TheFranLover wrote: »

I think I was the source to someone's frustrations yesterday. My whole life the etiquette to pass was to gently brush someone's feet and theyd either move to the side (so I could pass in the middle) or stop at the wall to let you pass.

I'm guessing that note was never passed to swimmers who haven't been on a club team. Or maybe the man didn't like me gently caressing his feet.

This one kills me! I'm usually the slow swimmer and would much rather know that somebody is behind me so a tap on the foot, or a gentle caress if you're cute enough, is what I need to make sure I don't have somebody passing me at the wall and run into them. My previous masters coach (I swear the more I look back the more lose respect for that woman) didn't teach this to everybody so if I was bumped up to a faster lane, I ended up with a bunch of hyper-polite other swimmers apologizing if they tapped my foot by accident or not tapping it and scaring the crap out of me when I hit the wall and there they were next to me.

This of course only matters if you are swimming circles and not splitting the lane though. You're right, too, that if you have never swam in a group/team setting, you are unlikely to know it.

I call it the 60/40. It's the responsibility of the person passing to ensure that the other person is aware of there presence. But its the responsibility of every swimmer to be aware of where the other swimmers are and their speed versus yours and the tricky part - what type of pattern they are swimming- turn then crossover lane to other direction- crossover and then turn, etc.
If I am doing flip turns and you give me the Tap 1 stroke from the wall its not going to happen as I will already be committed to the flip and push off. At the same time when I do make the turn I Sneak a Peak at the other lane to get an idea of where the other swimmers are, so when I get to the next turn I know if I will be getting passed.
Of course if you have twin sisters with the same suits it gets very confusing as to who's who in the water zoo.

Argh! I got turned away by the lifeguard. My lake got closed by the state for a few days due to an overgrowth of blue green algae. (I did wonder yesterday. And yes, chlorine would come in handy here.) Maybe it's time to join the gym a couple weeks early. It's going to be too cold to swim outside soon here in Northern New England, anyway.

I'd love to do an open water swim someday. I'm just getting back to swimming, though - doubt I'll be ready next year. (How do you know if you're ready?) I read one article about what it's like to do an open water swim, but it would be good to hear from a real person. What's it like? Is it hard to stay "on course?" My lake has a lap area, but the lines are down now, so I'm getting some practice sighting & swimming straight. (Or I was, my lake is still closed. I went to a pool yesterday.)

I'll look into the one you mentioned, Noel.

My swim was frustrating today because carpenters and electricians have been working on half of the dressing room, and even though there's this flimsy little blue tarp blocking off the work site, it's a bit freaky to be buck nekkid in the shower and going through my after-swim dressing routine with the sounds of men's voices on the other side of that flimsy little tarp billowing in the breeze.

Can_Do_Gal wrote: »

I'd love to do an open water swim someday. I'm just getting back to swimming, though - doubt I'll be ready next year. (How do you know if you're ready?) I read one article about what it's like to do an open water swim, but it would be good to hear from a real person. What's it like? Is it hard to stay "on course?" My lake has a lap area, but the lines are down now, so I'm getting some practice sighting & swimming straight. (Or I was, my lake is still closed. I went to a pool yesterday.)

I'll look into the one you mentioned, Noel.

Open water swimming is like angels singing. It's like having weights cut off your feet so you can fly. It's blood to a vampire and the sweet sweet rush of a really wicked guitar solo and that first plunge of a roller coaster and...

Fans self. Okay, yes, I like open water swimming.

Yes, it is hard to stay on course. I am very bad at sighting. It's a little scary if you have a good imagination and the water isn't perfectly clear (I do and most of my swims are in water that can get a bit murky)

I trained for one winter (after about two years of no real exercise at all) to do a two mile open water swim. I wasn't fast but it was amazing. I knew I was ready because I'd trained, taken technique lessons, had swum two and a half miles in the pool, and had then trained in a lake a few times with my husband who was going to be my escort kayaker. (If you're not doing organized events, I strongly encourage getting a friend to escort!)

