Swimming with the fishes...

[Running Mommy]

You know I realized something today... It's a good thing to be forced to share a lane with a REALLY fast guy!

So I get to the pool today and the lady at the desk announces that all of the lanes are full. She has a camera that watches the lap pool. GREAT I think to myself. You see I've been spoiled since I moved to AZ. In fact this is the first time in THREE years that I have had to share a lane. But I came from a busy YMCA in nor cal, so it's not like I don't know the drill.
So I get out to the pool deck and in the far lane is a really FAST swimmer- aka "a fish"... Hmmmm, nope. In the middle lane is another guy who I can't tell if he is fast or what?? But he is taking up the center of the lane and I'm thinking that he would not be one to share with as he is breastroking- Nope.
So in the near lane is a lady, not too fast, and I'm thinking "BINGO I can share with her".
So instead of just getting in the lane with her and starting to swim I decide to be polite and ask if I can share with her. So she comes to my end and I say hello, and then ask if I can share the lane with her. She says "No. I'm already sharing this lane with my son". I look confused as she is the only one in the lane, so she points to him sitting on a chair at the far end??!! And then she says "we are sharing. I'm swimming now and then he will get in and swim. We are sharing."
WTF????!!!!
So I say " well I wasn't asking you to get out. I just wanted to share the lane WITH you. To circle swim". She looks at me and says "NO" and takes off....
So I'm sitting on the edge of the pool fuming. The guy in the middle lane is just giving me this odd look everytime he comes to my end???
So the fast guy kindly asks if I would like to share. I explain that I am slow, so I will do my best to stay out of his way, and that if he needs to pass just "tap and go". He see's the Ironman cap I'm wearing and says "your an Ironman. You can't be THAT slow"! HA!! If he only knew!! - But he was about to find out!!
So I get in and not wanting to slow him down I take off like a rocket. I literally swam myself into oxygen deprivation! I was swimming as hard and fast as my little tubby body would go. Which BTW is not THAT fast!! I stopped at the end to let him go every 4 laps or so, but I was pushing hard so as not to get in the way. Finally middle lane guy got out, so fast guy moved over and finished in that lane. But MAN was that good for me!! It got me out of my comfort zone and made me work, which is something I rarely do in the pool.
Of course through all of this I noticed rude lady floating from one end to the other, and stopping after every lap to chat it up with her son! argh..

I met up with her in the locker room and she had the nerve to say "sorry I wouldn't share with you, but I was already sharing with my son".
I looked at her and with fire in my eyes said "You know I wasn't asking you to GET OUT, I was asking to circle swim. Which btw is the reason why they have that tile line down the middle of the lane. Obviously you have never swam at a Y or rec center. Because it's common in those pools to have FOUR people to a lane. You don't own the RIGHTS to that lane. You are suppose to SHARE".. And I stormed off.
I swear the people in my neighborhood are getting under my skin lately! Good thing we just formed a tri group up here. Those folks give me faith in humanity!
And for the record I thanked fast dude like three times for sharing with me and being so gracious.

You know thinking about it now I should have just started swimming in her lane. I could see her storming to the front desk where they would explain circle swimming to her!
But then again if I did I would have never gotten the killer diller workout that fast guy put me through!

[crazycanuck]

RM..when i saw the title i thought you;d found fish in the lake near you! Either that or you'd run into problems with the mafia... (btw..jimmy hoffa's buried in my backyard.. )

Glad to see some folks know how to share. RM..I have yet to see you swim but i'm sure you're faster than me! Remember, you've done the swim at the IM and have made it out alive!

I just would have jumped into the lady's lane and ignored her but that's me & i'm a beoootch.

Good thing I just go to our group swim sessions! We have four lanes four our group & i'm in the slower lane...

Happy swimming chickie!
C

[Tri Girl]

Either that or you'd run into problems with the mafia...
C

That's what I was thinking. "Is Denise running with the wrong crowd now???"

What a witch... I would've done the same thing as you did. Not jumped in and fumed until fishy guy asked me to join. How nice that he understood the rules of the pool and asked you to join in. And what nerve that woman had to say something to you in the locker room. Good for you for saying what you did- sounds like she needed a bit o' fire thrown at her.
I hate lane hogs- just move over and share. Then again, I hate the people that jump in your lane unknown to you and then you wind up in a head on collision because you had no idea they were there.
POOL ETIQUETTE PEOPLE!!!!

As I'm reading your adventure I was thinking- she's a good writer and can tell a mean story. Do you write by any chance??? If you don't, you should!!!


Hope your next swimming adventure is uneventful!!!

[HillSlugger]

If I understand correctly, each lane had only one person in it when you arrived? Around here in that situation, we share by each person taking one side of the lane and doing their own thing. We don't start circle swimming until there needs to be three people (or more) in a lane.

Monday night I got to the pool and each lane had at least two people and all I see are SLOW people, either breast strokers, really slow FS swimmers, or basically non-swimmers. I'm thinking "there's not a single lane I can circle swim in without always needing to pass!" You know there's something wrong with the force when I'm the fastest, most accomplished swimmer in the pool Luckily, a woman finished her swim and I got half a lane all to myself for the rest of the night.

[Lise]

Hey, Denise,

Like CC, I thought you'd done an OWS and encountered wildlife! What impressed me most about the fast guy is that he noticed, acknowledged, and respected that you're an Ironman.

I'm glad you didn't go belly up from O2 deprivation! (as I certainly would have!)

[JenLeath]

Glad to told her what you think. She may think twice before say "no" next time someone asks to share. Since our races are with several other people slapping and kicking us, spitting when they breathe (I am guilty of this too), it's good to mimic some of that in training. I swam with this guy the other day, he was a little faster than me, but everything was on top of the water. Every time we passed eachother, I would get this big wake (for a pool) and lots of splashing. I though, "this will be helpful for a pool tri and am doing this weekend."

