Go with the flow
Just back from the pool. Music a little tricky today--had to keep adjusting the headphones jack. One of the guys in my lane had one of those waterproof MP3 players that's just a set of earphones. Would love one, but buying the setup I have was cheaper, since I already owned the Mini. Plus, the iPod can hold more songs.
The two guys swimming in my lane were a bit faster than me, but that was no problem; I just cut a lot of my laps short--i.e., I turned around and switched direction. It reminds me of short-rowing in knitting. It's a fairly unobtrusive way of creating space for myself and getting out of the way of faster or slower swimmers. I don't like passing swimmers or being passed myself. It's a personal space issue, and passing tends to be a lengthy in-your-face way of commenting on the other person's speed. Like tailgating.
It's really important to me to be aware of where the other swimmers are in my lane, and to adjust my speed and placement accordingly. Unfortunately, other people seem to be really oblivious; they think they're alone in the pool. Just before I was about to leave a pool, another man joined us in the lane. He swam slower than the other two guys, in a manner which suggested that he wasn't so much swimming as fighting with the water. He didn't really seem to know what to do when the other guys were passing him, and they didn't really have an efficient way of getting out of his way, either. So he ended up spending a lot of time at the end of the lane, waiting for the right moment to start swimming. Maybe he wanted to rest a lot, but I don't think so. It looked like he wasted a lot of time that he could have spent swimming.
I was vaguely irritated to discover they'd changed the shower caddies in the locker room. The old ones had hooks which hung over the neighboring stall, and I could hang my bath sheet and my wet bathing suit on those hooks while I showered. These caddies don't have the hooks. Oh, well. Maybe it's a life lesson not to get too rigid about personal rituals. Or not.
The two guys swimming in my lane were a bit faster than me, but that was no problem; I just cut a lot of my laps short--i.e., I turned around and switched direction. It reminds me of short-rowing in knitting. It's a fairly unobtrusive way of creating space for myself and getting out of the way of faster or slower swimmers. I don't like passing swimmers or being passed myself. It's a personal space issue, and passing tends to be a lengthy in-your-face way of commenting on the other person's speed. Like tailgating.
It's really important to me to be aware of where the other swimmers are in my lane, and to adjust my speed and placement accordingly. Unfortunately, other people seem to be really oblivious; they think they're alone in the pool. Just before I was about to leave a pool, another man joined us in the lane. He swam slower than the other two guys, in a manner which suggested that he wasn't so much swimming as fighting with the water. He didn't really seem to know what to do when the other guys were passing him, and they didn't really have an efficient way of getting out of his way, either. So he ended up spending a lot of time at the end of the lane, waiting for the right moment to start swimming. Maybe he wanted to rest a lot, but I don't think so. It looked like he wasted a lot of time that he could have spent swimming.
I was vaguely irritated to discover they'd changed the shower caddies in the locker room. The old ones had hooks which hung over the neighboring stall, and I could hang my bath sheet and my wet bathing suit on those hooks while I showered. These caddies don't have the hooks. Oh, well. Maybe it's a life lesson not to get too rigid about personal rituals. Or not.