Back to the Pool

Discipline: Swimming
Distance: 3/4 Mile

A rather annoying session. I'd spent the afternoon watching the cricket (and on the forums) and so not gone until later. I figured the pool would be quieter then, and that although there was an aqua-aerobics class in the main bit of the pool, the lane would be fairly empty at that time of night.

It started off well, with about four of us in the lane, and although I did have to stop and wait for a bit of clear space at times, I managed to get in some good clear swims. It felt strange after Monday's OW sesh, but I seemed to adapt quickly. I practised alternate breathing, and also having my hands enter the water a bit wider (hopefully giving more stability). It seemed to work pretty well.

The pool got a bit more crowded, including another species of annoying swimmer. I've already talked about the breaststroke mafia and the jellyfish, this time it was a short-lengther. This is someone who swims slower, and so can be overtakem but then rather than go to the end of the pool, and wait for any backlog of swimmers to clear, simply turns round before he or she reaches the end, meaning that anyone who's swum to the end of the pool then has to wait for them. This is particularly annoying when they're slow, as it means that unless you're hugely faster than them, you have to keep on overtaking them every ruddy length!

At 8pm, the aqua-aerobics class started. I figured quite a few people might get out of the lane, as it was getting late, but instead, the people who had been in the main pool decided to invade the swimming lane, and a lot of them did the trick of standing around in the shallow end and chatting, perhaps swimming a length once every ten minutes just to make it look like they were doing something. I got fed up fighting a losing battle,a nd gave up after 48 lengths. Must say though that it felt very easy - I could easily have gone on for a lot longer if the pool had been clearer!