similar guy at my pool - he slaps the water with a flat palm on every entry and his form looks awful, but he's fast as hell and has great endurance. he just swims for fitness, about 1/2 hour to 40mins a couple of times a week. gary's a nice fellow - i'll take a lane space next to him at the pool when it's crowded, because i know he can hold a line, figure all the splash from him slapping the water hitting me in the face is just good race practice, and every once in awhile i'll try to hang with him for a few lengths to increase my speed.

cheers!

-mistress k

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ill advised racing inc.

At our pool we have "Granny No Reach". She does 25 yard intervals of the backstroke (1 interval every 10 minutes). On her reach the elbows never go past her shoulders and her catch consists of skimming her hands on top of the water. Lots of fly water and god bless her she looks so impressed with herself that I have trouble not laughing! I checked for surgery scars on her shoulders - none. Maybe she was in the cell next to John McCain and suffered the same torture.

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"Marco [Pantani], why are you such a strong climber? To shorten my pain".

Yeah, there are a lot of those.

There is a guy I've watched who when he breathes his head comes way
up, his hips drop and it looks all wonky.

He cruises at 1:30's on the 100. :)

-Jot

We had it all going on at the YWCA today at lunchtime lap swim. This is a 4 lane 20 yard pool. It may not be the greatest, but it's the greatest (onlyest) pool I can swim in at lunch and so I think it is just fine.

Lane 1: He swam the entire hour side stroke, on his left side, using only one arm for propulsion, while wearing rafting/beach shoes.

Lane 2: itty bitty stroke woman (see above). I now like itty bitty stroke woman a lot because I have learned by observation that everyday after she swims she puts on a faux mink, black bathrobe (no pants on under the robe, I'm sure she is wearing some clothing, you just can't see it) and walks out to her car. Doesn't matter if it is zero degrees, she is bare legging it straight to her bright gold Volvo. These are the kind of people that settled Siberia and they deserve our respect.

Lane 3: A curious case. During his 3 stroke swim phase, he actually looks like a good swimmer. But then he decides to breathe. Every third stroke, he comes to a complete stop and rolls over completely onto his back, takes a huge breath and then rolls back over and resumes swimming. If I had never seen him swim before, I would think he is doing a bizarre drill to teach body roll but having observed him a number of times, that is just how he swims. I think it is very interesting that he alternates sides for the roll.

Lane 4: Me (enough said, search "critique my brick like swim" and you will understand) sharing a lane with a 400 pound woman doing water jogging even though it was supposed to be lap swim. This is a TINY pool so she took up an entire lane jogging in place while it was supposed to be lap swim. I did not complain--God bless her for getting out there and exercising instead of sitting at home watching Oprah and eating.

Then at 5 till 1, the entire water aerobic class got in to warm up for their 1 o'clock class. West Virginia is perenially the most obese state in the nation and of course, water aerobics is the refuge of the morbidly obese. It was like dodging airline carriers in the pool for the last 5 minutes.

I love this thread.

Phil

I feel I should share with you all Front Crawl Arm Dislocation woman. So on her recoveries in front crawl the arm does a sort of jostle/wobble which would lead me to believe that each time her shoulder or elbow or both is popping out then in again. Looks weird like a C3PO trying to swim.

thats funny, I have the same lady at my pool.

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Today I discovered " The Lurker," who appears at first blush to be at least related to "Deep end guy." The Lurkere is a rather portly, (OK, very, very fat) older woman with crazy, frizzy hair to match her equally crazy eyes. The Lurker likes to squat in the shallow end of the lap pool on the lowest of the concrete steps so that only her crazy eyes, frizzy hair and giant forehead is visible above the surface. I'm pretty sure she's human so I know that at some point she must lift at least her nose out to breathe, but every time I turn at that end, only her eyes and above are above the surface.

It would have been easier to ignore except I had the misfortune of using the lane that contains the concrete steps where she set up her lair. I was there first. I came to turn about halfway through my workout, took a quick breath to that side, and almost swallowed a gallon of water I was so startled. After about another 500 I had to just throw in the towel. I just couldn't take it anymore. I really hope she isn't there tomorrow.

