Actually lightning is a problem for both open water swimmers, and pool swimmers. I just don't recall ever being kicked out of a pool because of lightning before swimming at Layton. So Layton has a bubble up for a roof, and sure enough they kicked everyone out of the pool. Luckily for me I was more than half way through my workout instead of just starting it. Here's what I actually did:
1000 yards warmup nice and easy
I got a flu shot yesterday and my right arm is a little tender so it was nice to do an easy warmup that got the soreness relieved a little.800 free pull
600 - 12 x 50's alternate between drill and back on 1:00
400 - 4 x 100's build on 1:40 (get under 1:20 on all)
200 IM fast (2:50)
200 IM easy
400 - 4 x 100's kick with fins on 2:00
500 - 4 x 150's free on 2:15.
4100 yards total
I was 50 yards into my last set of 150s when they blew the whistle so I wasn't able to complete the 4th set so that's why its 500 total instead of 600.
Thats a total of 4100 yards today. I had planned on 7100. I wasn't too upset because I'm planning to swim tonight while Austin and Jacob are at the club. So I'll get in plenty of swimming today anyway.
Anyway so I get out and go to the showers and put shampoo in my hair when one of the male lifeguards walks in and says, "I hate to do this to you, but we can't let people take showers either." I was like "Are you serious?" I've never been told in my lifeguarding days to prevent people from taking showers during a thunderstorm. In fact, when I was at Deseret Gym, we NEVER closed the pool from what I recall due to a thunderstorm. OK so maybe Layton's wimpy bubble roof can't withstand a lightning bolt. Whatever. But prevent showers? Cmon! I said, "How about if I take a leak is that OK?" He laughed and said, "No not that either". So I quickly rinsed the soap out of my hair and got dressed.
Here's the National Weather Service's official recommendations on lightning safety. OK. So maybe we should have closed the pools when there was a thunderstorm outside. And they even recommend not taking a shower, talking on the phone or working on computers.
So here's the funny thing, so Layton's overly cautious lifeguard that was enjoying the time off duty. He was playing the arcade game in the lobby with both hands holding fake guns, that were connected to the arcade machine with metal cords, shooting monsters on the screen. If you're gonna take advantage of the policy and kick patrons out, don't look like your really enjoying the opportunity to be off duty while everyone leaves the facility in a pissed off mood. Especially if the policy is to protect people from getting shocked and the same paragraph that suggests no swimming, also says no computers or video games.
I walked to the car and it wasn't even raining, but to the west was a nasty looking dark glob of a cloud. I've looked all over on Snopes and on the web and there has never been a documented case where someone has been shocked while taking a shower that I could find. But there HAS to be some basis for the weather services suggestions. I guess it's the rebel in me that questions authority, but I dislike being inconvenienced because of something that is rare or unlikely to happen.
3 comments:
So, I got struck by lightning a few years ago while inside my house. That sparked my natural curiosity (pun intended), and got me doing a lot of research into lightning, where it strikes, when it strikes, and the different modes of injury.
The main thing I learned is that there's a definite difference between what most people think they know and the actual reality. Example: the emergency room doctor chided me and said I should have been wearing rubber soled slippers when walking around my house, and in the future I needed to wear rubber soles any time it was raining. 1. I just got struck by lightning, and you scolding me is not appreciated. Knowing how you think it could have been prevented is of zero help when I'm already in the hospital. 2. So you're telling me that this lightning bolt of millions of volts and 10,000 amps, which already crossed miles of air then blew through 8 inches of wood and foam in my roof, is going to be stopped in its tracks by 1/4 inch of rubber? Sorry, but lightning doesn't actually work that way.
In your pool situation, sure, there's a theoretical possibility of some damage related to the shower, and I do recall seeing some documentation of deaths or injuries that way. But there's a comparatively enormous likelihood of the dude being injured on the video game. There are many, many documented injuries resulting from lightning strikes going through wiring and then grounding through nearby persons. That dude is almost literally taking his life in his hands there.
All that said, lightning injuries are still rare compared to things like car crashes. But, if you're going to go through the trouble of inconveniencing people in order to protect them, you might as well protect them from the more likely risks.
Wow Aaron, thanks for the comment! That has got to be one of the coolest things I've ever heard. You got struck by lightning? It's amazing that you have that experience and are still alive.
I took a test once from BSA that had this question: Which weather events on average cause the most deaths in the US, in order from most to least?
A)Heat, hurricanes, cold, lightning, tornadoes, floods.
B) Lightning, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, heat, cold
C)Heat, floods, tornadoes, lightning, hurricanes, cold
I picked A because I remember hearing about transients who die every winter out in the cold. But the correct answer was C. Lightning and Tornadoes are actually right there neck and neck and varies by year. I had no idea. Apparently I don't really hear about people getting struck by lightning in the news.
I guess it's more common than I perceive. Thanks for sharing. I'll have to be more patient when getting kicked out for that reason. It really doesn't happen that much and it's better to be safe, than sorry.
I should probably explain myself a little bit more for the record. The short version:
About four years ago, I was up late one night staring through the window at a freaky once-every-hundred-years rainstorm. There was lightning everywhere, but I never considered that it was very close or that I might be in any danger until I was down on the ground.
The lightning hit a TV antenna on the roof right above me, then went through the house and down into the ground. I was actually hit by a side flash that went from an electrical outlet on the wall into my left thigh and then out my right foot. I was balled up on the floor and couldn't get up, but I was still conscious. The crash woke Becki up, and she could hear my faint cries for help from across the house.
I had a quick ambulance ride, then spent about 5 hours in the emergency room getting EKG, chest x-ray, blood work, etc. They eventually determined I was fine and sent me home. I was really sore for a few days, but had no lasting effects.
The house took a few thousand dollars in damage, and most of our electronics were fried, but the insurance paid for the repairs and for new TV/stereo/computer gear, so I ended up way better off there.
I stay away from windows and walls during lightning now, not necessarily for the sake of mitigating risk, but just because I'm still a little freaked out. Even with a few dozen deaths and a few hundred injuries per year, the chances of you or someone you know being injured by lightning are still pretty astronomical. Still, nobody at the pool wants to be the one to call some kid's parents and tell them they're kid is dead because they didn't really think the lightning was close enough yet to get everyone out.
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