Masters team practice Tuesday, there were two lanes closed because of some maintenance issue overhead. So we spilled over into the lap lanes. I was alone in a lane at first but then some random guy shows up and jumps in with me. That's fine, since I was occupying his rightful space. But he turned out to be a wide swimmer, arms and legs akimbo. He took up 3/4 of the lane width and his hands and feet often smacked into me. I got hit and kicked so many times I found bruises when I went into the shower. In addition, I had to alter my form to watch for his approach so I wouldn't get punched every lap.
:afraid:I'm sorry you had that experience! This makes me very thankful I have access to a pool just one mile from my house where I always get my own lane. It is definitely one of the benefits of living in this particular Sun City community!
I've had a longstanding fear of being castrated in such a way. So far unfounded, but I did have a terrible crash once and messed up my shoulder. Feel better soon.
I usually have no problem stopping another swimmer and informing them that they're not practicing good lane-sharing techniques. It's a little bit of a different issue, and usually done by swimmers who aren't accustomed to lane-sharing, but when someone jumps in the lane, begins swimming toward me (right down the middle for a head-on collision) before I'm even aware they've gotten in. In regard to MPH, swimmers aren't moving very fast. Nevertheless a collision does not feel good. When I'm lifeguarding at the pool, I watch for situations like this (and that mentioned in the OP) and try to stop them before they happen.
Dan
While my regular pool is closed, I've been trying other locations. At one, I was sharing a lane (which was already awkward because even with my sedate breaststroke, I was faster than my lanemate) at the side of the pool. Instead of recessed ladders/footholds, that pool has metal ladders that jut out underwater. I ended up kicking into the ladder 3 or 4 times. :(
