You might be an open water swimmer if ...

loneswimmer

you are standing in the supermarket, wondering which dish-washing liquid would be the best choice for the shower ...

rosemarymint

Or in the diaper aisle, wondering which diaper rash cream would be good for greasing.

timsroot

@loneswimmer - When I worked underground in a coal mine, we would shower in dishsoap every day at the end of the shift. They would give is the choice of Lemon Joy or Ivory. I'll remember those smells for a long time.

@rosemarymint - I use Bag Balm. It works very well. Got me through 10.5 hours the other day. The only chafe spot I have is where I sandpapered off part of my shoulder with my chin - I didn't think to lube either my chin or my shoulder.

WaterGirl

Your bikini looks like a tool belt.

david_barra

loneswimmer said:

you are standing in the supermarket, wondering which dish-washing liquid would be the best choice for the shower ...

you people shower after you swim?

heart

You're a bit surprised every time you have to do a flip turn in the pool.

Sharko

You are first at a public pool and mid air on your dive in when you realize you are not wearing anything...true story

david_barra

you've swum in the Atlantic and Pacific on the same day more times than you can count on one hand.

IronMike

...planning for a family vacation begins with you looking for OW swim competitions before deciding exactly where or when the vacation will be.

ChickenOSea

You can't see a body of water in a movie or on tv without commenting "I could swim that"

swimmergirl23

You never take trips to the beach or the lake without bringing your cap and goggles.

Your friends have to bribe you to stop swimming and do something else during the above- mentioned trips.

Kate_Alexander

... you have a tennis sock tan line on your forehead.

H20rnrSPF

heart said:

You're a bit surprised every time you have to do a flip turn in the pool.

I actually am glad someone else said that! LOL

ssthomas

Kate_Alexander said:

... you have a tennis sock tan line on your forehead.

Funniest thing I've read all day! I was just thinking I'm going to have to sunscreen only the lower part of my face on a daily basis so my forehead an catch up!

ForeverSwim

...you don't actually own what other people refer to as a "swim suit". A drag suit was always the typical beach attire.

...you spend more than an hour/day searching Google Maps for new, and interesting places to swim.

ChickenOSea

You rediscover the spare pair of underpants and bra you stashed in your car ages ago

nvr2late

You shake your head at people who have a hard time jumping into an 80 degree pool for Masters practice.

TinkerBell

IronMike said:

...planning for a family vacation begins with you looking for OW swim competitions before deciding exactly where or when the vacation will be.

So true which is why our holiday last year was 'this is a good site...it has a lake, this one is near a river....oooo right by the sea' :)

ViveBene

You're going backpacking in the mountains and throw in a swimsuit and goggles - which you use. (Goggles are useful for detecting pokey things underwater before losing an eye. And they drive the raptors nuts!)

Haydn

Your wife won't cuddle you in bed because you are still too cold.

Haydn

The weather gets horrid and you still can't wait for your next session.

Haydn

Your Speedos are still wet when you put them on.

timsroot

Haydn said:

Your Speedos are still wet when you put them on.

That doesn't mean you're an open water swimmer. It means that you either don't have enough suits, or you aren't hanging them up to dry. I remember putting on wet suits for two a days when I was in high school. Fortunately, I can afford more suits now.

Haydn

Only pool swimmers have more than one pair of Speedos.

ViveBene

More than 10 suits here!

In the spirit of "you never know when you might like to go for a swim," I threw a suit and googles into the kit for a weekend in Niagara Falls (watch out for barrels!) and got in a swim in a sweet lake favored by Ann Arbor families on the trip home (thanks to Mustang Chef for the info).

For next time: any put-in spot for swimmers on north side (Canadian) of L Ontario, along Niagara Parkway? What a beautiful area! The shining sea. I ate fresh farmstand strawberries while watching a lone kayaker and a lone sailboat making their peaceable way.

rosemarymint

You figure take the bus to the bay swimming spots in a strange city, so you can hit the water as soon as you get off the plane. Then you sweet talk your dad into driving you to the airport with a layover back at the bay, so you can hit the water one last time before flying home.

ssthomas

You don't think twice about going for a swim in the lake/ocean and then jumping onto a plane, without a proper shower and sand where it shouldn't be. (With @foreverswim)

jroyer

On a business trip you make certain to pack swimming gear, including a spare cap and goggles, but forget underwear.

Haydn

You find a tub of lanolin & vaseline which you mixed ten years ago, and you still
won't throw it away.

norswimmer

you have a VERTICAL tan. Your back half is tan but your front half is ghost white!

Haydn

not to forget Panda eyes.

Swimfins

You have a stop over in Sydney from Western Australia on the way to the US so you can have a swim before the15 hour flight.

Haydn

You wear speedos instead of underwear.

Haydn

When you crawl out of the water on the French coast, look over your shoulder to England and consider whether you really could swim back.

nvr2late

Worries about encounters with marine life vanish when your ocean swim is underway and you lose yourself in the beauty of it all.

Haydn

You watch the Olympics, compare your best times with theirs, and still think a long swim is more rewarding than a PB.

By the way, I would have come last but one in the 100m freestyle heats.

Haydn

It's mid summer and you don't care the water is getting colder.

timsroot

Haydn said:

It's mid summer and you don't care the water is getting colder.

Not only that, you're excited that the water is cooling down enough that you can swim in it again.

bobswims

You wake up at 6 am for a morning swim in the ocean before you head to work, and you wonder if you should change into a clean Speedo Endurance or just wear the one you slept in.

(A corollary to Haydn's post above)

Haydn

You are off on holiday and bothered the water will be too warm.

Sylle

Haydn said:

You are off on holiday and bothered the water will be too warm.

Variation on that last one:

You have just moved to Scandinavia and are worried the water will be too warm for proper training in the summer.

Haydn

You are crossing The Channel on the ferry from Le Havre to Portsmouth and still look out to sea hoping to spot a swimmer.
(that particular ferry crossing is 100 miles down Channel from Dover/Calais)

Haydn

You are training in a freezing pool, desperate to pee, but struggle on until the end of the session rather than stop early as you know it will be impossible to have the resolve to get back in. You spend the next swimming hour arguing with yourself (to pee or not to pee) but you refuse to pee. And why does everything shrink anyway?

dc_in_sf

You are the only person who is happy when the water heater at your training pool breaks
(current pool temperature 76F and falling!)

timsroot

dc_in_sf said:

You are the only person who is happy when the water heater at your training pool breaks
(current pool temperature 76F and falling!)

Happened at our pool this past summer. It didn't get a whole lot below 78, but I loved it while it lasted.

Haydn

76 F ????? Mine is 45 F and still not cold enough.

heart

You choose business hotels for conferences based on the quality of their pools.

dc_in_sf

heart said:

You choose business hotels for conferences based on the quality of their pools.

I travel for work almost every week. I'll pick a hotel ten miles away from the customer over one walking distance if the further one has a pool you can actually lap swim in. I've been incredibly lucky to have access to a 33yard pool for the last 6 months of travel. Though I have lost count of the number of times I have jammed my hands into the ends because of the lack of markings. I used to carry weights glued to lucite to use as a homebrew end of lane warning, but the TSA confiscated them :(

heart

Yes, the lack of markings is deadly. I'm slowly putting together a list of hotels around the country/world that have decent pools.

Jbetley

Are there any near Hayward California? I have a trip coming up!

heart

@Jbetley: If you're in East Bay, for a meager $5 you can swim to your heart's content at the El Cerrito community pool, which is fantastic. And, you can come to the city and swim with me in the bay!