Had a weird thing happen at practice today. I was finishing my swim with a set of 25yd butterfly to work on my stroke. I had the lane to myself, and for a time, both lanes to either side were empty. About midway through my set, an older woman got into the lane next to me and started swimming. Ordinarily I'd pay it no mind, but at one point when I was resting she turned to me and said "you know, it's really hard for me to swim backstroke when you're swimming like that, you're a real jerk!"
When she began her statement, I thought she was going to make some kind of joking comment. But as she finished it, I realized she was serious, and it kinda caught me off guard. Since the lane on the other side was open, I moved over a lane so as not to disturb her, and tried to apologize when she was at the end of the lane, but she just curtly replied "fine" and went on about her swim.
So my question is this, does swimming butterfly make me a jerk? I'm not going to stop swimming fly, but I'm just curious if anyone else has run afoul of other swimmers getting bent out of shape in this manner. To summarize, we both were in separate lanes (6ft wide), and she was swimming, not water walking. I wonder if Phelps runs into these problems :D
if she was doing the typical lap swimmer goggle-less backstroke, i think you should have just sweetly suggested that to her that goggles should be worn even when your face is out of the water...
:agree:
Hi Funky Fish! First of all I want to say to are a gentleman! This woman was rude to you and you reacted politely and tried to help her situation. You did way more than you needed to do.
I have noticed in adult sport activities that usually the slow/novice type people expect everyone else to adjust to their agenda. This even happens in swim practice on our team. If a group is in the middle of a pre-designed set and a new person jumps in the lane and doesn't want to do the workout they expect the whole lane to adjust to their lap pace and hold their repeats till they are out of the way. This makes me crazy and yet it happened in almost every scheduled workout we had for nationals. :argue:
The worst is when lap swimmers and less intense masters swimmers think that you are crazy when you do fly. You aren't the jerk. She is the jerk for calling you that for no reason. She should have known better not to get in a lane when someone is doing fly. She should have asked you when you stopped to stop swimming fly so she can do her swimming.
I'm guessing this encounter was in a wavy shallow pool with relatively loose and crappy lanelines. I've swum in the next lane to some big/strong/fast college swimmers doing sprints; and their waves pushed over the handeater lane ropes (making my lane a foot narrower) where I'd get hung up in the ropes and scraped up; and bounced the swimmers over a few inches causing collision situations with the swimmers I was circling with. Also can get a lungful of water. It's hard to see it coming when you're on your back.
But calling you a jerk -- that was totally rude of her. A polite request from her to negotiate for a lane of separation with a reasonable explanation would have been OK.
Ordinarily I'd pay it no mind, but at one point when I was resting she turned to me and said "you know, it's really hard for me to swim backstroke when you're swimming like that, you're a real jerk!"
This is a perfect example of why I hate people.
She could have just asked you to either stop or move, but having not done so, I am happy to award her the female equivalent of jerk award.
Funkyfish, you went out of your way to be nice. Many of us, myself surely included, would have worked hard to earn her accusation.
You were much nicer than I would have been, in fact, I would have started doing a lot more butterfly just because, but then I'm evil that way. She should have been the one to move if she was bothered that much.
So my question is this, does swimming butterfly make me a jerk? :D
The simple answer is yes. But so are backstrokers, freestylers, and even the gentle breaststrokers. It's a human condition but....that lady probably turns at the end of her lane and talks to the "jerk" even when she's alone in the pool. She sounds nuts and angry. I meet people like that in the pool regularly. They DO often resent it when you swim fast. Speed is interpreted somehow as aggression, at least by some. So, when you encounter someone who is nuts, as an intelligent jerk, you cater to their nuttiness to whatever degree necessary so that you can get your workout done. That, after all, is what you want to do. If you work out alone at YMCA's as I do it is inevitable that you run into difficult people from time to time. Most of the time it's great, but it's inevitable.
That said, there are some folks who swim fly and every stroke looks like they are making as big a splash and wave as possible, others slip in and out of the water like snakes. When I see the former I think they are getting one hell of a workout. When I see the latter I just like to watch. Either way, just get your workout in. Usually there is no point in talking with a nutty angry person except to defer to them verbally, then swim.
an older woman got into the lane next to me and started swimming.
I have observed that almost all the complaining trouble makers are "older women" belonging to the slow lane :cool:
