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.
FindingMyInnerFish, your name is so funny. I should think of something like SeekingMyOwnPersonalLane.
I didn't get to the masters swim, but am back in the pool after a week and a half layoff due to my dog's illness. It was crowded. At 6:30 a,m. I asked ladies in two separate lanes if I could share, and they both hemmed and hawed, and basically looked so uncomfortable I wound up on the the shallow side until one of them left and I was able to grab her lane. I've offered to share my lane with water walkers, which doesn't bother me. They don't clobber me with arms, fins, or watches LOL.
At my Y, during the lap swim period, they don't like to let swimmers in the water walking lane--even if there's room. (As one lady said, "I get splashed"--and I want to say "um, sweetie, you're in a POOL which is filled with water. There's a nice track across the street and treadmills upstairs....")
OTOH, the lifeguard in the morning is activist--he will notice who swims compatibly with whom, and sometimes call on us to move to compatible lanes. If people ask to share, I'm cool. And mostly no one seems to object to my sharing. They kind of expect us to be willing to share. Of course, I've had people come in with very wide breaststrokes or who half-walk, half swim or who almost float from end to end. Those folks are the toughest to swim with. I give them credit for getting into the pool and doing some kind of exercise--just it's hard to work around such individuals.
Typically, if someone comes to my lane with, say, a pull buoy and kickboard, I'm relieved b/c that person usually has lane-sharing experience and is better about negotiating for space.
FindingMyInnerFish, your name is so funny. I should think of something like SeekingMyOwnPersonalLane.
I didn't get to the masters swim, but am back in the pool after a week and a half layoff due to my dog's illness. It was crowded. At 6:30 a,m. I asked ladies in two separate lanes if I could share, and they both hemmed and hawed, and basically looked so uncomfortable I wound up on the the shallow side until one of them left and I was able to grab her lane. I've offered to share my lane with water walkers, which doesn't bother me. They don't clobber me with arms, fins, or watches LOL.
At my Y, during the lap swim period, they don't like to let swimmers in the water walking lane--even if there's room. (As one lady said, "I get splashed"--and I want to say "um, sweetie, you're in a POOL which is filled with water. There's a nice track across the street and treadmills upstairs....")
OTOH, the lifeguard in the morning is activist--he will notice who swims compatibly with whom, and sometimes call on us to move to compatible lanes. If people ask to share, I'm cool. And mostly no one seems to object to my sharing. They kind of expect us to be willing to share. Of course, I've had people come in with very wide breaststrokes or who half-walk, half swim or who almost float from end to end. Those folks are the toughest to swim with. I give them credit for getting into the pool and doing some kind of exercise--just it's hard to work around such individuals.
Typically, if someone comes to my lane with, say, a pull buoy and kickboard, I'm relieved b/c that person usually has lane-sharing experience and is better about negotiating for space.
