Begginer Triathlete - Swim will kill me

Yes 10 weeks is plenty, and being gassed at 50 meters is the norm on someones first swim. The main thing is to get in as much swimming as possible. I would focus most on getting breathing down to where it's smooth and more importantly, comfortable. Then just think streamline and keep your body in a straight line. Do this and things will come together pretty quickly.

All right I'm glad to hear i'm giving myself enought time.  Now from what I understand unlike running, swimming doesnt put as much stress on the body thus less likely to "overtrain" in swimming.  My current schedule has me getting into a pool atleast 3 times a week but i'll probably go 4-5 times a week.

If you do that, you'll be way ahead of the game! Go for it!

The swim is such an interesting phenomenon, for me too.

If you suck at running, what do you do? Run more, maybe add some speed work. If you're a weak cyclist, what do you do? Add some more miles to your weekly training. If you're a weak swimmer and afraid of open water, what's the response? Don't swim, and avoid open water completely. I did that too for a while. Looking back it's sheer idiocy that I would not focus a large percentage of my training on my weakest event by a long shot.

One of the biggest things for me--and I'm a SLOW swimmer--was just getting over that initial freak-out and actually SWIMMING a few times a week. As with anything you just start out doing, you'll fly up the learning curve fairly quickly--I know I did.

Start swimming ASAP, and do it at least 2-3 times a week. In 10 weeks you'll be good to go--especially if you go 4-5x/week. Not to win the swim, but at least get through it semi-comfortably. Good luck!

Edited by DrPete 2009-06-01 8:07 AM

By no means is my goal to win the swim at this point. I'd like to actually just be able to finish the swim so I have a chance to do the bike and run.

For me it was pretty discouraging just after my recent swim this weekend.  I usually am able to pick things up pretty quickly (except golf...and now swimming).

I like new challenges we'll see how this one goes.  Any reccomendations as far as websites to check out for swim advice?

I really like the triswimcoach.com DVD. Same general idea as the total immersion, but I found that TI's drills were too numerous.

I'd focus on swimming 500 straight and getting comfortable in the water first. Then come back here and start asking for form tips. Being comfortable and aware of your body in the water will go further than anything else, if you ask me.

50m is twice as far as I swam my first time trying to 'swim' and I grew up in lakes and pools. Just never swam, swam.. you know?

I can relate.  I just finished my firt tri this past weekend and when I started the swim training about 6 weeks ago (yes, a little late) I was worried.  I couldn't swim a lap without stopping to gasp for breath and lower my heart rate.  I kept at it and things improved.  I quickly realized it had nothing to do with my conditioning, but everything to do with my breathing pattern.  So when you say you are gased after 50m, I would be willing to bet it is due to breathing issues.  Work on breathing.... figure out how big of a breath you need to take and make sure you are exhaling all the way while your face is in the water.  If you are trying to exhale and inhale when you roll your head up you will not last long. 

In a matter of 6 weeks I went from where you are to being able to swim my 600 yards with no problem.  You will do the same thing.  Swim, and swim often.

That which does not kill us makes us stronger. Friedrich Nietzsche

I was in the same position as I planned for my first Tri.  It was a 250yd swim, 9.3mile bike, 3.2mile run.  As others said, there are ways to improve bike and run, but if there is a fear of water - then that requires more work and training to overcome and improve.

This will be your first Tri - so look to compete, complete, and have fun.

Out of 198 people, I was 196 out of water.  Took me about 10 minutes, which means I gave away 5-6 minutes to many other racers.  But, I did not care.  My goal - and I took about 8 weeks to prepare for my Tri - was merely to be breathing coming out of the water.  I then had a decent bike ride, passing some.  Finally, where I am most comfortable the run, where I passed many more.  So, I completed the race.

Thus, 10 weeks will be more than enough time to prepare.  As others have said:
(a) Get lots of water time in.  You may find it better to do lots of 20 minute sessions rather than fewer longer sessions.  When tired, your may fall back to old bad habits.  You probably will need to re-learn how to swim.  One thing to swim across a friend's pool in the backyard, quite another to really understand the breathing and stroking to swim 250/500 or more yards.
(b) Practice some bricks.  Ride 1-2 miles (can be this short), and then start a 1 mile run.  Get used to that "weird" feeling - like bricks at end of your legs.  Learn stretches you can do while on the bike to loosen your legs, and how to quickly shake-out your legs before running.

Finally, remember this is for fun and you are only cometing against yourself.  Everyone else at the Tri will be cheering for you.  No one will be critical of your form or style.  They've all been there, struggling thru how-to do whatever.  Anyone else, well, they are still on the couch with there 2-liter Coke, Doritos, cheese doodles, pop corn with the only exercise being pushing the little buttons on the remote to change the channels.  You are SOOO WAY FAR ahead of them.  You made a choice to challenge yourself.  Parctice for it, work for it, and enjoy it. 

Ten weeks from now, you will be a tri-athlete.

All,
Thanks for the encouraging advice and words of wisdom.

After my swim this past weekend I was seriously thinking I needed to delay and wait for a sprint-tri 4-5 months out.  The wife and I have already narrowed down one of my biggest probelsm and thats is exhaling and inhaling air when my head is out of water (quite inefficient from what I was told).

I agree 10 weeks is way more than enough time. Way back in high school when I first joined a swim team, I took some private lessons to get the general form down for my stroke. I could barely do a 25yd swim. I then went to the lap swim every day for a month and by the end of just 1 month I could do 3000 straight. It wasn't fast by any means but it was good enough that they actually let me on the team, albeit as the slowest person.

