New to triathlon...not a good swimmer

I have co-worker, who was fit and motivated, who went from total non-swimmer in the fall of 2010 to where he will be doing the 70.3 at Mont-Tremblant this summer.  He was motivated and did take lessons.

Although I knew how to swim, I hadn't in many years and at the same starting point could barely swim 25m.  While not as motivated (or anywhere near as fit), I have now done workouts where my total distance has been 1900m.  Nothing major to a true swimmer, but reasonable enough.

If you can't swim, get lessons.  Otherwise get in the pool and start swimming.

I fully qualify as a rubbish swimmer who is working on it. I was a 44year old functional floater in Jan 2011, I now regularly complete 2400m in an hour in the pool.

My recipe was relatively simple, I got some lessons and joined a group who challenge me to swim 3 times a week, every week. It was all I could do to complete 25m freestyle at the start 9somewhat embarrassing, but I kept at it) and with some help and hard work, it is coming along. I will add that I am not a 1:40 per 100 swimmer,.... yet more like a 2.25... but I know that 1.40 is the target for me and so the work continues.

Go to swimsmooth.com a download the swimmer, I think about his stroke when swimming. Get some lessons and get comfortable in the pool. Remember that we all had to start somewhere and we just started later!

I started triathlons last season and could barely get in 1 length w/o stopping the first day i started. After going to the pool 3 to 4 times a week for 3 months or so I did my first sprint triathlon and felt pretty good. I'm still working on it, you just have to realize its going to be a process like every other discipline. I haven't taken any classes but am sure they help a lot. Just keep working on it and you'll be swimming miles in no time. Also, once you've gained some confidence, definitely practice in open water with some training partners to get a feel for what a race will be like.

good luck!

You should PM Juniperjen.  She went from being a panicked non-swimmer to taking lessons and is now training for her first ironman.  She can probably provide some good advice.

Thanks for the advice.  I'll be hitting a pool shortly and looking for swim instructors in the Markham/Richmond Hill area.  If you know of any in those areas please let me know.

Thank you,

Alex

I was like everyone else, hadn't swam in like 10 years, couldn't do 100m frontcrawl without stopping.  Just took it slow and built my endurance, now I can do 1 mile relatively slowly, but since my endurance is good enough to go for 40min. - 1 hour I signed up for a Masters swim course in my area, 2 hours a week with coaching, hope this will be motivation and improve my stroke!

Get used to the water again, and then get lessons!

Go to your local swimming pool and see if they offer a masters program, it's a group swim with coaching, i've heard it's a great and affordable way to improve.

Good luck, I think like 50% of triathletes have been in your boat!

Jon bovi - 2012-04-04 8:52 AM I'm not a swimmer. I think I can last about three minutes in the water before I would drown. I've wanted to take lessons for years but just never do

I'm in the exact same boat.  Three minutes??  I'd be lucky to last 1.  That's the reason i'm doing duathlons for now.

I do have plans on learning how to swim and once I can float/tread water then i'll join a masters group.

x2.

I never took a lesson in my life and I paid a high price for pushing too hard with a poor technique. My right shoulder reminds me about it every time I go to the pool. You will get faster in less time if you take lessons plus you will decrease the chances of getting injured.

I took a short swimming course at UVic in 1984 swam a km then never swam again.  Fast forward to Nov 22, 2011 (and 61 yrs of age) and I started a swimming course - 10 sessions with the hope of just getting started again.  It was a great course and then they invited me to join an informal group supervised by a lifeguard and put through the paces 3 days a week.  I started with them on Jan 2nd and have been going consistently.  I'm over 3000m a week and steadily improving.

If you're just comfortable in the water you'll love it.

Swimming is different from running and cycling in that technique is more critical.  When I went to the pool at first there were people swimming lengths but have never taken a lesson and now I can see what they're doing wrong.  They are limiting their ability by not learning the technique.  I'm looking forward to the day I hit 2km in a swim.

Today I just added a bit of a glide to my stroke and I managed to swim lengths in 22/23 strokes.  I was taking 32 strokes when I first started.

Best of luck in your efforts to become a better swimmer. It seems to be the area most people struggle with. Luckily there are plenty of resources out there to assist. Swimsmooth has an excellent website. Total Immersion has well regarded program for beginners, and some samples of what/how they teach are available on the net.

