Not your typical swimming/breathing question, I promise

YOU ARE NOT A FREAk. A lot of people get gas pains after long sessions. Myself included.

I am interested to see the response...

Obviously, stopping at the porta-john adds to your transition times...

You are swallowing air (as you've diagnosed already). How "controlled" are your breathing actions? You should be inhaling and exhaling with smooth, long, actions. (Obviously, breathing in will be somewhat shorter than breathing out.) Can you try burping every few minutes? (It may be that you're just ready to use the bathroom at that time.)

Burping would probably help, but it's weird in that I don't even feel this sensation of air buildup until I'm finished. When I'm in the water swimming, I'm fine, but when I get out of the water is when it hits me.

I do have a couple theories as to why it's happening...

1) I'm breathing in too much air. When I turn to inhale I'm taking a big gulp of air and it's more than I need and some might be getting left behind (in my gut).

2) I'm restricting myself too much when I exhale (i.e. blowing hard, but kind of pursing my lips to control how fast the air goes out... if that makes any sense). The excess force is pushing air down into my gut.

3) I read somewhere that it's beneficial to give a big exhale just before your face/mouth break the surface before the inhale. The idea is that it forces everything out of the lungs and creates a slight vacuum in the lungs, making it easier to inhale.... I think that was the jist of it anyway. Not sure how this would contribute to the problem though.

Beyond that, I don't really have any ideas. #2 seems to be the most likely suspect, but I'm not sure. I tried exhaling in a more relaxed, less restictive way this morning, but found myself getting tired more easily for some reason... of course, it was also during the first 4-5 laps when everything feels awful before I'm really warmed up.

I can't offer much help as to why it is happening but I would guess that you are not feeling it until you get out of the water simply because of gravity. In the water, especially being horizontal, the pressure does not build up in a way that you would feel it until you are back on dry land and vertical. That seems to make sense to me but I could just be making it all up, who knows!

Yeah, that's my theory as well... of course, all that extra air probably helps keep me balanced! haha

To add to the discussion (or lack thereof)... from my swimming coach:

"You are swallowing air - gulping it and it's going into your stomach. Remember that breathing in should be a result of the vaccum that was created when you exhaled and not a muscular effort - imagine laying on your back and breathing easily (no effort), now imagine you are the "big bad wolf" and huff and puff to get the spare ribs dinner inside the door (lot's of effort and a potential for gasping)."

So, it sounds like I just need to relax and make sure my inhale isn't too big (or forced).

I swallowed air when I first started too. Make sure you're stroking slowly enough and rolling over far enough that you have time to inhale without gulping. To stroke more slowly, without sinking, you may have to work more on your balance and form. It's all inter-related. Going faster keeps you higher in the water for easier breathing but takes more air to sustain, especially with weaker form. You have to find the balance that works for you.

You may be able to improve your inhale power by consciously using your stomach/ab muscles to pull your diaphragm down as you breath in. In yoga they call it breathing into your stomach, though they don't mean that literally.

Have you tried NOT doing bilateral breathing? It might be that you are actually holding your breath through more of that sequence than you realize.

I had this exact same problem. After a long swim, I would have to lay down for up to 30 min until I passed enough gas to relieve the problem. The problem resolved after I got better balanced thus not having to work as hard to get a breath. It also helped to only concentrate on the exhale. I would start exhaling as soon as my face entered the water and then just let the inhale happen as naturally as possible. I breathe every other stroke.

It will still happen when my schedule is off and I have to eat or pass out before I go swimming. My protien shake was the worse culprit. If I go on an empty stomach, it never happens anymore.

Good Luck

Take a head-first dive down to the bottom of the deep end and you can pass the air more easily.

I've been swimming for a year now, and had the exact same problem as you.
It realy got me messed up on the bike for my first (and last till now) olympic. I couldn't drink anything.
After a year, I've lengthened my swimming training from 30 minutes to one hour and although I still have the problem, it is getting much better. I think I am also more and more relaxed during my swimming, so as suggested, this could be the trick. I used to breath out and in while my head was out of the water. Now as you do, I exhale in the water and just breath in when out.

If it's still comming from the breathing, I'll try working on this to see if I can completly solve this issue.

Please post again if you also get this sorted out

Good luck !

Just going to agreee that it sounds like you need to relax more whe you breathe in and out.

Also, any sort of cardio activity can "activate" the bowels. I know there have been a lot of post-run and post-bike workouts where I had to find a potty quick!