Swimming is the limiting factor, it seems

Well, I went for a 60 mile ride today. For a change, I tried hitting the flattest roads possible, and was rewarded with an average speed of 19.5mph, whereas when I do hills I'm normally high 15s-low 16 mph. Granted, I stopped halfway to fill water bottles and get a little to eat, but I am pretty happy with my speed...on level straights, with little/no headwind I can keep 22-23mph fairly easily. I contribute this to staying in aero position longer than I ever have before. I/ve found I can manage the headwind alot better than just being in the drops. My run has also been improving, but since I ran all through high school, I'm not worried.

Now to my problem: I have absolutely no swimming experience at all. I've been swimming for a few weeks now, but I have a hard time going more than 100-150 meters without switching from frreestyle to breaststroke. Is this common in sprint Triathlons? I figure at the least this will give me an opportunity to spot and make sure I'm going the right way. I also notice that some triathletes use mainly their upper-body for the swim, not so much legs. Are there any benefits to doing it this way, other than the obvious fact that you can save your legs for the bike and run?

The only thing keeping me from trying an olympic is my swim. I know I can cope with the bike and run on an olympic, and maybe even HIM. This winter I'll be concentrating more on swimming than biking and running so I can be ready for next year.

EDIT: What is a somewhat/okay 25m or 50m split for swimming? I have no idea how slow my pace is right now, so anything would help...

Edited by Beil 2009-08-16 9:22 PM