Breaking the Ice

I have submerged myself back into the world of chlorine and lane lines. In my dreams I dove right back in and didn't miss a stroke, but reality has a way of smacking you across the face! I am now into my second week of chasing the black line back and forth. Sounds like a rather solitary way to spend time but I have noticed that swimmers are very interested in talking to each other. The most common dialogue is between the person who is or has already swam and the person about to swim. The person about to swim has all kinds of questions for the person who is already immersed in the water. The questions usually refer to the water temperature. I am assuming that they are referring to water temperature when they say 'how's the water?', cause the answer 'wet' just seems too obvious. Women start asking the questions of you in the locker room and showers as they head out to the pool deck. I often wonder if the men do the same thing or if it is just wrong to ask a guy who's in the shower if the pool water was cold?

the water was cold, its shrinkage!

After I tell the person asking how I find the pool temperature they often go on to ask me more details. 'Well, is it warmer or colder than yesterday? Because yesterday it was about 0.00075 degrees too cold for me'. Okay, I might have exaggerated a little on that, but swimmers are very sensitive about the temperature of their water. Just imagine the chaos that results from the pool heater breaking! The other day a fella asked me an unsual question as he was getting into the lane next to the one I was swimming in. Actually, I was resting on the wall because if I was swimming he wouldn't have been able to start a conversation with me. He asked me if I had warmed it up for him? What exactly was he implying? There is only one way I know how to warm up water when you are in it. Which explains why in a deep water start at a triathlon the water at the start is so much warmer than the rest of the lake. Anyways, back to this gentlemans question, how do you respond to that. Well, no sir I did not pee in the pool. Nice to meet you, enjoy your swim and  thanks for breaking the ice!