Goodwood

Goodwood

Thursday 11 September 2014

Summer Observation: No 2

This summer I’ve been back swimming at my local pool on a regular basis, twice a week, sometimes three! This routine wrecks my hair (vanity I know, because I haven’t got around to accepting that wearing a swim hat would improve this situation) and on the whole, it’s been a rewarding experience so far, as I feel much fitter.

I’m less achy and not creaking quite as badly.

I go to swim… however; I don't understand or get the social aspect of swimming… yet, especially those women who can ‘swim-and-talk’ at the same time.

Perhaps this is because I go as a single swimmer.

These ‘swim-and-talk’ women insist on swimming ‘side-breast-stroke-side-by-side’ and take up at least four individual swim lanes in the process, because they space themselves conveniently to talk to their partner.

Also they manage to swim at a less than walking pace speed.

For me this frustrating on many levels. These lovely women appear oblivious to the excessive amount of space they take up and seem to be unable or perhaps unwilling to change course.

It leaves little option for the unsure swimmer how to negotiate this swimming-conversation: Do I plough straight through the middle? This would probably be considered rude.

So how do I circumnavigate this wide berth?

The truth is I don't. I wait.

Oddly in an almost empty pool, in my first week, a man managed to enter the water, position his goggles, he put his face into the water and arms flailing- front crawl, he ploughed on.

I prefer back crawl. And then we collided. We cracked heads hard, one against the other, his apology was profuse. I was stunned and staggered as I had set off and positioned myself in what I thought was a safe area, some considerable distance away from him.

Obviously not.

I still can’t work out how he covered such a wide area and then precisely targeted me. This uncomfortable episode/incident hasn't put me off, just left me reeling.

I’d be interested to hear about your swimming experiences if you’d care to share them, here with me.

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