Swim ... just flipping well swim

[sillybut]

What has got into people over lock down. Lane swimming used to be a lovely peaceful experience - just up and down with the odd rest at either end maybe a few friendly words with some fellow swimmers . Now surrounded by people hanging about talking for 10-15 minutes at a time. taking up the space at the end, making push off and turning harder. Oh and when they do swim they go along in twos, slowly have a little chat as they go FFS. To add insult to injury they've got rid of the medium lane so I'm exiled in the sloooooow lane as no way can I manage the fast with the fitness freaks amazingly fast swimmers who speed through the water like eels.

I get an hour and fifteen minutes to walk to pool, get changed, swim 30 lengths, get changed and walk back... I do not have time to waste... lane swimming is for actual swimming...

The pool holds 3 "Splash and Chat" sessions every week why the hell can't they go to those and leave my precious lunch break and vague attempt at getting fit alone :(

I really don't remember it being like this before lockdown

Either way, just so happy and grateful to be swimming again

I've always found swimming more stressful than it should be due to people doing this or having no lane discipline when it comes to picking a slow/medium/fast line or respecting others sharing their lane. However, now we have to prebook sessions I can see how busy it's going to be and aim for the quieter one. Also, the pool now has double width rather than single width lanes marked out across the whole pool so you can have 2 people going up n down in their own space (if there's 3 or more you need to swim loops within the lane) and people seem more inclined to keep swimming.

OP, I could have written your post, including being the part about 'medium' pace. On Monday we had 4 'ladies who love to chat' and at one time there were 3 of them abreast half treading water half swimming. There's no point in complaining to the lifeguards, they're on first name terms and the women hang on to the bar in the deep end to talk to them. I've now resorted to timing people in the fast lane and found one only doing 40 second lengths! The cheek!

@YellowFish12

I basically can't go swimming unless its a super quiet session as the lane rage I experience is off the scale

The stop-and-chatter

The splashy people overtaking me then stopping for 5 mins then doing another fast length and repeat

The slow people who set off from the end JUST as I get there and am about to turn

The slow people in the medium lane

The backstrokers

The rage is real...

Can I add The people (women) who don't shower beforehand as they don't want to get their hair wet so end up making the pool smell/taste like perfume? I'm really sensitive to perfume and it gives me rage when people do this. Especially during covid, FFS the signs say shower first so fucking shower!

Lane rage used to do my head in but I've just joined a local gym/pool (similar price to the council linked one) and their current setup is you book a lane (there are 5, its a smallish pool) and it's yours. It's heaven (apart from adjacent perfume ladies!) and most people want them to stick with it for good!

I was considering booking a lane session but was remembering my lane rage and not sure I'm ready for it! It's all the medium lane swimmers who need to get in the slow lane who do it for me. Thankfully they seem to leave about halfway through the hour-long session...

Especially during covid, FFS the signs say shower first so fucking shower!

The showers have been turned off at the pool I go to since the pools opened up again last July

YANBU, this drives me mad too.

My gym has family swim sessions that you can take kids to, only for the last few weeks the sessions we've been in have been full of people walking up and down the pool...

Not swimming, not trying to swim, just walking and then getting pissed off at me and DS getting in their way

LOL, I am a dry-haired slow lane swimmer. Really slow. But I keep going, don’t stop and don’t chat.

The pool has been divided into 4 lanes, each much wider than usual. Slow, slow-medium, medium-fast, and fast.

The slow Lane always had twice as many swimmers as any of the others. I know people overtaking me are impatient, but as they speed past with perfect technique, goggles, go-fast hat etc, why don’t they move up a lane?

I have as much right to swim at my own pace.

And have lost 2 stone doing so.

I finally went swimming for the first time in years this evening and it was quite pleasant- slow/medium/fast double sized lanes with people generally saying “after you” - was all very civilised although I am now cream crackered!!

Pre covid we had sessions where the pool is a constant 2m depth. They were excellent for avoiding aqua joggers and lane end chatterers.

I love swimming but don't do it in the pool that often. I hate so much about other people in a pool.

• women doing heads up breaststroke in the fast lane oblivious to everyone over taking her repeatedly. Generally the lifeguards sort this one out but not always.
• splashy men in the fast lane who aren't even particularly fast but leave no space between them and the person in front when they push off. Usually found at the 7am session and have been kicked hard by me on occasion when they touched my foot several times.
• men doing fecking butterfly. Ffs. They take up an entire lane width with their arms and splash everyone within a 10 metre radius. Stupid show off-y, pointless anti-social stroke.
• over kickers. Annoyingly splashy and a pointless waste of their energy

Apologies for sweeping gender generalisations but it's generally true.

