Swim Rant

From the depths of page 19, my rants: 1. People who see the pool as a "fun" place and don't respect that lap swimmers are in the midst of a serious workout. They see a lap pool as the winter equivalent of the town wading pool, you can almost smell the suntan lotion. People would never go play catch on a track if someone is running laps, but these guys generally have no qualms about swimming through my lane, throwing a ball into my lane, etc. 2. Aqua aerobics. The whole thing. The music, people who think that bouncing up and down in water will make them lose weight, the irritating instructors, the inevitable spillover into my lane, the (seemingly) deliberate scheduling to coincide with lap practice, etc. It's almost never a real workout and it just takes up space. 3. The recreational swimmer who "races" me for one lap while I'm in the middle of a set of 10X200. They do one lap, furiously slapping the water and then rest up for fifteen minutes. 4. The middle age swimmer with waaaay too much equipment. $100 speedo racing jammer, fancy kickboard, fancy fins, custom-shaped buoy. Then they do 1200 yards and call it a day. Keep it simple, gearboy: ratty old Speedos strategically stacked to hide holes, five year old goggles pulled out of a pile at the bottom of your swim bag, public boards and buoys and NO FINS. ...sorry, that sounded really judgmental... I feel your pain. No simultaneous aqua aerobics classes during my lap swim or masters' workout times, and I can't say I really notice other people's equipment, but I've had kids diving under my lane, chasing balls into my lane, etc. etc. And when I said to one child "would you please keep your ball out of the lane?" his mother blocked my way the next time I came into the shallow section and said, "If you have a problem with my kids, come to me. Don't yell at them!" The people racing me... doesn't happen often, but once a guy was obviously killing himself trying to stay with me, and I was doing an easy paced swim at the time. And I'm a fairly slow swimmer! He reached the wall about the same time as I did, and leaned against it out of breath. I just smiled at him and kept on swimming. :)

I really agree about the gym situation.It really gets me when I am obviously doing a circuit and someone will get on a machine right in front of me,do a few lifts and then rest or talk oblivious to everyone else.

That about sums it up, points 1, 2, and 3. Hiro, I am in Chgo too. Where do you swim? Lots of pools have closed over past decade. VB

I find it amusing that so many people just sit for minutes on end resting on the machines without using them! Or, even worse, they sit and talk on their cell phone on the machine! Arg!!! I left Bally's for this reason. It was a Meat Market/escort service. Most people were nice when I'd ask them if I could work in with them, but then it was like I'd bought them a drink and now had to sit and chat.:notworking:

From the depths of page 19, my rants: 1. People who see the pool as a "fun" place and don't respect that lap swimmers are in the midst of a serious workout. They see a lap pool as the winter equivalent of the town wading pool, you can almost smell the suntan lotion. People would never go play catch on a track if someone is running laps, but these guys generally have no qualms about swimming through my lane, throwing a ball into my lane, etc. 2. Aqua aerobics. The whole thing. The music, people who think that bouncing up and down in water will make them lose weight, the irritating instructors, the inevitable spillover into my lane, the (seemingly) deliberate scheduling to coincide with lap practice, etc. It's almost never a real workout and it just takes up space. 3. The recreational swimmer who "races" me for one lap while I'm in the middle of a set of 10X200. They do one lap, furiously slapping the water and then rest up for fifteen minutes. 4. The middle age swimmer with waaaay too much equipment. $100 speedo racing jammer, fancy kickboard, fancy fins, custom-shaped buoy. Then they do 1200 yards and call it a day. Keep it simple, gearboy: ratty old Speedos strategically stacked to hide holes, five year old goggles pulled out of a pile at the bottom of your swim bag, public boards and buoys and NO FINS. ...sorry, that sounded really judgmental...

Oh yes, the Aquasize classes... okay, many of the participants are elderly or have arthitis, but do they have to get in the pool 10 minutes before the class starts and wander right in front of me? And then there's that certain instructor who lets her class run 5 or more minutes over, into the late night lap swimming session, and heaven help any swimmer who dares get in the water dead on time. If only my neighborhood pool had a diving tank; those pools that do will herd the water aerobics people into the tank and let us have the lap pool. My main peeves: people who think they belong in the designated "medium" or even "fast" sections (and yes, the lifeguards put out signs) despite overwhelming evidence that they do not belong there. If you pass one five or six times in 20 minutes, you get glared at. Don't they get a clue from that??? I'm not fond of the fin addicts, either. Fins do have a place in training, but anyone who thinks he/she is really swimming when doing every single meter in them is dreaming.

As someone who is back in the pool seriously for the last 2 weeks (and actually loving/hating it) I have these. 1) My local water utility for adding even more chlorine to the water BEFORE it gets to the pool. 2) Getting up at 4:30am to swim. Are we NUTS???? :help: 3) Not knowing which lane to swim in (getting there but still clueless) 4) Over zealous swim team coaches who scream that the lane you are in is thier's so you cut the workout short and VOILA it sits unused for over 15 minutes. :censor: 5) Experienced swimmers who set 12x50m free on the minute after telling me I should be in thier lane to swim, um hi my name's Paul and I'm gonna die. :whiteflag: 6) Crappy air quality. Our pool's covered by a pressurized bubble. This morning was rough. :dunno: 7) Forgetting that you are swimming in a yard pool instead of meter and getting to a 4 stroke count - BAM. OUchy. :doh: 8) dealing with the dry skin and frizzed hair that comes with being a pool rat. 9) The speed of an experienced swimmer, the endurance of a dead horse. Paul I give great 50

Ditto here in West Atlanta except the temp is 78-80 with the occasional bone chilling mid-70s. Usually, I have the pool to myself. I love 75 degree water!!!!!! Paul I give great 50

Fort, Where do you swim? I'm with Germantown Masters. Saw you were with PVS. Anyone else in the PVS area? Paul

Whoops, my apology, guess I put my foot in it there. :blush: I guess I really only have an issue with one particular fin user. She used to glare ferociously at me when I passed her for the fourth time in 20 minutes (and believe me, I'm not at all fast), now gives me a smug look as she passes me in her humungous scuba fins. I guess it gives me something to work for ... I'm starting to catch up. :laugh2: I can't wait to see what she comes up with when I start lapping her again. A small outboard motor perhaps? No worries. I'm well used to it. I just have shoulder issues. That person sounds like a very annoying lap swimmer. Glaring ferociously and smug looks?! Scuba fins really are better for scuba diving.