Midwest farm ponds and reservoirs with "sea weed" getting entangled in my hands, feet, or head scared me more than anything in oceans, seas, or open water river swims. Just did not like the feel of the unknown tug on me, then thinking something was going to lunge out from below for the kill. My mind was worse than nature. However, during the first of two laps on an IM swim leg off Port Elizabeth, South Africa, I head butted a light metal float covered with barnacles between my goggles and swim cap. Red blood flowed over my goggles. I repositioned myself more in the middle of the swim pack and away from the edge to build up a line of defense from any GWS that might pick up the scent.
Actually had worse encounters swimming in pools while living in Bangkok. In late spring swam in the early morning darkness in the compound pool with no lights. The frogs used the pool then for overnight orgies. I didn't like them laying eggs in the water and they didn't like me crashing in on their parties. Every so often a pissed off frog would unexpectedly ram me while doing laps and scare the piss out of me. Never saw it coming. On a different occasion and at a different pool for a race in late fall there, the bottom was covered with leaves, sticks, and whatnot. The country club personnel had not treated the pool with chlorine for who knows how long, yet we swam. I worried about getting some nasty infection only after the race instead of smartly thinking about not doing the race because of the danger the contaminated water presented. Realize you could not see your hand in front of you in the pool water on a bright sunny day. And the worse occurred pool encounter was during my first week of relocating to Bangkok from the States. While swimming in an outdoor health club pool on a Saturday morning, I had a panic attack within the first 100 meters of swimming. The pool was cloudy and I could not see my hands pulling in the water. All I could think about was an image of a drowned young women who I saw in the pool two days earlier when going there for a workout. First responders had just arrived when I showed up on Thursday morning when the pool was crystal clear and filled with sorrow. After the panic attack I took a few days off from swimming and never returned to that pool.
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