April Swimmies

[Selkie]

Ugh - had a lousy swim last night. .. Kids hanging on the lane lines (lessons in the next lane), 30 overweight people bobbing up and down in unison creating massive waves (water aerobic class)...Then I had to dodge about 20 kids and their moms in the locker rooms. The whole time I kept thinking "see...this is why I don't have kids".

You stuck it out through all of that?? You should have posted some of this in the "things that piss me off" thread!

Your description made me laugh, though, because most of us who swim have been in similar situations. I had a visual of the "noodler" class, bobbing like corks and creating tsumanis! When I swam at an outdoor pool last summer, there was only one lap lane and there were NO rules. No circle swimming, either. People just got in and swam, dodging each other---collisions or near misses were the rule, not the exception. And of course, the lifeguards wouldn't keep the kids out. I took matters into my own hands more than once, making the kids get out, and thank God, their mothers were afraid of me!

The lap lane area of the pool where I swim now is 6'6" deep with no kids allowed in the lap lanes. I swim early and avoid them, thank God. There is an instructional pool where they swim, and when the tank is not designated for lap swimming, they are allowed to swim/play there. I have to admit that the times I've been at the pool when kids are present, the parents and lifeguards keep them in their designated "areas" and under control.

I can't deal with the mothers/kids thing in the shower room, particularly when mothers bring their 7 or 8 year old SONS in there (the pool has private "family changing areas" with showers/toilets/sinks, so there is no reason those boys should be in the women's locker room).

[GLC1968]

I can't deal with the mothers/kids thing in the shower room, particularly when mothers bring their 7 or 8 year old SONS in there (the pool has private "family changing areas" with showers/toilets/sinks, so there is no reason those boys should be in the women's locker room).

YES! Honestly, I'm not all that modest. I don't flash my white butt or chest while I'm changing mostly to not make others uncomfortable (who wants to see that?!), but I've never been embarassed to take my clothes off in a locker room before. On Wednesday, there was a mom dressing her daughter while her son just stood there (already changed) and started at me. Stared - and from only about 3 ft away, too. I'm not good at judging kids ages, but he was no toddler. WTF? I putzed around until they left (luckily they were almost done) so that I didn't have to undress while he was there. It made me VERY uncomfortable.


So, on a brighter note - I think I got an 'A' in my swim clinic last night! I was seriously rocking the whole swim thing. We had a bunch of instruction about the pull and did a few drills. Then we were given pull buoys and straps for our ankles and we did upwards of 500 yards of drills. Then we dropped the 'toys' and did some swimming. The coach/instructor walked around and answered questions or gave instruction/tips. I took advantage of the opportunity to get in a good workout and get more experince in this pool (same pool for my first tri). I wasn't keeping track, but I know I swam more than 200 yards using all my new 'skills' to the best of my ability. It felt good, though I was getting tired. Anyway, at one point the coach/instructor apparently walked the length of the pool as I swam, watching my stroke. I didn't realize he was watching but when I got to the other end, I saw him standing there, so I paused. He said I looked really good. He said my stroke looked well timed and strong, that my body position was excellent and that my rotation was perfect. He also said that there wasn't anything that he could suggest that I work on, and I said 'except my cardio conditioning?' and he laughed. I was thrilled!

Today my upper body is sore (particularly my forearms - which I figured because they were quite tired after a couple of the drills we did). Unfortunately, I don't get to swim again until Sunday but I'm really looking forward to it!

[kacie tri-ing]

Hey! I've been swimming, but busy. Did 4000yds last week :-)

[sfa]

Swam for the first time since last summer over the weekend. I tried back in January, after being released from PT for my SI joint injury, and was in horrible pain as soon as I hit the water, then didn't last a full lap. It just hurt too much.

So this weekend I tried again and got a bit further--I managed ten laps, but had to rest after every two and I was SLOW. I've always been slow, but didn't think I could get any slower than I was last year! And I got out of breath way too easily (thus the rests). And my SI joint was in pain again afterwards for a full day. I don't get it. Last week I ran 4 miles with no problems, rode 35 miles easily, went on a hilly 8 mile hike, put in a hard 35 minutes on a rowing machine, did yoga and pilates and general strenghtening exercises--none of these cause any problems, and while I'm slower than I have been, it's the sort of slower that you'd expect after time off, not the sort of slower you'd attribute to a complete beginner. It's only swimming that causes so many problems.

But if I managed ten laps this weekend after zero in January, I should at least be able to work up to the distance of the triathlon in the next four months, but I think after that I'm done. There are so many activities that I truly enjoy that I don't want to beat myself up about swimming anymore.

Sarah

[sfa]

That was....dare I say it?....almost pleasant.

Just back from the pool. I was there on Tuesday and had a frustrating workout--I managed to go the distance of the triathlon, but with LOTS of rests, and at a slow pace, and with my heart rate all over the place. And at the end, my SI joint hurt like hell, then was even worse on Wednesday. I had planned to swim again on Thursday but the pool was closed (cloudy water, they didn't know why but weren't letting anyone in).

So I was back today and it was so much easier. On Tuesday I did a bunch of drills on my back and I think that made my SI joint hurt more than usual, so today I did just straight, steady laps. I essentially didn't use my lower body at all, kicking only enough to keep from sinking, and that seemed to help both my SI joint and my heartrate. Surprisingly, it didn't slow me down that much either (any slower and I'd sink like a stone). I need to go stretch and twist my joint back into place a bit, though. I think the trick of the next four months for me will be to swim just enough to keep me in shape for the race, but not so much that I hurt too much to do anything else. My inclination after Tuesday was to crawl into bed and stay there until I felt better.

Sarah