I'm a newbie and just had my first practice yesterday sharing the lane with other swimmers. There were five of us, and it was horrible. I could barely get across one length of the pool and I actually panicked because I've never swum with others in the lane, certainly not four or five other people, and I was afraid of hitting or being hit. I stayed close to the rope, so much that I hit it a few times. Now I'm thinking, should I have joined this program? Am I one of those people who just prefers to swim alone? It was pretty scary.
I know those of you who do this all the time probably think, pffffft. No biggie. But I've never been so tense in the pool and when I swim on my own, I'm fine, do lots of laps for about an hour with very few breaks, so I know it's not my skill level. But I don't even know if I want to go back to a practice. I got bumped a few times, bumped into someone else, and basically made a fool of myself.
I also noticed that certain people displace the water an awful lot, and that was a new sensation.
Orca1946, I'm afraid of the folks who swing their arms way out like paddles. You probably know the type I'm talking about. I can't be too critical, because I can't see myself and don't know if I'm guilty of that. I try to keep my arms close to my body. I swim with a couple of folks who have those big watches, though, and I'm sure they hurt when one of them hits you. Thought about getting one, but it seems like a lot of excess stuff to carry into the pool. I don't even like to use fins or pull buoys. Maybe after I've been at it a while I'll want one because it would be nice to keep track of my time/distance. I guess it's what you get used to. When I swim on my own now, I practice staying close to the lane lines.
One of the ladies from last week's swim told me swimming is a contact sport. I just laughed, but maybe she's right.
Orca1946, I'm afraid of the folks who swing their arms way out like paddles. You probably know the type I'm talking about. I can't be too critical, because I can't see myself and don't know if I'm guilty of that. I try to keep my arms close to my body. I swim with a couple of folks who have those big watches, though, and I'm sure they hurt when one of them hits you. Thought about getting one, but it seems like a lot of excess stuff to carry into the pool. I don't even like to use fins or pull buoys. Maybe after I've been at it a while I'll want one because it would be nice to keep track of my time/distance. I guess it's what you get used to. When I swim on my own now, I practice staying close to the lane lines.
One of the ladies from last week's swim told me swimming is a contact sport. I just laughed, but maybe she's right.
