Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Swimming Etiquette or I learned to share in Kindergarten

This past weekend I was back in Georgia cleaning out a storage unit and bring some of the contents back the house.  We now have enough space to store the stuff.  We departed Friday afternoon and drove as far as Spartanburg, SC and finished off the trip early Saturday morning.   It was great to see family and to walk the Bride around my grandmother’s lake.   How the land around her property has been developed.  You can actually see new construction behind her house now.  It used to be out on the middle of nowhere.   Sunday morning we were up early and on the road back home.  Twenty hours in the car in roughly two days.  So no long workouts for me.
Monday was a Federal Holiday, so I worked from home doing some online classes.  I started to do a long run, but the ball of my left foot was in a lot of pain.  I pulled up after about 2 miles and just walked home.  Tuesday was a 40 minute bike ride in the morning followed by a swim in the afternoon.  The distances are improving in the pool. 
Speaking of the pool, what the hell is up with lane etiquette?  Friday morning I did a short swim before departing.  I had put my equipment down in an unused lane and went to grab a kickboard.  Since all the lanes had at least one swimmer in them, I was not shocked to see a lady putting her equipment next to mine.  I greeted her and she gave me one of the DC woman shit eating looks.  She then informed me that this was “her” lane and she swam in it every Friday.  I told her “no problem”, would you rather swim side to side or circle swim?  She then looked at me and told me again this was “her” lane.  I responded kindly sarcastically that if she had it rented I would be happy to swim in another lane.  Well, to make a long story short—she changed lanes once another lane came open. 
I hate to share lanes, especially with people you don’t know.  However, these pools are for everyone’s use.  I just don’t get the hostility.  Yesterday, to show that I am not a jaded person (at least tell myself that), as I was finishing up my swim a gentleman came onto the pool deck looking for a lane.  I pulled up and told him I had another 10 minutes or so, but he was welcome to use this lane.  He was very much appreciative; we discussed strokes and the use of flippers.  As I went to leave he thanked me, saying that he was used to the people who refuse to share.  So I guess that lady is the norm…..
Who else has any similar experiences?  How did you handle them?

5 comments:

Christi said...

I have often had to deal with people like the lady in your lane. I think it sucks and wish that everyone would just get over themselves!

it's all about pace said...

yes sir... similar to your experiences... although the nice folks far outnumber the jerks at my pool :-)

Lesser is More said...

When I used to swim at the officers club at Ft Myer I always ran into issues like that of people who decided that the whole pool is theirs. Well it is a nice 50m pool but without lane dividers so you can imagine some of the looks I got when I actually tried to swim in ONE lane. Only thing you can do is be kind and move on knowing that you are a better person than they are.

Adrienne said...

Thank you for your comment on my blog today. I forgot I had a male reader now..oops! LOL I know not all men are creeps. It is a complement to me that they would look and smile. I'm just not use to it! LOL So thank you! And great post today! Ps I love what you said about how you are proud when men look at your wife. My hubby is the same way. :)

Adrienne said...

ps I have had my share of rude lane hoggers too. Just one of the many blessings triathletes face. lol