Swim Rant

Just swim 2 laps fast Butterfly down the middle of the lane as they attempt to enter your lane.

I wonder if pools should have a required orientation for any newcomer, just as any other piece of gym equipment might. It would probably save a lot of "newbie mistakes" (and I suspect I made my share of them). Maybe not too practical... but just a thought. I was at our outdoor pool with my daughter the other day and watched a man circle swim with a woman who kept swimming up the middle. He kept getting angrier and angrier, and she didn't pick up on what was going wrong. After he stampeded loudly out of the pool, she looked perplexed. I walked over, leaned down and explained how lane sharing goes. She looked horrified and asked, "why didn't he just tell me that?" So, next time you're in a lane with someone who appears rude and obnoxious, consider the fact that the they might just be clueless and maybe clue them in. Or of course, they may just be rude and obnoxious, which is when the fly sets come in handy. :drink:

I had a perfectly peaceful lap swim workout last night. Not too crowded. No problem sharing lanes. But a couple days before, as I told SwimStud, I had a couple bad experiences. This was a new one. I'm in the locker room after my workout. I rested my swim bag and clothes and suit on a portion of a bench. A lady came up, shoved some of my stuff to the side (there was plenty of room), picked up my wet suit and dumped it on top of my dry clothes. I was shocked. Exactly who gave her permission to touch, move and trash my stuff?! She didn't even say a word or indicate that she needed even more room. Now, that is a real piece of work. I don't think anyone can defend that one. I feel your pain! That kind of invasion of another's space would feel pretty weird. Reminds me of a woman who told me that she saw someone pick up her water bottle in the locker room and start to walk off with it--until she said very emphatically, "That's MY BOTTLE!" (And it was a good water bottle, not the cheapie kind I've been known to use.) Sometimes (not often b/c I'm on the shy side), I'll confront someone who's being rude/strange. Some woman commented while I was running up a hill, "You look like you're ninety years old!" I suppose if I'd been 100, I'd have taken it as a compliment, but since I'm in my 50s, it's a little problematic... ;) And I just was in a place where I wasn't going to let it go--especially since she was a crossing guard working in front of school kids... what an example to set for them! So I said to the woman, "Why would you say something like that? That's rude!" I think I caught her off-guard. She apologized and said, "Oh I'm sorry, I was just teasing. I didn't mean to be rude." She then told me she admired/envied runners--I suspect there was some passive/aggressive stuff going on. I wasn't exactly Ms. Perfect Form running up that hill, but still .... I hope after that, the woman thought twice about what she said to people, especially to strangers. Makes me wonder sometimes what makes people say or do arrogant things. What's going on in the head of someone who hasn't enough respect for your belongings that she starts pushing them aside. So on the rare occasions when I ask why someone would do/say something peculiar, I really, really want to know... why??

I am annoyed at myself for getting old and cranky. :frustrated: There's this one guy who is on Senior I but he's swimming with Masters for the summer. He always gets in my lane?! Don't know why. All his strokes are, let's say, unconventional. At every pull his arm crosses way over the half way point (the black line) and onto the other side. I've only gotten nailed three times and have two black and blue bruises to show for it. I guess I should be thankful. My SDK's have improved as I've found I need to go far and deep to avoid him around the walls. Okay, now I feel better. :wiggle:

I am annoyed at myself for getting old and cranky. :frustrated: There's this one guy who is on Senior I but he's swimming with Masters for the summer. He always gets in my lane?! Don't know why. All his strokes are, let's say, unconventional. At every pull his arm crosses way over the half way point (the black line) and onto the other side. I've only gotten nailed three times and have two black and blue bruises to show for it. I guess I should be thankful. My SDK's have improved as I've found I need to go far and deep to avoid him around the walls. Okay, now I feel better. :wiggle: Ack Kristina that's just foreplay... ;)

I had a perfectly peaceful lap swim workout last night. Not too crowded. No problem sharing lanes. But a couple days before, as I told SwimStud, I had a couple bad experiences. This was a new one. I'm in the locker room after my workout. I rested my swim bag and clothes and suit on a portion of a bench. A lady came up, shoved some of my stuff to the side (there was plenty of room), picked up my wet suit and dumped it on top of my dry clothes. I was shocked. Exactly who gave her permission to touch, move and trash my stuff?! She didn't even say a word or indicate that she needed even more room. Now, that is a real piece of work. I don't think anyone can defend that one. Now I think of it the best way to get back at this would be to put your body into their space...get up close and dress and be in their way...it freaks most folks out...but you've got to be strong minded. My pet hate is the unsupervised delinquents in the locker rooms or the showers. You know how tha shower is the reward for ahard swim...soaping up and stretching out enjoying a warm glow in your muscles...then in come a bunch of pre-teens shouting and having a waterfight or screeching in the shower...etc

My pet hate is the unsupervised delinquents in the locker rooms or the showers. You know how tha shower is the reward for ahard swim...soaping up and stretching out enjoying a warm glow in your muscles...then in come a bunch of pre-teens shouting and having a waterfight or screeching in the shower...etc This is one of the reasons I love where I swim - 18 & older locker rooms. I only have to negotiate kid bedlam when I'm there with my daughter.

Now I think of it the best way to get back at this would be to put your body into their space...get up close and dress and be in their way...it freaks most folks out...but you've got to be strong minded.I find that marking your territory in the locker room and on the pool deck is an effective way of maintaining YOUR space. A splash of urine does wonders. It also works in the pool. When someone asks to share a lane, I ask them to wait until I finish peeing before they jump in, so it won’t splash in my face. Often they go find another lane.

Haha not me..I pee in the pool all the time.. Urine is pure when it leaves the body... hehe Jokes aside anyone throwing my stuff around will find me moving up close...or shaking my hair to get the water off.

I hate (sorry need to negotiate with) squad swimmers who push lane ropes down at the ends while resting.Pushing off and running into a submerged lane rope with a little finger hurts...