Lost of great peeves that rang my bell!
Whoever is peeved about other people in his/her lane # 5: That's me. That's MY lane. It's because it's near the pace clock. (Lane 6 is the wall lane, and I do NOT swim on the wall except as a last resort.)
If people cross my lane, I swim into them or over them. Size has its priveleges. If I collide with someone, chances are that I'm not the one who will get hurt. (I'm 6'6", 240 lbs or so, and I'm moving at a pretty good clip -- 1:20-1:25/100yds. 1:05-1:10 if I'm sprinting. Stay out of my way! I also displace a lot of water, so I can churn up a rather healthy wake. That's a problem for someone else to get peeved about.)
Wanna swim in lane 5? Expect to share with me. And expect to eat my wake! I especially enjoy passing a really slow swimmer who is on his/her back. Hope they're not taking a deep breath when my wake passes over them!
If someone stops me to ask if I mind that they share (see "don't talk to me" below) I just say "go ahead" and I keep swimming, but I think to myself that the real question they should be asking themselves is if they will mind sharing with ME!
Whoever complained about people who hug the lane line: that's also me. At my pool we split the lane unless more than 12 show up, and then we start circling. If no one is sharing my lane, I do not swim in the middle. I swim on the lane line that's closest to the clock. If I swim in the middle, it seems that when someone eventually enters my lane to share, they always want the side nearest the clock. That's MY side of MY lane! So I don't do the middle. I stake out MY side right from the get-go.
(BTW, I've been swimming in that lane for 15 years, first thing in the morning, six days a week, and most regulars know it's my preferred lane, and most don't want to share my wake, so it is generally the 12th person in the pool who has to share with me. Most times we don't get to 12, so I get my own lane. For some reason new people are attracted to lane 5 if they get out there before I do. Maybe because it's empty because everyone else stays out of there! Most move within a lap or two after I join them to share the lane.)
One of my peeves is the "floating cadaver". This guy swims on his back, elementary backstroke, so slowly that it takes him about 2 minutes per length. He used to try to get lane 5 before I got out there. And then he would ask me not to share with him. I had the lifeguard explain our pool's lane etiquette. If there are no empty lanes, then a swimmer is entitled to share in any lane in the pool. (We don't have slow/med/fast.)
If someone is in lane 5 and there is an empty lane, I will take my time on the deck until one more swimmer shows up to get into the last empty lane. Then pool etiquette allows me to share with whomever is in lane 5. (Which takes us back to a few paragraphs above...)
I also am peeved at the "manatees." These are usually elderly, rotund ladies who wallow, float, walk, but rarely expend a calorie of meaningful workout energy. They just take up good real estate. And they complain when my flip turn gets their hair wet.
I'm not sure if this is a peeve or a source of self worth: Some swimmers of lesser capability will time their push-off (after a lengthy rest) to coincide with mine, and then pretend that they can keep up with me. (Or push off a few seconds ahead of me and try to beat me to the next wall...) Oh, maybe with their most frantic effort they can last one length... I'm 300 yards into a 500yd set, they are fresh, and they think it's some sort of accomplishment to keep up with me for 25 yards. It's an honor to be considered some sort of standard to attain! (But it's a bother to swim next to their thrashing. It's distracting.)
Similarly, there is the type of swimmer that is 10 seconds slower. As I come up behind them to lap them, they suddenly try to pick up their pace to hold me off. If I pick it up, they start sprinting. They're gonna hurt themselves! Maybe they can hold me off for a length or two, but as soon as I break ahead of them, they fall off like an autumn leaf, and 3 minutes later we're back to the same game when it's time to lap them again. (People on the highways do this too...)
And then there is the "chugger". He also does elementary backstroke, only his stroke and kick extend into my side of the lane (or under the lane line into my lane if he is in lane 6.) He takes these huge, long strokes (chug, ... chug, ... chug.) He properly stays to his half of the lane, but he just goes so wide on his stroke. (His sidestroke is similar, but not quite as bad.) I've swum over him a few times without injury to either of us, but I'm just worried that one momemt of harmonic convergence will place his foot in the same space as my head some day. Usually he sticks to the other side of the pool. He prefers his own lane too.
Another peeve: DON'T TRY TO TALK TO ME!!! I can't hear you over the echo/din of the pool area. Nor over the radio that's always playing. I have ear plugs in my ears. I have a cap on. And I really don't have the time or the energy to waste on chat. Catch me in the locker room if you have to talk. (But not in the shower. I can't hear over the running water there.)
BTW: I have the utmost respect for the person who shares my lane and stays until the end of their workout. Even more so if they turn out to be faster and stronger than I am.
