Swimmers come in!

[Deleted]

I picked up swimming last year, so I'm still a newb, but here's what I've learned:

*Yes you want a swim cap and goggles
*If you can find some fins and a kickboard to use, holy cow that's a good leg workout
*A pull bouy is great, for a simple workout I'll do 500 kick 500 pull and call it a day
*As for lanes, if you have to share, make sure you find someone of similar speed if possible, and if not, just ask them if they don't mind sharing and what they prefer - lane split or circle swim.

And just because you had knee surgery and you're still recovering, watch the push off the walls. I know I've tweaked my knees a few times when I'm not paying attention.

[Susie]

I'd probably avoid fins while you're recovering, and I'd go easy on the kicking until you see how it feels.

Some people love pull buoys (my H is one) because they keep your legs and hips floating higher without working (i.e. kicking hard). I don't enjoy them because I'm not a hip-sinker, and I just find them annoying! It's just personal preference. A pull buoy will substantially immobilize your lower body while you swim, so again, during your recovery, not necessarily a bad thing.

As far as not being annoying? It's just the basic "be a nice person" common sense type stuff. We get annoyed when people act like divas about sharing lanes and stuff like that. If you are sharing a lane with someone, either straight or circle swimming, just make sure not to wander off your side Before getting in with someone it's good to catch them at a wall and say hey, mind if I share a lane with you? Do you prefer straight or circle swimming?

If you have some flexibility in your schedule, maybe ask at the front desk when the quiet times are in the pool.

[Deleted]

I use a silicone cap because latex makes me itchy. I wet my hair and put some leave-in conditioner on it before I hit the pool - makes my hair silky smooth too!

[tuggyruns]

I too just got cleared to swim after my stress fracture in my heel (it's still heeeaallling-haha-ok, anyway) so here's what I'm doing....

I swim with a masters team and our practices are about an hour, twice a week. I will swim normally until I sense the first twinge of soreness, and then I swim with a pull bouy for the rest of practice. Also, I only push off the wall with my good foot.

As far as etiquette. Wear a cap- it just makes things easier on you, and your hair. For lane sharing, I find that most people like to split lanes, that means 2 people in one lane swimming on either side. However, always as the person who is in the lane first a)if they would mind sharing and b)if they would rather split or circle swim. If they want to circle, the faster person always goes first.

Hope that helps- and quick healing!

[Susie]

IM = individual medley. A 400 IM, for example, is a 100 of fly, 100 of back, 100 of breast, and 100 of free.

Yes, your hair will get wet with a cap. I don't use the lycra material caps. They're soft at first, which I guess is nice, but they tend to stretch out (just like swim suits do). Annoying. I wear latex caps (usually whatever I've gotten at recent tri's or OWS's) or silicone caps.

Maybe I have magic hair or something, but I don't do the whole conditioner-before-swimming or special shampoo routine. Never have, and it's been 25 years. I guess I'm lucky.

Flip flops - most people do use them. They just leave them at the end of the lane while they're in the water.

Towel - I just leave mine in my locker with everything else.

Don't be nervous about it

[Deleted]

Mar 15, 2013 8:42:37 GMT -5 mintchocochip said:

tuggyruns heeeaaaling haha! Congrats on clearance! I bet I'll last about 15 mins--I can't imagine doing an hour just yet! You're awesome!

@sessalee silicone? Good to know! I'm going to a swim store after PT today so hopefully they can help me too. Thanks for the conditioner idea. I wash my hair like 2x a week right now so I'm dreading having to wash it more because of swimming. Oh well I guess

My hair dresser asked me what I'd changed when I started swimming because my hair was so soft. The leave-in conditioner gets warmed up while you work out, so it's like a deep conditioning treatment - Washing it more often is annoying but my hair is fine.

[tuggyruns]

mintchocochip I love your blog! Just ps and fyi!

[mainewifey]

I second the silicone cap. I also have a fabric one and I hate it. The elastic band it has to keep it on my head is tight and it leaves a giant mark on my forehead. Its just my back up incase my silicone one breaks. My hair does get somewhat wet under the cap.

I agree with being careful about pushing off the wall, even if you're pushing off with one good leg, you can wrench your back pretty easily because you're off balance.

Before I join a lane I take a moment to see what the people in the lanes are doing, their speed, etc, and I pick the lane that most matches what I plan on doing. I ask if I can join, circle or straight swim - almost everyone picks straight swim and I ask them which side they want. Sometimes I modify what I plan on doing if its just not going to be feasible with who I'm swimming with.

At my pool people leave their towels in their lockers. The floor in the locker room can get pretty wet, and I always feel bad for the regular gym goers. As much as I hate not being able to re-use my towel for a few swims I try to keep my floor area dry with my towel.

I used to wear flip flops but I was really the only one and I've since stopped. No foot nasties so far, but I've always been more than satisfied with how often there are workers going around cleaning and sanitizing.

[joenali]

Mar 15, 2013 9:02:39 GMT -5 mintchocochip said:

Thanks again Susie and @sessalee I color my hair so I don't want it to fade with the extra washings. Maybe I'll just tell people chlorine is my new perfume



Really gross, last summer I dated a guy who would go swimming with his son and not bathe him after. I had to tell him to wash himself and his child after being in the pool. He thought the chlorine cleaned them 

Thanks tuggyruns I love writing it! Glad to have you as a reader!

you would think I'm nasty then!!! I just rinsed off in the shower after my swim yesterday. I didn't feel like washing my hair or body AND I did an hour long spin on my bike and didn't take a shower after because I didn't feel like getting wet again!!! I'm a disgusting, filthy person!!

[mainewifey]

Mar 15, 2013 9:14:23 GMT -5 mintchocochip said:

Mar 15, 2013 9:05:37 GMT -5 joenali said:

you would think I'm nasty then!!! I just rinsed off in the shower after my swim yesterday. I didn't feel like washing my hair or body AND I did an hour long spin on my bike and didn't take a shower after because I didn't feel like getting wet again!!! I'm a disgusting, filthy person!!

haha, I can get the once in a while thing but this was an everyday type of thing.  I'm one of those people who has to shower before bed to "get the day off me" so I was skeeved at sharing a bed with someone who reeked of chlorine.  At least you rinsed off!  This dude didn't even do that!  Considering the frequency with which I wash my hair though, I probably shouldn't be one to judge

I feel like I'm sweating chlorine when I go from swimming to Insanity the next day, regardless of if I shower after or not. 

[kams]

Enjoy swimming! Don't be nervous, just be polite. Everything will be fine.

I wouldn't personally do much kicking, especially with fins. I don't do a whole lot of kicking and I'm not even nursing an injury. Fins are fun but probably not ideal for right now. A pull bouy is nice to help you keep your head down and hips up. It limits your leg movement, which would be good. And, as others have said, be cautious pushing off the wall.

And, did you see our swim cap pics in yesterday's ootd? Definitely wear a cap, latex or silicone: it will not keep your hair dry, but you will look sexy like us

[joenali]

I also don't want to take a shower this morning! It's just a professional development day, I can get away with it right??

[kams]

Mar 15, 2013 9:33:23 GMT -5 joenali said:

I also don't want to take a shower this morning! It's just a professional development day, I can get away with it right??

Lmao! You're in the PNW, just stand in the rain for a minute! <)

[katinthehat]

late here, but if you feel you're doing something weird or wrong, there's no harm in saying, hey, I'm a new swimmer! (even if technically you're not!)

I also like adding paddles to my swim equipment, they're a good workout and form check as well if you're staying away from kicking drills.