Thank You!! Best advice I have heard. This should really help me on my swim.  I never even thought of exhaling while head down. I am in a similar situation as the OP. 3 wks til a 800M swim. I am going to live in the pool the next few weeks. Hopefully i wont have to resort to rest strokes.

Maybe slow down your pace and focus on breathing for awhile.  Then worry about improving your pace.

Gig 'em!

Get the "Total Immersion" DVD... it was turned swiming from an impossibility into something I have actually come to enjoy.  I am not fast and if you look at my log from sunday even after a year+ I still struggle with breathing.  BTW, first time I got in the pool I nearly yacked in teh gutter after 50 yards, so welcome to the club.

Edited by jsklarz 2009-06-01 4:21 PM

Part of it could be the first Open Water swim experience as well. When I picked up swimming I swam in the pool until I was able to do the 750 necessary for the tri.

Then I took it outside, swam about 30 meters, couldn't see, got hit by waves and beach balls being thrown around, panicked, couldn't breathe, and gave up for the day.

It's discouraging at first, but soon you'll pick it all up and be fine

I can totally relate to your post. I ran a marathon in april so I knew I had good endurance but could not swim more than 25-50 m w/o being short of breath.  Practice and you will be amazed at your progress.  It is all in getting the breathing down. I also took some swim lessons to improve my form.  I now can get into a zone and swim forever...it's been about 6 weeks of going 3x's a week for about an hour each time. Now I just need to get out into OW and practice.  If I can do it...anyone can.  I now actually love doing my swim training.  I find it very relaxing.

This has been a really helpful thread for me, seeing as how I took my first training swim today (first tri is end of August) and felt like I was going to DIE. I managed to do 50X2 with brief rests in between, but after that I was d.o.n.e.

My form and breathing, I'm sure, are atrocious. Hopefully with some dedication and perhaps a lesson or two, they will get better and I will survive my open water swim.

It's heartening to know that other folks are going through the same stuff as me--that not everyone just hopped into the water and swam like a barracuda their first time in the water!

I am the poster child of someone who uses all the WRONG techniques swimming.

I trained 10 weeks for a 1000 yard OWS last year. I had the 4th slowest swim time at 29 + minutes. I used the front crawl, breast stoke, side stroke, back stroke, and just lie on your back and try not to drown stroke. I was terrible.

I have the same race coming up this weekend. I went out Saturday to swim the course. I was able to do the entire course front crawl without stopping and finished in approx. 20 minutes.

Here's what really helped me but it took many, many trips to the pool for it to sink in.
1) I had to forget I was racing. Sounds crazy, but when I envision myself racing I try to swim too fast, thus my technique is poor and my breathing is out of wack. My coach told me I would act like I was running a maraton and I was sprinting at the start. You have to go slow, get the correct technique, then you can work on speed. I was constantly out of breathe until I learned to slow everything down.

2) Balance- If you use the proper balance then you use a lot less energy to go the same distance. Make sure your back half is not dragging in the water.

3) Be smooth- The smoother you are the less energy you use. Forget about speed and concentrate on nice, efficent, smooth strokes.

I keep tell myself I am just out for a Sunday stroll (except I'm swimming). My main goal is to come out of the water fresh. As I get better I'm sure I will get faster but by having a good smooth stroke and working efficiently I have decent speed already.

This is great advice and something I am going to use at my Tri next weekend...focus on my swim and not what is going on around me.

For me, the swim is not the problem. Although I would love to go and swim in the open water before the tri, will have to work it in my schedule.

The bike is the weakest so am beginning to use a mag trainer to help me and then yes will practice on the streets.

Good advice. My first tri is also in 10weeks! I am doing the one in Camp Pendleton. You can do it hornsfan!

Advice... If your intention is to participate in triathlons for a significant time, get high quality swim instruction immediately. Like golf, very few people can learn to do it very well if they are self-taught even with all the information that's available. Swimming is all technique and the more you practice bad technique, the harder it will be break those habits later.

When I started training for my first triathlon this year, I thought I was a pretty good swimmer: next door neighbor had a pool growing up, I had scuba dived seriously for years, lots of snorkeling, VERY comfortable in the water under nearly all circumstances.  But I too could barely make it 50 yards without gasping for breath despite being a strong runner and biker.

The books all say to start your tri swim training by taking a lesson, so I managed to get myself into a private lesson with one of the top masters swimmers and coaches in the country, who lives in my area.  On the first day she had me swim a couple of laps while she videotaped me.  

We went into her office and watched the video together silently.  Then she turned to me and said "you're doing EVERYTHING wrong.  Everything."  And she was right: poor balance, head up, butt down, windmill strokes with no leverage, no hip rotation, etc etc etc.  It's remarkable that I was actually swimming at all.

But after more lessons and lots of time in the pool exclusively concentrating on my stroke, I'm feeling pretty good about my form---recently completed a 1 mile open water swim then finished in the top third of the swim portion of a sprint tri.  I'm still a poor swimmer, really, but at least I know what to work on now, and I don't have that I'm-not-going-to-make-it feeling while attempting long swims. 

So my story has a nice ending (or beginning), but for me the key was the lessons.   The videos didn't do it for me in the same way---if you can afford it or can join a group class, I highly recommend starting with that so you don't just drill your bad habits into your brain and into your muscle memory.  I basically started swimming from scratch again after 35 years and only practiced it the "new" way in all the tri training.  In my case, that seems to be working. 

Edited by Queequeg9800 2009-06-02 11:34 PM