This morning we had a guy come in and sit on the pool deck for 1/2 hour in his robe. Then decides he wants to swim and drops the robe.
Dude has on thong underwear!

Lifeguards ( who are just kids) were trying to decide who would have to tell this guy to cover his a$$!

5:30AM and I'm already thinking WTF!

Nothing exciting at my pool for about a year and I therefore forgot about this thread. Then today, two odd things about 5 min. apart. First, dude (mid to late 20's) gets done swimming and starts showering in the locker room. He immediately starts flapping his pecker with his fingers like he's trying to whip something off it. WTF? I try to ignore this exhibition, but he keeps at it on and off for about two minutes before rinsing off and walking away. Then, not two minutes later, I look up and open my eyes after rinsing shampoo out of my hair to find an older gentleman (who I see regularly at the pool) standing not 6-8 inches from me waiting to use my shower (it's one of the few with good water pressure). He says something to the effect of, "No need to turn the water off," at which point I mumble something, take my towel and walk away. Not a big deal, obviously, but definitely a personal space violation. . . particularly in the shower room. Also, there were at least 20-30 other available showers. Hopefully it will be another year before the next incident.

Drinks The Water Guy:
Appears about 4 times a week (that I see him, and i'm there about 5 days a week). He is a slightly overweight, 6'1" guy who stands, naked, in the shower for 20-30 minutes, twice a day. He times his showers so that he ended up in the shower the same time as the entire tri team - and then stares. Blatantly, while crossing his arms and holding his moobs. And as he stares, he kind of opens his mouth to let shower water in - and drinks it. But he doesn't let his drinking interfere with his staring.

Big Black Guy:
This guy is 6'0" or so and easily 225, with about 7% body fat. Ripped like no one I've seen. He chooses the only shower that is opposite a mirror, which happens to be in a stall. He walks up to the stall, PROPS THE DOOR OPEN, and then showers in front of the mirror, flexing the whole time.

We had a variation of the phantom swimmer, they guy that joins your lane without warning, except this guy had me in tears.

It was Long Course day at the Y and we all enter from the bulk head side of the pool. I was on the bulk head just about to get into my lane that I had waited for (the previous swimmer informed me she only had 6 laps til done, so I can wait). The guy on the other side of the lane (2 per lane separated by the black line of shame) is doing his thing, probably in the middle of a 200 meter set.

I see from the other side of the pool that a guy is about to cannonball into the lane. I want to shout to him that he is going head first into the swimmer already occupying the lane, but he was already splashing away.

Ok, so funny thing 1 is his cannon ball approach to enterin the water. Funny thing 2 was the fact that neither swimmer had any speed in the water and were more or less flailing in the water towards each other without much steam. It was like slow motion with the inevitable ending.

It happens (after what seems an enternity) and they both BOUNCE off each other. I mean like bounce as in 5 feet in the opposite direction from where they were going.

The original swimmer says a few choice words and swims on. The cannon ball dude doggy paddles to the bulkhead and gets out and walks to the locker room, head hung, still wearing swim cap and goggles. I don't think it was possible for him to get a concussion from the slow speed head-on collission, but he sure was shaken up.

My local Y has all the messed up usuals. Last week however while swimming in the small 4 land 20yd pool a girl (prob early 20's) walks in wearing a dress and starts talking to the lifeguard. She's rather pleasant looking and I assume she's there as staff or to talk to the lifeguard about programming or lessons or something. Next thing I know she's in the lane next to me doing a not to bad backstroke in her dress (looked like a sun dressy type thing, def not a swimsuit) and swims for 30 minutes.
Thought WTF, ok that was different. Then a few days later I'm on a treadmill and she comes in on the treadmill next to me wearing pajama pants, a sweatshirt and those furry Ugh boots and proceeds to run in that outfit for about 30 minutes, again at not to bad a clip. Still can't figure it out.

