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!