I've been going for two months now, around the same time 3-5 days a week. So I'm now a "regular" and have started to notice the other "regulars" and their little routines. I only exercise in the pool, so most of the people I see are in the pool/whirlpool/sauna area. Here's a cast of characters I've put together from my personal observations:
- Peaceful Paddler. She's an older lady who always comes in with a smile and friendly "hello". She is content to warm up in the whirlpool for a bit, then come into the lap pool and slowly and quietly swim laps for a half hour. She's so quiet and gentle with her swimming that I sometimes forget she's in the pool with me and think she made it up the steps and into the locker room without me even noticing.
- Grumpy Guppy. Another older lady, who always has a grouchy look on her face and always wants to complain about the water. It's too cold, too warm, too heavily chlorinated, etc... She isn't a very good swimmer, and kind of struggles along like a frog, back and forth until she has had enough. Then she complains some more about the pool and goes off to the locker room with the same grumpy look on her face that she arrived with.
- Mrs. Mermaid. This lady always has the prettiest tropical patterned swimsuits in vibrant shades of blue and green. She takes her time putting her long curly hair up in a bright colored swim cap, and she also has matching blue goggles and fins. She's a very good swimmer and is pure grace in the water when she does her laps.
- One Lap Wonder. This dude, I can't figure out... He comes in wearing a flashy pair of swim trunks and some flashy mirrored goggles. He makes a big show about putting his towel on the hook, stretching out, and showering off. Then he gets in the pool and just hangs out at the edge for a while before swimming one lap. Just one. Across and back again. He hangs out at the edge a little bit longer, then gets out, showers off, dries off, and is gone.
- The Whirlpool Dudes. There are two of them, both around age 60 or so. They get into the whirlpool for a few minutes. Then into the lap pool for a few minutes. Then back into the whirlpool, and back into the lap pool, etc... they repeat this hot and cool routine several times before heading back to the locker room.
- Sweat Man. This middle aged heavyset guy wears neoprene bike shorts and a heavy rubber reducing belt into the sauna. It's obvious that he's there to try and sweat off the pounds. He hangs out in the sauna for a while, rinses the sweat off at the shower, then sits on the bench to cool off, then back into the sauna.
- Splashtastic Spastic. This guy gets in to do his laps and just churns the water like a hurricane. He kicks up so much water with his feet that he can be three lanes over and you'll get splashed when he passes by. Thankfully I'm usually finishing up and leaving by the time he's just getting there.
It's a whole other scene late at night. Here are two I remember from the couple of times I went in the evening instead of morning:
- Rico Suave. This good looking young guy swam a couple laps then sat on the edge and posed and preened, wearing sunglass style goggles and a tight speedo. Then swam a couple laps and got out and does his sexy strut all the way to the water fountain and back. Then swam a couple more laps and got out and stretched and posed. Not sure if he was cruising or just enjoys his body so much that he can'tr help but show it off.
- Who Needs A Swimsuit? Girl. This young woman (late teens maybe?) comes in wearing an Abercrombie and Fitch tight tee shirt and cutoff short jean shorts. She kicks off her flip flops, and jumps in and swims severl laps (quite expertly I might add) but with her jewelry on, her makeup on, and her hair still up in a ponytail. Then she gets out, puts her flip flops back on, and walks off into the locker room, mascara streaming down her face. You can see through her shirt that she had a bra on too. I don't know if she was high or drunk or what. But at the wee hours of the morning, who knows?
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