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there are some cultish christian derived religions in the USA with strict dress codes like that.

girl I met when challenging her to a race at Houston Raceway park had trouble because she HAD to wear dresses, but the drag strip required you wear pants.

so she wear jean material skirts and got away with it mostly.

she lost the race though and was SO confused (I had one of the first modified WRXes in the country, she had a ram air firebird)

fun times

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Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter

We have those around here (NW Pennsylvania). Lots of Amish and Menonites. I had some all through school with me. They had to take gym with their dresses on, weren't allowed to swim, and when we had christmas or easter parties in the classroom they waited in the hallway. She definitely wasn't one of those.

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in lifesaving courses when i was growing up we had to complete some number of lengths fully clothed - shoes and all - in under a given time. maybe she's training for that portion of the test?

cheers!

-mistress k

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ill advised racing inc.

Trying to figure out "Tatooed sports fan doggy paddler" guy

He is there almost every time I am at the pool, pretty impressive as I don't swim at regular times.

Young looking guy, Bears tat on the right shoulder blade, Sox on the left. Swims for at least 45 min, if not an hour or more.

Pushes off the wall, swims a slightly awkward, slow freestyle for 5 strokes, then doggy paddles the rest of the way. Never stops, just keeps going. Pretty impressive actually.

Also, "Depaul Student" guy or gal.

Comes in the pool, usually with a friend. Gets in, swims a lap, talks, gets out of pool. WTF? All that effort for 1 lap?

Today it was Woman Who Reads in the Pool. She was just hanging out standing in the shallow end facing the wall with an oversized paperback plunked down on the pool deck. And looked like she'd be hella bitchy if anyone splashed her reading.

I could understand it a little if it was high summer humisery and she needed to cool off, (it's an outdoor pool) but it was a pleasant sunny and mid-70s afternoon.

At my pool we have Orgasm Guy. While showering he moans and goes "oh, oh yeah....ooooh". One day he started before he even got into the shower stall. people are funny...and weird

Ran into this guy a few months ago...

Right as I got to my lane, someone else walks up to next lane over and asks the lady there to split the lane. Before she can answer this random guy butts in and loudly says 'you don't have to ask, just go.' Lady then says she's done anyway, original guy gets in the lane. True to his word, the guy that butted in jumped in and.... stood there. Few minutes later, partly thru my warmup, someone stops me at the other end to ask to split the lane. The guy from before had migrated down to this end by now and butted in *again* with the exact same pronouncement. Shrugged and kept going. Midway thru my workout the guy that asked to split the lane w/ me randomly switched with the loudmouthed guy. For someone that swam slowly, he created one hell of a wake (indeed, I took notice of the switch when I inadvertently breathed into said wake, drank a bit of pool there). It was like sharing the lane with a cruise ship.

Also a few months ago, not really a strange denizen story but it was pretty awkward.... Was in a different pool from normal, that had one lap lane and the rest is open. I had the lap lane to myself, and there was a water aerobics class going on in the rest of the pool (maybe 6-7 women for alot of pool space). Anyway, I was circle swimming (habit whenever I have the lane) backstroke. At some point as I was swimming mid-pool on the laneline side one of these women managed to get right next to the laneline. As I swam by (remember, backstroke) I accidentally slapped/smacked her on the butt. Glad I was cooling down because man did I want to get out of there...

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All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. ~Gandalf

Hahahahahah! Was she hot or was it the nursing home crowd doing water aerobics?

no hot girl has ever done water aerobics

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Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter

Not hot, she was old enough to be my mom.

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All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. ~Gandalf

there are actually a couple of pretty well put-together young girls & guys who do aquafit at the rec centre where i swim - the class ends just as lane swim starts, and i know they're there a couple of times a week with the bluehairs and the "dozen doughnuts for a light snack" crowd.

cheers!

-mistress k

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ill advised racing inc.

These two clauses do not belong together.

Unless maybe you're old yourself?

I watched a very elderly woman swimming butterfly while donning paddles and fins the other day. She went on for what had to have been 10 minutes or more...all of about 100 yards, 200 tops. I cringed for the health of her shoulders the whole time. Why would anyone spend their time swimming butterfly unless they planned on competing in it? Maybe she didn't realize that her arms were on the verge of being ripped out of their sockets? Maybe she was simply trying to get herself saved by a young buck lifeguard? Don't know. I was a flier for years yet I won't throw in more than a couple strokes here or there just to remember what it feels like.