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The Hephalump
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I dropped my husband off at work and headed straight to the gym with the goal of testing my pool-tri gear options. I was quite excited, because the absolute worst case was that I'd get to enjoy swimming in my new two-piece (it's red :D ).

So I put on my swimsuit, tri shorts, and tri top, dump my stuff by the pool and hop in... and realize my goggles are cracked. The frame, so they won't stay on. GURRRR. As I'm pondering this disappointing situation, a man the size of Jupiter (henceforth known as The Hephalump) walks up to me. Now, the wet area is COMPLETELY EMPTY but for me and suddenly he's standing a foot from me, staring down over his grotesque girth. The only thing he was missing was a Big Gulp cup. I'm a bit thrown so I look up and say "Can I help you?" to which he replies "Yeah, um, what are the bottle caps for?". I explain that I use them to count laps and he seems appeased and walks away. As he's heading toward the door to the main gym area, a woman and her daughter - approximately 5 - enter the wet area. Did I mention all these folks are in street clothes? Yeah. So the daughter starts harassing her mom to let her watch me swim. Again, I'm weirded out, but decide to try a few laps without goggles and get going. The tri top was doing weird things around my waist and wasn't comfortable at all. I get back to my starting place and the girl and mom are gone, but The Hephalump is standing outside the wet area, staring at me through the glass.



Ew. Ew. Ew. Part of me wants to march right up to him and tell him to GTFO or at least go walk on a treadmill. Alas, sanity wins. I strip the tri top and do lap two. Awesome. I love how it feels with the swim top and tri shorts. But my eyes are starting to itch. End of lap two and The Hephalump is still there. Watching.

Just. Watching.

I give up, pack up my stuff - not even bothering to shower or dress - I just throw on a sweatshirt and bolt.

I can't decide if this is creepier than the first time I was at the gym when an old man sitting in the hot tub at the end of the pool decided to tell me my approximate lap time when I finished (Um, thanks?) but I think the members of the Sandy, UT 24 Hour Fitness need some serious lessons in gym etiquette. My husband dissuaded me from mentioning The Hephalump to a manager.

On the plus side, I came home and ran on the treadmill and confirmed I can run with the swim top as a sports bra! Yay!


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You. You make me stronger.
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Re: The Hephalump [Agilecipher] [ In reply to ]
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Quote:
On the plus side, I came home and ran on the treadmill and confirmed I can run with the swim top as a sports bra! Yay!

nice, on the outfit and the 2 sports in one day.

There is a really nice trail in Sandy - if you google the Love Your Body 15k and look at the route, you'll see where it is on the trail (some is on roads) - you can ride horses through it (saw lots of hoof marks).

Anyway, I WOULD mention it to the manager. You have a right to be comfortable and not be ogled. The manager is in the position to tell the guy that you're not there for his visual entertainment.

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD
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Re: The Hephalump [tigerchik] [ In reply to ]
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If I'd ever been on a horse, I'd think that was awesome (it's on my life to-do list). Yay for a good trail - I'll look it up. So far, I've been doing most of my running on our treadmill in the basement.

I'm glad you agree about the creeper. I was SO uncomfortable before he was watching, just knowing I was mucking with outfits and am not in my best shape. Bah!

Scheduling a 7am wakeup to do some yoga in one of our hilariously spare rooms tomorrow am, then *fingers crossed* a bike ride!!!


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You. You make me stronger.
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Re: The Hephalump [Agilecipher] [ In reply to ]
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This belongs in the Strange Denizens Of The Pool thread too!

DFL > DNF > DNS
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Re: The Hephalump [Agilecipher] [ In reply to ]
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I swim at a 24 hour fitness too. I'm guessing they may just attract those kinds of people.
The people at my pool have no swim etiquette and there are often lurkers. I've learned to just ignore them for the most part. There was a guy who looked homeless the other day, and was wondering the whole 24 hour facility but often near the pool area. The women exercising in the next lane stopped me and told me she'd been watching him, and she wasn't comfortable leaving until I was done because he was mumbling to himself and she was scared of leaving me all by my self in the pool area. That was super nice. I did cut my workout short that day, and thanked her a lot for looking out for me.

I'm glad your tri outfit worked out. What brand is it?
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Re: The Hephalump [nad] [ In reply to ]
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Ugh! I'm glad you had a buddy - that would have flat out scared me.

The swim suit is Nike, the shorts are Zoot, and I'll be wearing my favorite Monton bike jersey for bike and run.


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You. You make me stronger.
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Re: The Hephalump [Agilecipher] [ In reply to ]
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That's all super cute!! Post pics of the tri if you get a chance.
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Re: The Hephalump [nad] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks! I definitely will - it's in just 2 weeks and is an all-women race, so should be a blast. My husband is great about documenting my races, so I always end up with some good pics (or some hilariously bad ones).


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You. You make me stronger.
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Re: The Hephalump [Agilecipher] [ In reply to ]
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Hey - you're crossing the finishing timing mats. That's always a good day. You're happy.
Good luck. Can't wait to hear your RR.
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Re: The Hephalump [Agilecipher] [ In reply to ]
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realize my goggles are cracked.

I learned in a similar fashion to always make sure I have two goggles in my bag.

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Re: The Hephalump [Agilecipher] [ In reply to ]
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What time of day was it? I ask because our local Y brings in residents from area group homes during the day, and many of them lack appropriate social skills. It's bad in the pool but worse in the showers! Nonetheless, I find it helps to keep in mind what the source of the inappropriate behavior is. Doesn't make it any less creepy, but helps me deal with it.

Now if it's just some stranger that showed up--ewww!

No coasting in running and no crying in baseball
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