General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Beginner Swimmers - Keep the Faith Rss Feed  
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2015-01-12 2:08 PM

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St Catharines, Ontario
Subject: Beginner Swimmers - Keep the Faith
A shout out to all the guys and gals who are starting some swim training this year.

Its can be a tough start. I started my swim training in earnest 18 months ago and struggled to pound out 25m of desperate front crawl. Today I decided to ditch my drills and swam a clean mile. Just seeing how I felt at Olympic distance. I finished the pool mile in dead on 35 minutes. With no break at all. And felt there was still something in the tank. Even after some stationary bike on Saturday and a three mile run Sunday.

My pool was busy this lunchtime and so a number of times I got a face full of water during my stroke and managed to get a few bumps from other swimmers as well as dragging up the lane rope for a while. All of this I counted a good tri training :-) Stuff like that would have phased me badly a year ago and only though getting to the pool regularly has the confidence increased.

For a good while I have been at the pool twice a week. Which is not much compared to others but the consistency, such as it is, is really paying off.

So newbie swimmers remember:

-Water confidence comes with time in the pool
-Breathing gets much easier
-Management of bad breaths and bumps start to come naturally
-Distances you used to fear become regular workouts


2015-01-12 2:16 PM
in reply to: badmo77a

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Master
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Toronto
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Subject: RE: Beginner Swimmers - Keep the Faith

Originally posted by badmo77a A shout out to all the guys and gals who are starting some swim training this year. Its can be a tough start. I started my swim training in earnest 18 months ago and struggled to pound out 25m of desperate front crawl. Today I decided to ditch my drills and swam a clean mile. Just seeing how I felt at Olympic distance. I finished the pool mile in dead on 35 minutes. With no break at all. And felt there was still something in the tank. Even after some stationary bike on Saturday and a three mile run Sunday. My pool was busy this lunchtime and so a number of times I got a face full of water during my stroke and managed to get a few bumps from other swimmers as well as dragging up the lane rope for a while. All of this I counted a good tri training :-) Stuff like that would have phased me badly a year ago and only though getting to the pool regularly has the confidence increased. For a good while I have been at the pool twice a week. Which is not much compared to others but the consistency, such as it is, is really paying off. So newbie swimmers remember: -Water confidence comes with time in the pool -Breathing gets much easier -Management of bad breaths and bumps start to come naturally -Distances you used to fear become regular workouts

x2 - it is amazing! Congrats to you! It is an awesome feeling! 

It is all about keeping at it.  And, to add to your list there is a funny thing that is hard to explain but it's about relaxing ... when i learned to relax and not fight so much breathing and all of swimming got easier! 

(I am similar, except i fully learned to swim as an adult.  The day I did the full Ironman in 2012 I nearly cried in the change tent after the swim. I had made it through the ful-ironman, mass-start swim. I was so calm and came exactly where my training predicted I would. I couldn't believe it and i was so proud of myself.  There were times that I didn't know if I would really be able to do it. Despite hours in the pool and lake.  And I did.  It didn't come easy but was worth all of the effort

2015-01-12 6:41 PM
in reply to: badmo77a

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Miami
Subject: RE: Beginner Swimmers - Keep the Faith
I second the fact that you need to relax and stop fighting the water. I am a very green beginner and I have only done one sprint while breast stroking and hyperventilating. When I just relaxed and "swam slow" I could finally breathe and swim more than fifty yards without gasping for air. I am trying to swim 3-4 times a week now. Sometimes I feel like an "old pro" in the pool and other times I feel like I have never swam before. Just stick with it. Some swim sessions make me what to be a duathlete and others make me want to sign up for a 70.3. Go figure.
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