Strangers racing you mid swim!

AquaticQuests

Ever have this experience where midway through your swim some show off jumps in the pool and begins to race you to show off to their friends only for them to be COMPLETELY BURNT OUT AND EXHAUSTED after maybe 2 or so laps?

Constantly happens with me and it's rather amusing!

Random ramblings!

holly1283

Yes, especially younger people of the male persuasion. They think they can beat granny even though I've been swimming much longer than they have. Even a 11-12 year old boy tried to race and he was pushing off the bottom at the shallow end. Didn't let him win this time.

60sPanda

Yep - happens to me as well (more often at the moment for some reason). I just ignore them knowing that they will be panting for breath at the end of the lap and I can just sail on past.

Bruceapple

Helps me speed up.

Macstraw

Yup, happens often - I'm in the middle of a long set & some young 'un jumps in & sprints a 25 trying to beat me. The vast majority are surprised when they can't get me on the 1st lap (& I'm not a sprinter) & most of the rest I catch on the return lap when they're huffing & puffing. Then they stare at me as I continue to pound out laps :-)

AquaticQuests

Sometime back there was this one guy who jumped in when I was at lap 30 or something, and proceeds to race me in a blaze of glory for 3 laps or so then stopped for what I presumed was a rest!

He then sat there in shock to watch me swim 60 more or so!

I think the guy was so taken aback he couldn't bring himself to swim another lap! Not one!

I do hope he comes back and didn't give up right then!

Macstraw

If he gave up then shame on him. I find that the ones who do this aren't the regular swimmers (there are plenty of them at my gym who blow me out of the water), they're the guys who think they're awesome because they can sprint a lap or 2 & figure they're gonna come in every once in awhile to allow the rest of us to bask in their awesomeness but end up really surprised when they find out what dedicated swimming really is. I usually don't see them more than once, or MAYBE twice.....

ProfessorOwl

I have to confess that I will try to pass someone in an adjacent lane regardless of what they're doing. If I'm doing a longer distance, I'll still push hard to get past them then ease up once I see them stop at the wall. I'm just competitive like that.

Macstraw

Prof., I think we're all guilty of that to some extent - I think the bigger issue is the warrior who jumps in & sprints all out for a 25 while you're in the middle of a 1,000 yard set to show you how much faster he is - even though those 25 yards are the only ones he's capable of.....

AquaticQuests

"The warrior"
Lolest!

jjeanmneis

I had 3 guys racing around me. They were racing each other which would have been fine execpt 2 were in one lane next to me and the other guy was sharing my lane. They would race for 1 lap and stand around in the shallows talking while they caught their breath.

I was sooo happy when a lane opened up!

jjeanmneis

I had 3 guys racing around me. They were racing each other which would have been fine execpt 2 were in one lane next to me and the other guy was sharing my lane. They would race for 1 lap and stand around in the shallows talking while they caught their breath.

I was sooo happy when a lane opened up!

I'd be lying if I didn't admit I was smiling on the inside about still being faster and could swim longer than these 3 super fish. :blushing:

AquaticQuests

Robertus

A women swam in my lane for 1 mile in the middle of one of my 3-mile swims a few weeks ago. She was a little faster than me but not as good on the flip turns so it was back and forth with one of us in the lead or the other or side by side for much of that mile. We were both long-distance swimmers so we never stopped and talked. It was kind of strange. Sort of like swimming with a dolphin that you can't speak to but share a lot in common.

fishgutzy

Ha!. I'm on lap 80. Guy jumps in and blows past me on his first lap. By his third and my 83rd I'm paddling him again.
And I'm not that fast. Just steady.

rosebarnalice

Happens to me all the time because I swim at a college pool. My fave was the time I was getting out of the water only to hear one 20-something male say to his friend, "that old chick in lane 2 sure can bust a move!"

LauraRae2

I don't think I've had that pleasure (yet, I'm sure it will happen at some point), but the guy in the lane next to me was pacing me the other day. It was creepy. I'm not sure how long it went on - 10 or 15 minutes probably? - he was right next to me. So weird.