A Repetetive, Somewhat Neurotic Maneuver...

I swam despite some fatigue, and it felt great. It was a nice swim! I joined a guy in a lane who got out soon after. That's always a blessing! This is how I joined him:

Me: "Mind if I swim with you?" (small, tentative smile)
Him: "Not at all!" (big smile)

When he got out, I did a repetetive, somewhat neurotic maneuver in which I swim in the center of the lane but when I see someone enter the swim area (be it fish or fowl) I immediately swerve into the side of the lane that I want...just in case whoever enters the pool area is casing the joint. If they are someone about to swim, and they already see that I'm on the good side of the lane, maybe they'll choose another lane. And if they are going to join me in the lane, they will see right away who's the top barracuda! I guess it's a bit of a game. Swimming in the center (when no one's around) is great because I can swim on top of the line, and I can move my arms and legs as much as I want. It's also nice for swimming on one's back. There are two negatives to it. One negative is swimming on top of the drains if in the center of the pool. The other negative is that if someone joins me, we need to talk or have an awkward moment about splitting the lane. Some days I'm so enjoying the peace and quiet of the swim that I keep to one side to avoid any potential interaction. During yesterday evening's swim a swimmer in another lane talked to me during my stretching. It's a big interruption to the meditative quality of swimming. Just because my head is above water doesn't mean I want to hear any human words! Now that's deep (get it?).

When Fish Goes Bad...

I didn't sleep enough last night so I was tired but it was early enough in the day that I had a good swim, very nice. I made swim-talk with a grouchy, elderly white woman in the locker room, D.

Me: This should be a great time, not too crowded.
D.: We're both about to swim, and there might be lots of others too.
Me: Good point, D.

D. swerved ahead of me to take the good lane, but someone soon exited the lane I choose. Quickly D. got into an altercation with two people, a middle-aged white woman and a young black man, R. The lifeguard, a nice, Hispanic guy had to intervene. D. yelled at him too! R. left the lane with D. and joined me. This sucked because R. is a wild swimmer. He hits and kicks! There is a subtle movement one should naturally do when passing a swimmer. This subtle movement involves drawing one's arms and legs closer to one's body and not spashing. R. always saves a nice big karate kick for me! He's compact and muscular and can really pack a wallop! I had D. on the other side of the rope next to me. At one point D. and I reached the end of the pool at the same time, and she looked at me, grabbed her heart, and let out a short shreik. I didn't respond, figuring I was too close to her for her comfort. Who knows with D. When D. left, there were collective glances exchanged to communicate, "Oh, what a relief." R., who does not seem to notice that he drives me crazy too, said, "D. needs a PRIVATE pool!" I sunk to a swim-low during my stretches and asked the lifeguard, "What was D's problem today?" He didn't take the bait and just rolled his eyes and said, "D's angry at everyone." Then he gave me a big smile and said, "You're looking good, Jennifer!" And that's a nice way to end this post!

Dread Head

Today I shared a lane with a white/Hispanic guy with tattoos and dreads. He wore a swim cap but it wasn't big enough. He took off his cap after swimming and I saw that his dreads went down to his butt. He was a tall, muscular guy who I haven't seen swimming before. Believe me, I would have noticed. I was annoyed that he wasn't wearing a cap that completely covered those dreads. I feel strongly that there should be no visible hair during lap swimming. Call me puritanical, but it keeps the pool clean. And it's the rule! Also, there are very big caps available. Trust me, there are huge swim caps available. A sales woman accidentally sold me a gigantic swim cap. I tried it on, and it was like having a huge pot over my head. Then I looked at the size and it said "XXXL." Well, it was a great swim, and the big, dreaded dude was a good swimmer, not too wild, not too tame.

The Cut Woman

Yesterday I swam despite being tired with my never-ending illness. It felt good to swim. After swimming and showering, I saw a women in the locker room talking to another woman about cutting her leg while showering. The cut woman said, "The razors here are so sharp." The other member went to get her some bandaids. I ran over to the cut woman and showed her the cut on my own leg, and said, "The razors here are sharp! Look what I did to myself the day before!" Another woman offered a bandaid, but the first member returned with a handful of bandaids. The cut woman was holding papertowels on her cut. I said, "What's annoying is that you think it's done bleeding but it keeps bleeding!" The cut woman said, "Does it ever stop bleeding?" I went back to my side of the lockers, and the woman next to me said, "What happened to her?" I turned to her and said, "Cut with a razor." I said the line razor-sharp.

Return of the Big Fish!

I haven't been swimming much for a few reasons but look forward to getting back in the groove. The reasons are 1) being sick 2) being tired due to talking to my new love, L, who works very late. I decided not to talk to L after she gets home from work (or rarely) so that I can get my sleep to swim. October became very busy at work as well. Of course, I am not happy to be off track with my swimming and plan to remedy it. Anyway, I hit the pool today after some morning anxiety, and it felt great. My muscles were tight, but I felt also like a fish back in water! The pool wasn't crowded, and my only verbal exchange was with a gal in the showers:
Gal: (whips open my shower curtain)
Me: (looks, hoping the intruder is not holding a knife)
Gal: (whips curtain closed, saying "Oh, sorry!"
Gal: In a plaintive cry, "ALL THE SHOWERS ARE BEING USED!"
Me: (thinks: "Lucky I got a shower...")

Inquiry to Reader: How do you handle it when one lover works at night?

Confessions of a Shark Girl

It was great to be back in the pool yesterday (Thursday) after not having swam since last Tuesday. I had been busy and tired (not catching up on sleep). I swam in the a.m. before my fatigue kicked in and will likely do the same today. When I go underwater after having been away much longer than usual, a big sharky smile breaks out on my face (That sounds a bit nerdy but it's true!). The pool wasn't crowded, and I loved my stretches at the end.
Answer to reader inquiry: Sprints involve swimming fast, then stopping for awhile, back and forth.

The Lifeguard's Beef

Another late night swim Tuesday evening, with only me at the end. This is always fun because cliche-ridden conversation with the lifeguard ensues.
Male Lifeguard (LG): "Are any of these your towel?"
Me: "Nooo, I don't bring a towel into the pool area."
LG: "I didn't think so."
Me: [baiting LG but also being honest] "I think it's terrible how people leave towels around."
LG: [takes bait with gusto] "They bring a couple o'towels in, leave 'em, and grab a couple o'towels on their way out!" (Shakes head in disgust).
Me: "Sometimes they leave a water bottle!"
LG: (Continues to shake head in disgust)
Me: "Have a good night."
LG: (Smiles) "You too!"