Swimming Help Needed!!
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mamaclose
Posts: 219 Member
I am signed up for my first triathlon on August 4th (sprint distance). I feel confident that I can bike and run the required distances with no difficulty. However, I have some reservations about the swim portion. It is 300 yards in open water, a local lake. I am not afraid to swim in open water, my family spends a lot of time at this particular lake. However, I have always swam recreationally, and minimally at that. I usually do the breastroke.
This past week I have begun to swim freestyle/crawl, with very little success. I feel like I am flailing and run out of breath after like 6 strokes. I understand the technique of freestyle but applying it to myself seems daunting. I am afraid I won't be able to have a successful swim portion of my triathlon.
Any tips, words of advice? I really am freaking myself out and panicking about the swim portion. I feel out of my depth here so to speak! HELP!
This past week I have begun to swim freestyle/crawl, with very little success. I feel like I am flailing and run out of breath after like 6 strokes. I understand the technique of freestyle but applying it to myself seems daunting. I am afraid I won't be able to have a successful swim portion of my triathlon.
Any tips, words of advice? I really am freaking myself out and panicking about the swim portion. I feel out of my depth here so to speak! HELP!
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Replies
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First of all, don't worry! If you're in shape enough to be confident for the other parts of the tri, you'll be in shape enough to do the swimming part. I'd suggest starting with some videos on how to swim freestyle. They'll teach you some drills that you can use to build up your stroke. Good ones to try (look up videos for better explanations) are where you kick six times on your side, then pull and switch to your other side, then kick six times again, then switch again. It's like very slow free but you'll be working on good technique when you speed it up. Make sure to keep a steady kick and to stay balanced in the water. You can do it! Let me know if you have any other questions!0
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This is just a thought for you, but if you are confident with your breaststroke, then focus on perfecting that and don't worry about trying to learn a new stroke in three weeks. The breaststroke is a sufficiently fast stroke and usually very good at conserving energy. If this is your first triathalon, your goal isn't to win, it is to finish. So stick with the breaststroke and focus on doing the best stroke you can. Have fun and do a great job!0
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I would agree, with Riftknight keep to breast stroke for the triathlon. yyu get the bug you can focus on learning to swim freestyle later. It has taken me quite a while and lots of practise to become truly confident at freestyle. Have fun.0
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My suggestion is to make sure you are breathing as normally and rhythmically as possible. Try not to hold your breath. Take a breath every stroke cycle. Exhale when your face is in the water so that you need only to inhale when you turn your head. Try to take as deep a breath as possible and blow it all out every time.
That said - there is no shame in doing breaststroke if you are more comfortable with that - especially with a bunch of frantic swimmers flailing and splashing all around you.0 -
Swim however you like. On my first triathlon I swam free style (crawl), breast stroke, back stoke, elementary back stroke (sort of an upside down breast stroke) and maybe a little doggy paddle. In time I swam less and less of the "other" strokes and now swim free style the entire time.0
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I agree swim with what your comfortable doing, you can work on freestyle for future tris, My first sprint tri I swam a kinda side stroke... I am working on freestyle but have a long way to go ... plan on joining a masters group this fall and am currently taking a
swimming class at our local pool... and working on swimming endurance
Good luck on your tri
Connie0 -
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Thanks for the advice!
I am signed up for private lessons at my local YMCA starting today. I will be taking 30min classes twice per week. They are geared towards triathlon open water swims.
Hope to learn good breathing/stroke technique!0 -
awesome glad you were able to find a lesson
Connie0 -
Very interesting thread/discussion. What is your opinion? Do the swim breastroke/freestyle or drop out?0 -
Lessons are a great idea - I'm glad you signed up and hope they help! Keep us updated on how you're doing!0
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Very interesting thread/discussion. What is your opinion? Do the swim breastroke/freestyle or drop out?
Of course I already rendered my opinion, but I'll restate it. You aren't competing in your first triathalon to win, you're competing to finish. If you are comfortable with breaststroke, then refine it as much as you can before the race so that the swim will be a piece of cake for you. While you could learn freestyle in a matter of weeks, you won't learn the finer points of stroke technique or how to generate power and speed out of your stroke. You could, however, learn those with the breaststoke in three weeks. That said, I think that freestyle is an excellent goal for your next triathalon.0 -
Very interesting thread/discussion. What is your opinion? Do the swim breastroke/freestyle or drop out?
Of course I already rendered my opinion, but I'll restate it. You aren't competing in your first triathalon to win, you're competing to finish. If you are comfortable with breaststroke, then refine it as much as you can before the race so that the swim will be a piece of cake for you. While you could learn freestyle in a matter of weeks, you won't learn the finer points of stroke technique or how to generate power and speed out of your stroke. You could, however, learn those with the breaststoke in three weeks. That said, I think that freestyle is an excellent goal for your next triathalon.
I totally agree with this advice. When you are in a triathalon, you will be swimming in open water with a bunch of other swimmers around you (nothing remotely like the organized pace of lane swimming in a pool). If you are not confident in your stroke and have a bunch of people splashing around you (some inadvertently kicking you or elbowing you), it can sometimes lead to panic.
I would definitely opt for a stroke that you are more comfortable with (which sounds like the breast stroke). You will also probably be faster with a stroke that is more familiar to you (although, as others pointed out, I would not be focused so much on speed as completion).
Good luck!0
