Getting my head around swimming

If you wrecked on your bike, would you not get right back on and ride again??

2 years ago, I wrecked on my mountain bike, broke my arm, cracked my cheek, stiches to the face, etc.  What did I do?  Figured mountain biking was too dangerous so bought a Tri bike so I could go really fast!

I say, jump back in the water, you will get over it pretty quickly.

Ok, some clarification of my original post:

First (and only) triathlon was in 2006, and it was just a teeny weenie mini-sprint, at Warwick in England. I came back to NZ in 2007 and started working in the town where IMNZ is held. So, there was a club there that specialised in helping people train for Ironman, going through the stages, with the IM as a one-year goal. I'd always wanted to do it, so I joined this group, engaged the services of a coach and got stuck in. Everything was going really well, i.e. training was on schedule, squad swimming twice a week and another swim session myself, running up to 2.5 hours on long runs, cycling up to 3 hours etc on long rides, bricks up to 1.5 hours, so well on the way. The plan was to do a series of smaller tris, spread out across the year.

All good up to September, when I started dreading the swim sessions. The drill with the other person swimming up my back was in early October, by which time I'd already been trying to give myself excuses not to go swimming for about 3 weeks. But, I'd also just been diagnosed with the mighty ear infection, which took weeks to sort out. So, I was ordered out of the pool when the initial round of treatment didn't work, and from then I found it really hard to go back into the pool.

I actually can't tell you if it's fear or motivation that's the issue here, which sounds utterly ridiculous. Consciously, I'm not afraid of the water at all, never have been, and had previously felt that swimming would be my strongest discipline.

But, the best advice is what nearly all of you have said: I need to shut up, stop whining and get in the pool!

I'll just do it and stop being such a big baby for nothing. It's quite pathetic actually and it's high time I got over it!

Thanks to all for brilliant advice and the proverbial slap around the ear that I needed!

I started working with a Master's style class 3 years ago.  I am still among the slowest.  However, in the past 3 years I have gone from a step above put your face in and blow bubbles to having a relatively pretty stroke that's slow.  I have also managed to learn a passable (and pitifully slow) butterfly and breast stroke.  Yes, it's frustating nd embarrassing to see people who came into the lass after me make more progress in speed than I have.  But, I know one day all my swim workouts will pay off with some speed as well as good form.

Time to HTFU and go to the pool.  The only way to get better is to swim.

Yep, Queen Zip, some cement pills are definitely in order for me.

My swim stroke is ok, I had the coach refine my technique a bit, but I hadn't really ever been coached in a pool before, so that was to be expected. The weird thing about the whole issue is that my swimming has always been ok, so the dread stuff must have come from somewhere else.

But, as you and others have said, the only way to sort it out is just to sort it out.

I'll be fine, I'm just looking for excuses.