I did it 'skins rather than with a wetsuit, so I also did some training to tolerate cold -- underdressed in cold weather, cold showers and started swimming some shorter swims in lakes in May (in New Hampshire). Being quite heavy, the fat insulation was a great help to me, and really made me re-evaluate how thin I even WANTED to get based on my sports goals!

Many events tell you you're ready when you can swim a mile in a pool in under 40 minutes. And yeah, chances are good you won't get your fool self killed if you can do that, but I do think there's very little that can substitute for training in the environment that closely simulates the one in which you're going to do your "big swim." IF there's going to be waves, swim in choppy water as often as you can. If it's going to be cold, get in that cold water conditioning.

I've signed up for Alcatraz Sharkfest next year. *gulp* So I have a LOT of training ahead of me this winter!

That makes a workout tough. We have one lady who swims in some kind of spandex leotards, a swim cap pulled onto her hair with her hair sticking out, and she DOG PADDLES up and back. NOBODY can swim around her. I cannot for the life of me figure out why they allow this during lap swim. At least ask her to move to the slow lane. It's fine to share a lane with her, but circle swimming is ridiculous. You can't just swim, passing her either. She's all over the place...

I must say that after trying to swim in two different pools that were in two different cities in China, it will be a very long time before I feel compelled to complain about how any adult behaves in a pool with lane ropes and proper fitness pool temperature in the US or any other western country.

ARRRRGH! If this don't beat all!

Some smarta$$ scribbled threatening graffiti on a bathroom wall on campus, and after three days of offering awards and the state and local police--not to mention the FBI--lurking around campus, they have shut the whole university down for the remainder of the week--INCLUDING THE POOL.

Dangit, closing down my office and, cancelling my classes and making me reconfigure my syllabus for the remainder of the semester is one thing. . . .but when you close down the campus pool and I can't get my laps in, THAT'S PERSONAL . GRRRRRRRRR!

Yeah, I hate it when people who are doing other forms of aquasize get in with me without letting me KNOW they're there! (Someone could get hurt!)

Worse are people who think they should have a lane to themselves when they aquajog. Um... NO!

girlwithcurls2 wrote: »

OK, I will preface this by saying that I swim in one of the awesome-est of awesome pools in my city. Six lap lanes, available almost all day with only a few hours after school when they get down to 1-2 open lanes. If you play your cards right, you might almost never circle swim.

Today though, the guy I was sharing a lane with left, so I started cruising down the middle. I was almost finished, but I'd been swimming on my back (MsJ's workout) and really struggling with it, so I was kind of glad that I had the lane to myself. I don't have the stamina to do an open turn, so I almost always squint down to see if the lane is really empty. IT WAS. And then, halfway down the MIDDLE of my lane, I pass some ding-a-ling aqua jogging. WTF? Can you not wait 20 seconds for me to reach the end and agree to split? I asked the guard where the hell he came from, and she shrugged and said, "I don't know." (????) He'd gotten in at the deep end, apparently. Idiot. I get it. Not everybody swims laps, but really? In the FAST lane??

NoelFigart1 wrote: »

Yeah, I hate it when people who are doing other forms of aquasize get in with me without letting me KNOW they're there! (Someone could get hurt!)

Worse are people who think they should have a lane to themselves when they aquajog. Um... NO!

LOL Aqua jogging in the fast lane. That is something!

SwimmyD wrote: »

I've recently started back to swimming after a long absence from the pool. Of courses there are many people in the giant double lane- breast stroking down the middle and making it near impossible to pass.

I spoke to the lifeguard last week who told me the quietest time to come. I showed up today at that time and it was packed. I started my warm up and then after 15 min the pool clears. I'm like YAY. Then the lifeguard says thanks for coming out. Pool closed.

Lol! Oh dear! Just getting into it and then you're kicked out! Bummer!

Oh man... I am not fins' biggest fan, but if I were looking forward to using them in my training, I'd go total Kuzco on them about it.