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Re: Strange Denizens of the Pool.... [jaretj] [ In reply to ]
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Working as a lifeguard at the Kona pool for the past several weeks, I'm told that some of the strangest denizens of the pool show up in late Sep early Oct. Looking fwd to seeing some of you in about 3 months or so.
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Re: Strange Denizens of the Pool.... [Sojourner] [ In reply to ]
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Newest denizen: older guy, in his 60’s. Wears a boxer brief to swim in (but probably a legit suit, not just underwear, although we see that too). First move is to swim 25m underwater. He then stands at parade rest, eyes fixed forward, hands at his side. 2-3 minutes of this, then a 25m free. Several more minutes of standing at parade rest. Repeat. Total workout lasts about 30 minutes, total distance is no more than 250m. No lounging in the cold water, no watching the other people in the kiddie pool, hot-tub, old-folks warm pool. Just a very disciplined eyes down the lane posture. No talking. I guess we are indebted to his attention to duty, guarding his lane.
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Re: Strange Denizens of the Pool.... [manofthewoods] [ In reply to ]
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manofthewoods wrote:
Per your post re: the pace clock...

I guess I'm the ultimate Denizen. I bought my own battery operated pace clock. I'm a member of a chain of fitness clubs w/25SCY pools. Problem is the digital pace clocks (usually) can't be easily seen because of their location and/or the sun. To solidify my Denizen(ness), I'm "old school" and prefer an analog clock.
Nothin' like catching 100 splits with one eye while in the middle of a gut bustin' 1,000.
I shall wear the mantel of Denizen shame, forever (insert shoulder Shrug emoji here)

I'm with you. Analog is the only way to go.
Easier to count intervals around the clock.
How does one see partial seconds on a digital?
How does one rest two red dots?
Do kids even know what the top or bottom is?
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Re: Strange Denizens of the Pool.... [Rumpled] [ In reply to ]
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Local pool was a hot mess last week. Kid area under repair, so 2 lanes lessons, 2 lanes “family”, 1 lap lane on this particular evening.

Normally this is a splitting pool, but I organized a circle with 4 people. I threw any workout out the window and was just trying to swim and have that crowded open water feel. I’m a competent low 30s 70.3 swimmer, 2 guys were fine, one super slow woman using one arm and a kick board. My stepdaughter also slotted in some. We were making it work.

Another woman hopped in and seemed to want to go fast. Solid walls, probably faster than me, I’d guess a real swimmer. English was not her first language, FWIW.

She moved into Strange Denizen territory when she proceeded to swim UNDER kick board woman. Like, caught up to her, passed her by going under, kept swimming and didn’t look back. Wild!

Aaron Bales
Lansing Triathlon Team
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Re: Strange Denizens of the Pool.... [MI_Mumps] [ In reply to ]
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This thread is a classic!

As much as I love my Endless Pool, I no longer have any funny public pool stories.

I've never seen anyone swim under a slower swimmer. That is wild. And certainly strange!

Death is easy....peaceful. Life is harder.
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Re: Strange Denizens of the Pool.... [Triingtotrain] [ In reply to ]
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Triingtotrain wrote:
I've never seen anyone swim under a slower swimmer. That is wild. And certainly strange!


It’s sometimes the obvious choice when you’re wearing fins, especially coming off the wall, and the swimmer you’re passing is barely moving forward. I would not try it without fins but I’m 38’-ish for a 70.3 swim.

"FTP is a bit 2015, don't you think?" - Gustav Iden
Last edited by: kajet: Apr 14, 23 8:26
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Re: Strange Denizens of the Pool.... [kajet] [ In reply to ]
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kajet wrote:
Triingtotrain wrote:
I've never seen anyone swim under a slower swimmer. That is wild. And certainly strange!


It’s sometimes the obvious choice when you’re wearing fins, especially coming off the wall, and the swimmer you’re passing is barely moving forward. I would not try it without fins but I’m 38’-ish for a 70.3 swim.

When I did swim in a lap pool, we never shared with more than one person luckily and splitting the lane up was the norm (having one side to yourself). But I have swam in other pools at training camps or at race venues and had to share with a few people. Definitely prefer less people to a lane. Now masters was different. I didn't mind sharing my lane with 2-3 other swimmers around my speed. Plus we knew each other well and how we all swam.

Death is easy....peaceful. Life is harder.
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Re: Strange Denizens of the Pool.... [Triingtotrain] [ In reply to ]
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We have a weird 33.3 pool (long story there) and a few times I’ve gone with my teammates and practiced holding feet. It was a cool feeling doing that with 4-6 guys. We’d trade pulls by the leader pulling off to a corner and hopping on the last feet at the wall.

Aaron Bales
Lansing Triathlon Team
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Re: Strange Denizens of the Pool.... [MI_Mumps] [ In reply to ]
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The “fast” lane at my pool usually has people swimming up to about 2:15/100m, and occasionally up to 12 in a lane. A mid-tier pro swims there occasionally, and I’ve seen him overtake 3 people in a row off the wall, underneath them, before the slope to shallow.
My turns are so bad I’m happy to just be going in the right direction, let alone doing that!
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Re: Strange Denizens of the Pool.... [spot] [ In reply to ]
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And I thought I'd read it all before today...

Former HS swim team member doing a kick set next lane over whist texting on her iPhone in a ziplock bag. Absolutely mind blowing.


http://www.researchms.org/trifest/
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Re: Strange Denizens of the Pool.... [1fastbeaver] [ In reply to ]
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The new denizen on deck lately is the recently retired masters coach. He has shown little/no interest coaching a practice again, but he's there regardless. At least he's stopped yelling at us about how poor our streamlines are. He also hands me random scraps of paper with results/records and such (since I'm coaching now).

The temporary denizen group is the women's swim team from Williams College. Their pool is down for maintenance, and I am impressed that they drive over 1/2 hour down to our little Y to do group swim workouts pretty early in the morning. Real competitive swimmers are a whole other breed.
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