bad swimmer

You'll definitely want to spend more time in the pool! How terrible are you? I started only recently and would still classify myself as a poor swimmer.  My first go at swimming had me winded at 40 to 80 yd. I've made great progress (up to 400 & 500 yd without resting), but if I had 1000 yd or more at the start of a race, I'd be in trouble.

I think you'll find that without improving your swimming, you'll be completely worn out by the time you get to the bike and running portions. Especially if your looking at olympic, half-iron, or iron man distances.

I'd also recommend at least getting a swim coach to evaluate your stroke. Early on, you'll find yourself able to improve with a bit of help and spending alot may not be worth it yet.

You might need to adjust the training plans to fit your needs.  If the bike and the run are too easy for you, find a training plan that has the right level for those two portions, and then work on your swimming separately.

If the training plan you find has you running and cycling at a level that is comfortable-to-challenging, then that's a good place to start.  If the swim workouts are impossible based on your level, then do a different swim workout.

But don't skip the swim training.  Even just getting in the pool on a regular basis and just plain swimming is a great way to get better at swimming. 

http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/e/x/exk7/PreviousSwimWorkouts.html

At the bottom is the zero to 1650 plan, which I'm doing again(lost my swim base due to lack of a pool)

You may also want to look into the total immersion book or dvd.

My daughter's swimming instructor is also a swimming coach and she performed and evaluation and gave me some good starting tips and form analysis free-- the best kind! Once I plateau, I'm willing to get additional help. Though I'd put that idea out for you too.

When I started I found that I could not really do the swim portion of my plan well, so I added another day of swimming in the week, and used the beginner swim plan here on BT.  It involved drills as well as endurance.  I found that focusing on the drills made things go a great deal better, and I slowly built up endurance/distance.  I am still not FAST but swimming is way better now. 

UP your swimming.  

Want to improve enough to do a HIM in a year?  Get a coach.  The coach will help out a ton more than just trying to figure it out on your own. (I know... physician heal thyself!)

Peace,

Brian