Happy Training

Jen L

[Pika]

RM: You sure had an adventure in the pool- though I have to say I was more shocked when you said this is the 1st time in 3 years that you had to share a lane!
I guess am am used to swimming with a club so we always have about 6 to a lane- it wouldn't have even occurred to me to ask- I would have just jumped right in - thinking I was lucky for finding a pool so empty!
Can't believe she did say no when you did ask
Wow- some people are very strange!
Nice that you had a good work out with speedy guy though!
happy swimming

[Wahine]

I'm spoiled here too. I usually get half a lane to myself but I come from a group swimming backgroud where we have up to 6 people in a lane. The people here are really nice too and I'm sure no one here would ever be that rude.

Congrats on your swim. It makes a huge difference to swim with faster folks. I just joined masters for that reason. I love the group, hate the 6 AM start time. But I am getting a good workout.

[HappyAnika]

Why are people so rude about sharing lanes? I just don't get it. I swim at a city pool, the other morning when I got there all but two lanes already had 2 swimmers each. So I had my choice of joining younger lady, second lane in, or older lady in wide lane at the end. I figured it'd be easier to share the wide lane, so I stood on the deck and waited for her to get to the end. She promptly ignored me. The life guard came over and asked if she'd seen me, I said no, so she went to the other end, stuck a red thing in the water to get her attention, and the swimmer ignored the life guard! I couldn't believe the nerve! So I ended up sharing with younger lady, while the mean old lady cast me crusty looks. What a *itch! It's a frickin city pool, no one has their names on any lanes. I guess the old lady was just too old to remember learning how to SHARE back in kindergarten. Ok, I'm done with my own rant.

Congratulations on your fast swim. It's good to have a push every now and then to see we are indeed capable of more than we think we are. And good for you for speaking your mind to the woman in the locker room. I always think of things like that to say, but I never say them since I'm a conflict avoider.

[HeatherErin]

How rude of that woman! I would have been frustrated as well.

Glad it pushed you to a good swim, though!

[KSH]

Well, I have heard a ton of horror stories from people about them asking to share a lane with someone at a pool. Some of the people who didn't want someone in their lane acted downright nuts and completely rude.

Luckily, I swim at a pool that's pretty empty. I typically get a lane to myself, but if ever I need to share, I do.

I guess sometimes we forget that other casual swimmers... don't understand how to swim for fitness/training and don't know how to share a lane. They need their space and all that. And honestly, some of the scary swimming I've seen in lanes next to me, I'm glad they aren't in my lane!

Sorry you had a crappy experience.

Something must have been in the air yesterday... my boyfriend tried to run through a PARKING LOT (with no fences or gates around it)... at about 6:30 PM last night... and this rent-a-cop on a golf cart told him he wasn't allowed to run there. So he asked WHY... she didn't have a good answer. Then she monitored him as he ran on the street... ensuring he would NOT run in the empty parking lot. He kept passing her and making snotty comments. HA!

People. Ugh.

[HillSlugger]

I guess sometimes we forget that other casual swimmers... don't understand how to swim for fitness/training and don't know how to share a lane.

Definitely! Last week I was by myself in a lane, sticking to one side. A woman gets in to join me and starts circle swimming. After going around her a few times I finally told her that since there are only two of us we can each stick to one side of the lane.

Although I'd rather have a lane all to myself I figure that the bumping, waves, etc from lane sharing is good practice for race day.

[eclectic]

Way to go on pushing yourself - that is a good thing
that is soooooo cool to have an IM cap and for people to recognize it - you ROCK

I hear you on sharing lanes. MDHILLSLUG We don't circle swim here either unless there is 3 or more in a lane which rarely if ever happens.

Jenleath - around here the lifeguards are too lazy to put up lane ropes for lap swim time therefore there is a lot more wave action especially in the outside lanes. I swim in lane 1 or 2 (mainly to see the clock w/o my glasses) and think "this will help me w/ lake waves" lemons to lemonade


Our HS swim coach was trying to get a masters program started at the local y (we were swimming at the HS during the school year) Because of the many water classes being offered we tried sharing w/ one of the aquasize classes. We used all of 2 lanes in a 6 lane pool, aquasize had maybe 10 ladies all told. The *itched and moaned for the entire 8 week session we were there and won out I also heard they would get mad if others came into the general break room after while they were having their post "workout" coffee.

I figured they were just mad because we looked WAAAAAAAY better in a swimsuit than they did (this is where I need an evil smiley)

[Krys]

HAHA oh wow people are SOO silly I haven't really had to circle swim since i was in high School but i remember going early to practice on my own with the some older people there and they would literally take there time when they were in front of me and SPRINT to pass me and slow down again.. grr silly people But then i've also had the cranky ladies that would get out their BIG noodles and take up the whole lane and just bob up and down the lane so that NO one could share with them so it forced other lanes to have 4 people in them.. It really just makes me laugh. people are so silly. But you are soo right rm that swimming with faster people helps so much. I've swam for a really long time so then I just get in a rythme.. and its usually a slower one and I forget to push myself so when i'm with someone faster than me I remember that I need to go faster than my usual la-ti-da pace. haha Dont you just love swimming with cranky people.. its such a blast

[crazycanuck]

One more thing. When i used to swim on my own(before finding the group swim I go to) I would be the only one in a lane during the chilly winter mornings. It was so cool swimming outside as all the old hags would be inside.

I am a bit confused about circle swimming. Do you mean in a lane each person would stay on one side only?

At most pools here they have a slow, medium and fast lane with signs noting this.

C