I swim outdoors in ponds and suchlike now. I'd rather take my chances with hypothermia and angry swans than lane swimming in a pool.

Oh gosh yes. My session at weekend.

Mr Cologne stinking out the pool

Mr Grunty-Splashy (seriously is there a need to grunt with every front crawl stroke? Also stop belly flopping your hands into the water, you might find it more efficient).

The family teaching their kid in armbands to swim in the lanes when there’s a bigger family area in the same pool.

Also at the pool I go to there’s a hot tub next to it, but it is always full of loud chatty men who sit in it for hours. I would like to use the hot tub for a few minutes but I do not want to sit in a hot hairy man soup.

I thought on Tuesday evening I’d chances on the perfect quiet time slot and would try same next week, but then realised the football was on tv!

I’m swimming several times a week at the minute and was very flattered this morning when I was complemented on the speed of my breast stroke! I’m not a fast swimmer, but am not slow either, managing a mile of breast stroke in 45 minutes. The most annoying thing is people who won’t stop to let you past, despite rules saying they should (this seems to generally be men doing front crawl who cannot admit a female doing breast stroke might be faster.)

Although I do find when you get drama in the pool it can be less boring, I particularly enjoyed the day the drunk man turned up and swam the wrong way in the fast lane, colliding with numerous swimmers!

What’s wrong with backstroke??

I’ve just thought of another one. There was a man doing front crawl without putting his face in the water. It looked so awkward and bad for his back!

I’ve found my people! My main pet peevs are similar to many of you - slow people in the medium lane (usually men) and people who don’t let you past at the end forcing you to overtake instead. Gives me the rage.

Honestly the problem is they've removed the middle lane

In my pool the slow lane has always been for your two abreast swim and chatters, middle lane for your normal swimmers and fast for your wannabe professionals

I personally don't see anything wrong with slow swimmers, women doing breast stroke keeping their hair out the water, aqua joggers etc. as I think everyone is entitled to use the pool, its a public pool. But thats why you have a slow section and then a middle lane for the people who actually want to swim!

To be fair over exaggerated male swimmers should be banned from the pool. Yes, I know your limbs are moving enough to justify the fast lane but your not actually moving through the water

Ha ha, yes I too experience lane rage… especially the last month; our pool seems to have much busier, even the usually quieter 9-10pm slot. I am fast but very unfit, so I usually stay in the wider medium lane so I can rest inbetween my laps. The other day the medium lane was heaving and the two fast single lanes were occupied by the “tri-elites” who seemed to spend most of their time gabbing about their latest races and whatnot. I do wonder if it’s actually good exercise as I spend most of my time having DARK THOUGHTS about my fellow swimmers - my blood pressure must be through the roof. Usually I think “I’ll just do 30 as I’m so annoyed” but then a lot of middle laners clear off and it becomes easier…

God, I hate this. Women with sunglasses on and even baseball caps on their head clearly not intending to do any actual swimming but doggy paddling along four abreast taking up the whole fucking pool and then acting as if you've just intruded on their private members meeting when you dare to try and swim.

@DuckonaBike

I feel your pain OP, though in my experience it’s no worse than pre-lockdown. The ones who enrage me are people who get in, swim about 2 lengths and then just stand there, blocking up the end of the lane. Why FFS?

And don’t get me started on the man who came to an open swim session (pre-Covid) so no lane divides. Everyone else was swimming lengths and he started swimming widths. It was about 2 years ago and I’m still angry.

I'm someone who stands at the end of the pool. When I started swimming I was very overweight and unfit and could maybe do 4 lengths before I needed to rest and start again. My fitness has improved now so less stopping.

Cant comment on the swimming but it reminded me about today all at different times I got stuck behind cars which decided to crawl along in a 30 at 5 miles an hour for no apparent reason.

Unable to overtake due to parking both sides or traffic coming towards me. Drove me nuts.

@CrimsonImp

Especially during covid, FFS the signs say shower first so fucking shower!

The showers have been turned off at the pool I go to since the pools opened up again last July

Ours has proper private shower cubicles and they are open, so no excuses here!

My top tip is a waterproof MP3 player and your favourite happy place music. Then just block them out and pretend you're all alone.

I tend to stick to the slow lane and breast stroke at the moment, as can't find my prescription goggles so have to wear my glasses or I'm blind as a bat.

Head out breast stroke is bad for your back. I have back issues so I don't do breast stroke at all.

Nothing wrong with swimming slow in slow lane.

Nothing wrong with back stroke but you have to be super aware of others in your lane. I tend to do mainly crawl but a fair amount of backstroke.

I think the pool is like a micro society. I like to watch the brilliant swimmers. Try to learn from them.

I didn't realise some pools are so restricted regards showers etc ..