Lost of great peeves that rang my bell!
Whoever is peeved about other people in his/her lane # 5: That's me. That's MY lane. It's because it's near the pace clock. (Lane 6 is the wall lane, and I do NOT swim on the wall except as a last resort.)
If people cross my lane, I swim into them or over them. Size has its priveleges. If I collide with someone, chances are that I'm not the one who will get hurt. (I'm 6'6", 240 lbs or so, and I'm moving at a pretty good clip -- 1:20-1:25/100yds. 1:05-1:10 if I'm sprinting. Stay out of my way! I also displace a lot of water, so I can churn up a rather healthy wake. That's a problem for someone else to get peeved about.)
Wanna swim in lane 5? Expect to share with me. And expect to eat my wake! I especially enjoy passing a really slow swimmer who is on his/her back. Hope they're not taking a deep breath when my wake passes over them!
If someone stops me to ask if I mind that they share (see "don't talk to me" below) I just say "go ahead" and I keep swimming, but I think to myself that the real question they should be asking themselves is if they will mind sharing with ME!
Whoever complained about people who hug the lane line: that's also me. At my pool we split the lane unless more than 12 show up, and then we start circling. If no one is sharing my lane, I do not swim in the middle. I swim on the lane line that's closest to the clock. If I swim in the middle, it seems that when someone eventually enters my lane to share, they always want the side nearest the clock. That's MY side of MY lane! So I don't do the middle. I stake out MY side right from the get-go.
(BTW, I've been swimming in that lane for 15 years, first thing in the morning, six days a week, and most regulars know it's my preferred lane, and most don't want to share my wake, so it is generally the 12th person in the pool who has to share with me. Most times we don't get to 12, so I get my own lane. For some reason new people are attracted to lane 5 if they get out there before I do. Maybe because it's empty because everyone else stays out of there! Most move within a lap or two after I join them to share the lane.)
One of my peeves is the "floating cadaver". This guy swims on his back, elementary backstroke, so slowly that it takes him about 2 minutes per length. He used to try to get lane 5 before I got out there. And then he would ask me not to share with him. I had the lifeguard explain our pool's lane etiquette. If there are no empty lanes, then a swimmer is entitled to share in any lane in the pool. (We don't have slow/med/fast.)
If someone is in lane 5 and there is an empty lane, I will take my time on the deck until one more swimmer shows up to get into the last empty lane. Then pool etiquette allows me to share with whomever is in lane 5. (Which takes us back to a few paragraphs above...)
I also am peeved at the "manatees." These are usually elderly, rotund ladies who wallow, float, walk, but rarely expend a calorie of meaningful workout energy. They just take up good real estate. And they complain when my flip turn gets their hair wet.
I'm not sure if this is a peeve or a source of self worth: Some swimmers of lesser capability will time their push-off (after a lengthy rest) to coincide with mine, and then pretend that they can keep up with me. (Or push off a few seconds ahead of me and try to beat me to the next wall...) Oh, maybe with their most frantic effort they can last one length... I'm 300 yards into a 500yd set, they are fresh, and they think it's some sort of accomplishment to keep up with me for 25 yards. It's an honor to be considered some sort of standard to attain! (But it's a bother to swim next to their thrashing. It's distracting.)
Similarly, there is the type of swimmer that is 10 seconds slower. As I come up behind them to lap them, they suddenly try to pick up their pace to hold me off. If I pick it up, they start sprinting. They're gonna hurt themselves! Maybe they can hold me off for a length or two, but as soon as I break ahead of them, they fall off like an autumn leaf, and 3 minutes later we're back to the same game when it's time to lap them again. (People on the highways do this too...)
And then there is the "chugger". He also does elementary backstroke, only his stroke and kick extend into my side of the lane (or under the lane line into my lane if he is in lane 6.) He takes these huge, long strokes (chug, ... chug, ... chug.) He properly stays to his half of the lane, but he just goes so wide on his stroke. (His sidestroke is similar, but not quite as bad.) I've swum over him a few times without injury to either of us, but I'm just worried that one momemt of harmonic convergence will place his foot in the same space as my head some day. Usually he sticks to the other side of the pool. He prefers his own lane too.
Another peeve: DON'T TRY TO TALK TO ME!!! I can't hear you over the echo/din of the pool area. Nor over the radio that's always playing. I have ear plugs in my ears. I have a cap on. And I really don't have the time or the energy to waste on chat. Catch me in the locker room if you have to talk. (But not in the shower. I can't hear over the running water there.)
BTW: I have the utmost respect for the person who shares my lane and stays until the end of their workout. Even more so if they turn out to be faster and stronger than I am.
