swimming that I just cannot let it go & get in a good swim. This is one of the good things about swimming at the crack of dawn - very little has occurred at that time of day for me to think about other than swimming!! Swimming at lunchtime or in the evening however, is another story all together. When I have those kind of days, albeit very infrequently, I usually get in an 800 or so and then just call it a day. I used to do that swimming solo too, if no one else came to push me, I was not capable of pushing myself. Now that I don't really have much choice, I have learned how to push myself, even without the benefit of a clock, if necessary. I wish I had developed this ability years ago, because it is very liberating! Swimming should not be like tennis, where one is dependent upon a partner to play - it generally is an individual sport, but I will agree - I love having someone to chase & race! I am usually much happier with workouts that include friends.

RE: What Kills Your Swim?

jswim — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 12:58:13 GMT

I am working on not letting anything kill my swim (except, of course, legitimate pain or illness). It's too easy to let myself get worked up over something and lose my focus. I generally regret it later. I'm working on the same thing mainly because I have a hard enough time trying to make 5-swims / week anyway! :) That being said... when the pool is so crowded that there are at least two people per lane, and they're all split between fast/slow, or slow/slow, and circle swimming becomes a challenge at best, I find it difficult to see the point in swimming because most of it ends up as garbage yards anyway. Though if someone was blowing snott all over the end of the pool, or someone with open sores all over their body was in my lane, I may just have to excuse myself! :bolt:

RE: What Kills Your Swim?

sydned — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 06:48:48 GMT

RE: What Kills Your Swim?

orca1946 — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 06:36:52 GMT

Family & kid problems!!!!!

RE: What Kills Your Swim?

Bobinator — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 04:18:10 GMT

I do great at an organized practice but when I swim solo I end up taking 90 minutes or so to do 3,200 scy. I keep talking to my various pool buddies who come and go during my work-out so I end up taking more time than I should between sets. Oh well, I rather have friends and social time I guess.

RE: What Kills Your Swim?

philoswimmer — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 02:54:14 GMT

RE: What Kills Your Swim?

Former Member — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 17:01:55 GMT

For me, just being alone. My brain goes through the process of "well no one else is training, so you don't need to because they're not doing anything that makes them faster" However, once every billion years when I'm alone I train hard to get ahead XD

RE: What Kills Your Swim?

Former Member — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 16:40:25 GMT

poor air circulation I'll second this comment. Lack of air circulation along with warm and humid air just takes the wind out of my sails.

RE: What Kills Your Swim?

__steve__ — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 12:16:42 GMT

A jolt of sharp chronic pain in the shoulder joint. @&*@ :bitching: #$% :bitching: &$#!!

RE: What Kills Your Swim?

Former Member — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 11:51:40 GMT

- floating band-aids - a long hair that gets stuck in my mouth(once it got stuck in the strap of my goggles and was flapping in my face....shutter - perfumed old women - stinky people that you somehow can smell underwater that make you gag - a person literally swimming in his underwear(alternative: shorts) The grossest thing that made me get out of the pool was this weird guy at a pool in London who looked like a lunatic and had open wounds on his body(didn't really want to look) and he was pressing one wound on his arm like it was a big zit in the locker room. Next thing I know he's next to me in the pool. That was too disgusting and I left.:eek: Try to top that:D

RE: What Kills Your Swim?

Former Member — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 11:46:26 GMT

I don't really stop much. This week they decided to pressure wash the deck while I was swimming. With diesel fumes hanging in the air, the attendent sprayed all of the dreck right into the pool while the lifeguard and the aquatic director watched. Then he washed the walls and hosed down my towel for good measure. I just swam through.

RE: What Kills Your Swim?

Former Member — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 11:42:30 GMT

poor air circulation

RE: What Kills Your Swim?

Former Member — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 10:50:13 GMT

What makes you (or makes you want) to stop your swim workout, aside from being tired or feeling hurt? Here's what killed my swim workout today: the ADORABLE, 11-month-old Rachel Roddin. Rachel is here with her parents, Jeff and Julie, visiting Grandma and Grandpa. They were all at the pool today and once Rachel got in my workout ended, as I just had to go play with her!

RE: What Kills Your Swim?

Chris Stevenson — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 10:25:12 GMT

Being circled by a large grey fin whilst open water swimming. Funny that you mention that. I was just thinking that the posts in this thread threaten to do for pool swimming what the movie Jaws did for OW swimming in the oceans.

RE: What Kills Your Swim?

Rob Copeland — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 10:13:13 GMT

Being circled by a large grey fin whilst open water swimming.