Beginner Triathlete - Swim Q&A by TriSwimCoach.com articles

You ask yourself if a couple of months will be enough time to prepare for that sprint; and how must swim training change in volume and intensity for the longer distances?

I can swim long with ease and have decent endurance, but I have a race coming up and I don't want to be last anymore. Help?

So tell me why I want to bother swimming the other strokes? I'm IM training, and plan to swim freestyle for the entire race, is there an advantage to working on the other strokes?

Until I feel comfortable in the pool, would it be silly to put in my pool time while wearing a snorkel? I really want to swim until I'm tired and force myself to go further each time.

Start with balance, once you have improved in that area, move on to rotation, then breathing, and finally, you can start to get into the technical aspects of the pull.

I have 10 lessons with a coach and he keeps telling my I'm holding my breath. I cannot figure out where since I'm breathing out and in every 3rd stroke. Any drill recommendations?

I am still pretty weak in the water and have a pair of Zoomers that I use for drills. What do you think of wearing fins to swim in the pool until I build up endurance?

How long will it take before I start seeing some improvements? I have only been swimming for about a week and can go a maximum of 75 to 100m freestyle before I have to stop or use another stroke.

I feel as if I am working very hard to actually breath especially on my right side. I also am not sure that I have the correct arm and hip rotation as it feels like I am fighting the water. Any help?

There are a few things you can do prevention-wise to avoid these annoying toe cramps (one of which is NOT eating tons of bananas as the common wisdom dictates!)

In running, when trying to increase your distance, you don't want to add more than about 10% a week to avoid injury from overtraining. Is there a similar limit with swimming?

I'm wondering if anyone else has had luck with moving to a five-stroke breathing pattern. Is this okay for endurance swimming? What are its benefits and drawbacks?

The reason why you may have trouble breathing bilaterally (to both sides) is that you are not balanced in the water, either on one side or both. Here are some basic drills.

I'm doing my first tri Saturday. It starts at 7 AM and the forecast is calling for a high of 82 (air temp). Do I need to rush out and get a wetsuit?

I went to the pool the other day and realized I can't float at all. It makes it really hard to swim properly. I get no propulsion from my kick. Any suggestions?