Swimming for fitness (part 3). Dive in!

Yah finally got back in the pool this morning after a month out. Had to hold my ground with 2 big fellas in the lane but there was only one public lane up (swim kids had 3L) so I carried on and they were ok in the end and I had a lot more stamina than one of them felt good to know I’d not lost it. But I do struggle a bit with anxiety in the pool when it gets busy which is why I’ve been focusing more on running as I can avoid people then but I need swimming for my body..will just have to keep trying to find quiet slots when kids are occupied at their clubs which isn’t easy.

I'm swimming, four times a week, 1k most days, sometimes 1.5k. Today I did 1200 m then half an aqua fit class but my skin got too pruny so I had to get out.

I rarely swim in public session but today I was blessed with unheard of time in the middle of the afternoon.

So there are two of us swimming in half the pool roped off for proper swimming. And we are swimming clockwise as you do. A third woman got in and asked "is this a private lane?" I smiled and said "no, it's for proper swimming rather than splashing with children" and swam on. Halfway down the length , I crashed into the new swimmer, swimming up the down side (iyswim) and I stopped and said sorry and indicated with my hand that it's clockwise swimming in the roped off area. And carried on. I swim crawl, so I can't see anyone approaching me till we are in collision mode. And blow me if she wasn't doing again. So I stopped and said, it's a clockwise swim lane and pointed to the sign. She replied with, it's three lanes, I'm swimming up and down. I said, I can't see you when you do that, please swim clockwise. She shouted no and tiold me that as there were only three people in the lane we could have a lane each (it was two black lines wide not three).
The pool guard cane over and said she would sort it out. And at the end of the next length I bashed into the rope- the pool guard had reduced it to one lane! With the new swimmer having three quarters of the pool to herself now and me and the other clockwise swimmer in one lane. She's hugely tall and swims breaststroke, her legs are as wide as the lane, so overtaking is difficult but she stops if I'm faster and vice versa.
Luckily I was nearly at the end of my swim, I was cross that the new woman refused to use the pool as instructed and ended up getting the swimmers lane made smaller to accommodate her. I was not in the wrong was I? Totally prepared to accept IWBU

Excitement today as our changing rooms reopened after a 6 week refurb. However the health suite between the changing rooms and the pool is out of action for a further week and without being able to walk through it there was no way to get to the pool unless you were happy wandering around the leisure centre in a swimsuit! So not so exciting afterall …

Rollergirl11 what open water swim are you doing next year?

My OH and I will spot people eyeing up our lane and usually respond by putting in some fast lengths with turns if poss until they reconsider their choice

I'm thinking of getting a swimming club hat cos that might put em off. Course I'd need to buy a different colour cozzie to match it now ... hmmm

That said.. if someone is already in the lane, it's best to wait so they see you are joining them and if they are much slower than you USUALLY they will move. If I join a swimmer about my pace, I'll often ask them what they are working on and sometimes it works to train together.

I'm now able to hold my own in the fast lane in most public sessions, so do aim for that lane, if nothing else to keep non-swimmers out of my lane. :) I'm certainly not about ego I'll happily be in the medium lane if a club swimmer is in a higher lane, but I have learned to avoid the slow lanes as much as possible because it really does bring in those who have zero clue when it comes to manners.

My OH and I were in a medium lane doing front crawl. there were 2 women in the slow lane next to us doing sporadic breaststroke for a length or 2 then a good 15 mins chat.

Bloke got in our lane and started breaststroke when he could see we were doing FC. OH suggested he'd be better accommodated in the lane where they were also doing breaststroke. He didn't like it one bit, but went in the end. The worst thing about it was that while OH was having his chat I had to keep going on and on, up and down in front crawl all the while to prove the point. then OH got back to swimming and we had to put in a fast length or 2 to ram home the message... exhausting!

You have every right to say "Actually, I'm a faster swimmer than you and you are getting in the way, there are 2 clear lanes, please use one until someone faster than you needs it. that's the way lane etiquette works, but if you have any doubt please go and talk the lifeguard"

Welcome Rollergirl. Like you I do 2km in 40 mins three times a week. I'm very impressed with your swim club and encouraged that they were so welcoming.

