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

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?

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?

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 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?

My problem is I can only swim about 30-40 meters without having to rest. What is the best way to improve this? I need to get from 40 to 750 meters in 6 months.

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 downloaded a 20 week program, obviously I would not want to jump in the swimming volume since the plan assumes I have already been swimming. Can you suggest an alternative?

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.

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 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?

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?

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?

It seems that if I swim that slow I begin to sink and I have to either kick or pull harder to compensate while my heart-rate starts going up. I find myself kicking too hard trying to keep afloat.

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?

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.