Swimming (more like drowning) - SprintTri Training

Are you working with a coach? My gym has tri specific swimming lessons. You might need someone to watch and critique your form.

I know this is being a wuss, but I swim with nose clips. I've never gotten the knack of being able to breathe correctly for any consistent period of time and end up inhaling when I should exhale, which is dangerous.

I don't want to hear how I should learn the correct way. I can swim a mile with no trouble this way.

If your choking on water you need to work on breathing, most likely. You can work on breathing technique with a flutter board - hold it out in front of you and put your face in the water as you kick. Focus on blowing out, making lots of bubbles. Before you run out of breath, release one hand and draw it back, rolling onto the side that still holds the board, Breath in. Recover your arm and take hold of the board again. Repeat on other side.

In terms of building up stamina, you want to do lots of 50s. Going and trying to do 400 right off won't work, and won't build you up enough anyway. I can swim 1500m without stopping, but mostly I swim in groups of 50-200m. If doing one 50 sounds hard, do 25 kick, drop board at other end, do 25 free (without stopping). Next 50, do 25 free, 25 kick. Focus on technique and not speed - you won't be winning any times with only 8 weeks to go. In the same vein, don't try and do a 50 or 100 if you can't without your technique falling to pieces. Swimming practice is about repeating the same motion, correctly, until your body can do it without thinking. If you keep pushing when you're too tired to do it correctly, then you will teach yourself to do it incorrectly.

You want to look up lots of videos on technique as well - flutter kick, catch and pull, recovery, breathing. The more you practice these, the less energy you'll use to propel yourself, and the more energy you'll have for the run and bike.

And when race day comes, you can take 'breaks' if you need to by switching to breast-stroke, or even back.

I would strongly recommend getting a coach to look at your form. As PP mentioned swimming is very technical so the fact you have other physical fitness does not necessarily transfer over. Correct technique problems may go a long way in helping but it isn't something you can easily do yourself.

Also with open water, you can stop and rest and float on your back. It is also often legal for you to hold on to the paddle board of the life guards so long as you make no forward progress.
I really, really, really suggest getting a swim in open water before the race.

Definitely try an open water swim before the race if you haven't already done so. If breaststroke is easier for you then do that, chances are you won't be the only one opting for that stroke. Don't worry about how long the swim takes you, take it at a steady easy pace and you can make up the time on your bike and run leg. I agree that if you can get some coaching then definitely do that, the right technique can make difficult feel much easier. Good luck with your tri, I'm doing my first one this year and it's a sea swim so I'm feeling excited about it but nervous too!

ps, if anyone would like another friend here please add me, I've just joined up and could do with some support

Both of these. YES.

glevinso wrote: »

As someone who has been frog-kicked in the face, breaking my goggles, by someone who breaststroked through the swim-leg of a triathlon, I would encourage you to NOT try to swim breast the whole way. It is dangerous to your fellow athletes.

In any case if this is an open water swim I HIGHLY recommend you 1) get some lessons from a qualified coach and 2) find an open-water clinic at some point ahead of the race. Swimming in open water is NOTHING like doing it in a pool. It can be much more difficult, and frightening, especially if you are inexperienced. In-water panic is common with first timers and can lead to an early DNF. This sort of thing is easily mitigated though by getting out into a lake and practicing.

Also, as a beginner swimmer, please line up in the back of your pack for the swim. The last tri that I did, a bunch of not so strong swimmers ran out in front of me, and it is just plain annoying trying to get around them. I actually swam OVER a couple of them because they wouldn't let me by them and I had no other option.

But definitely try to get a coach, or even ask a swimmer at your pool to look at your stroke. I would be happy to give advice while I am swimming (I was a pretty hard-core swimmer in my youth-high school, and kept doing open water swims in college) if someone asked.