Re etiquette, I'm so non-confrontational that I think I'd have moved to another free lane. It is SO frustrating though. At my swim yesterday I was in the fast lane and my neighbour, who I'd given a lift to the pool, was in the medium. He then joined the fast lane because there was someone in the medium lane doing breaststroke slowly, and resolutely keeping her head out the water. It is great that she is swimming of course, but I she really ought to be in the slow lane (Hissy I think did a very funny 'rules' list on an earlier thread that said something to this effect!).

Hey there peeps, hope you don’t mind if I join you?

I have been swimming for fitness pretty much all of my adult life along with running and HIT. For the past 9 months I have decided to concentrate on the swimming with a view to doing an open water swim in the spring next year.

At the moment I am swimming 2k in 40 mins 3 times a week and I have just joined a swim club on a Monday night to improve on my swim fitness and stroke efficiency. First session was quite scary as the club appears to be full of triathletes but they were all very encouraging and made me feel welcome. There are lots of things that I need to work on with my front crawl but am already starting to feel more efficient.

It’s interesting to read about all the various “swim etiquette” scenarios. What would you say was reasonable in the following instance? Our pool has 3 roped lanes for slow, medium and fast. The rest of the pool is free swimming. When I went this morning there was nobody in the lanes and about 2 old dears in the free area. I got in the fast lane and did lengths of front crawl. After about 5 mins another lady got in the fast lane and started swimming very slow breast stroke up one side and side swimming coming back. There was no one in either of the other 2 lanes and still only 2 people in the free area. The lady continued to swim really slowly and would still set off ahead of me at the end of a length even if I was right behind her and right in her heels. I ended up repeatedly overtaking her. It was all so unnecessary as there were 2 completely empty lanes. I thought about moving lanes myself but then thought why should I as I was in that lane first and I didn’t as in the appropriate lane and she wasn’t. I really wanted to say something but bottled it but I was just gobsmaxked that she was so utterly unaware. WWYHD?

no one saw you rights just as no one heard anyone in my lane 'expelling gases' as I they pushed off against the wall racing my their OH/Training partner.

When it all goes right, when you are in the zone singing, it's heaven, it's like you're supposed to be there, you don't even realise you're managing your breathing, we BELONG!

lljkk bit concerned about your revised stroke, it shouldn't feel harder.. unless you are actively working on the catch and pull? Even then you need to rotate to get your body to make most of the pull.

I'm working on this at the moment and it's taken my times down from between 2.11 - 2.15/100 to 1.55/100 or 1.57 per 100 and it's all fairly doable. Even the OH has had a bit of a fright that I can keep up with him length after length now. Run out of juice about 75m at his pace (between 1.49 and1.52/100) but I won't do for long :D

Thought for the day: It struck me this morning that when everything comes together and you get your stroke etc. correct swimming is like a hot knife through butter!

Quite busy today. Glad I didn't have to scrape ice of my car as I did yesterday morning. 2km done … One of my 'swim friends' has pulled a shoulder muscle so is only doing half his usual lengths. We usually pace against each other.

Laughed about the swim cap episode Rights. Thank you for making me smile!

No one saw you, rights. You aren't the talk of the changing room or the lifeguard break room .

Swimming off this week. I'm stuffed with cold. Will see if I can get another few in before the temperature drops too far, and the pool closes for the winter. Might have to move the time towards the middle of the day rather than crack of dawn.

rights, that sounds like a morning of minor and (in hindsight) amusing chaos.

Cruised through 1km here this morning too. It's SO COLD OUTSIDE!! I'm doubling up with gloves and massive mittens on my bike, and full base layers top and bottom. My poor toes are not so protected though, they felt like tiny icicles when I jumped into the pool.

Oh dear! I forgot my hat last night. I had £2.45 in my pocket which might have bought me a hat, but I have 10 hats at home (kids' old ones) so I'll be damned if I was buying another.

I improvised with hair band & hair tie. Hair went loose so often couldn't see, but luckily lane not too busy. I got an idea about better strokes from watching a video. OMG the revised stroke made my arms more tired (but I could actually feel that the revised stroke was more efficient, too). I am going have huge arms if I keep it up.