I'm not much of a swimmer myself so I'm not pretending to speak from authority, but it sounds like tri swimming is considered different from regular swimming since the focus on participation of the legs is reduced for folks who will be doing a bike and run segment immediately following. I mention it because it makes THIS tri swimming group out of Stouffville just north of you sound like an even better idea I've been tempted to try out myself.

Welcome to the addiction of triathlons. Have fun.

My situation sounds similar. I was at UVic from 1975-80 and got into the habit of swimming in the late night swim at the Oak Bay pool to relax after studying. After leaving UVic I didn't swim at all for 20 years until I started doing triathlons.

Small world eh.  I used to take my kids to swim at Oak Bay.  Good times.

Awww - thanks, Marcia!

It's true - i was a runner and decided that I wanted to give tri's a shot but i was complete non-swimmer. I could hang out happily in the shallow end and dog paddle a little.  If you're a 'functional floater' you're in better shape than i was.  It took me a long time but I did build up with pool swimming and started out with my first tri's as mini-sprints or Try-a-tri distance and it was still difficult.

1. Lessons - i took run of the mill lessons from the city.  I took those until I had learned the basics of the strokes and felt comfortable in the deep end and with some rudimentary diving. Eventually, the lifeguards weren't precise enough on stroke mechanics and good form so i moved on.

2. Consistency in the pool.  I picked up the beginner swim plan on this site - the three month one by gsmacleod - and used that and got my butt in the pool three days a week.  This helped me build up my form and endurance.

3. Open water practice - this was key as i was transitioning to actual racing.  My first try-a-tri was a panic riddled 11 minutes of flailing.  I made it but i was a wreck.  After that I went out pretty much every weekend with my husband who is also a triathlete (but there are definitely others if you don't have someone in your house to go out with).  And i bought a wetsuit.  I just did. It's a lot money but you can rent them pretty cheaply from a few place but the consistent practice outdoors in the open water was the only thing that seems to have really calmed the panic. My stroke was fine but I tell you that swimming every weekend at Cherry Beach in Toronto really really taught me a lot about dealing with different water conditions and it toughened me up.  If i could swim in lake ontario every weekend, i could do these tri things in quieter lakes.

So, in 2010 after about two years of swimming i finished my first HIM swimming freestyle the whole thing.  I was sooooooo happy and I think exiting the swim calm and happy is one of my proudest accomplishments. 

that's just my story but that's how i got here.  Let me know if you have any questions.

I thank you for the advice.  I believe the old cliche "practice makes perfect" needs to be applied to the swim portion.  I'm currently just a floater, I still get panic attacks in the deep end but I'm working on it.  I've signed up for lessons ($60.00 per hour ).  Was the wet suit helpful?  Were the lessons helpful?

Thanks,

Alex

It truly is.  All about getting in that pool over and over and over again.  And even when you can swim, it has to be maintained or improved!

The wetsuit was more of a 'security blanket' for open water swimming - it provides extra bouyancy and warmth - but it's not something you would really need to worry about until you're starting to swim outside and considering a race.  Some people never get used to the tightness of a wetsuit and it's own thing to learn how to get into one and not have it eat your neck (bodyglide is your friend)

The lessons were very helpful, especially at the beginning. I just took the adult lessons from the city as a group class so there was up to 6 other people - it was instructed by lifeguards who knew the basics of most the strokes and could teach other water skills like diving and treading.  I didn't really know the mechanics of any of the strokes and they helped to put it all together in a way that got me swimming.  After a while, they didn't know much about stroke improvement but i was comfortable enough to move on from there. I think i took 4 rounds - 4-8 weeks for each session (in the summer it was only 4 weeks of 2x a week lessons, and then once a week for 8 weeks).   If you're taking private lessons you may be able to learn more technical aspects over time but it all starts with the basics.

Best of luck with the lessons and let us know how it goes.

Hey Alex

$60/hr sounds much too expensive. I suggest that you join a YMCA in your area and get into an Adult Learn to Swim program, which should be free or close to it.

One month before any triathlon racing, try to swim once a week in open water. Swimming with some friends or a friend in a boat beside you in a shallow lake would be best. Wilcox Lake which is North of Stouffville Road and on Bayview Ave would be perfect for you

Hey Alex

Congrats on taking steps to learning how to swim.  People who have responded provided some good feedback.  Take their advice to get to that next level.

I personally could NOT swim at all a few years ago.  I am muscular and I would sink like a stone.  Swimming 1 length was impossible.  I told myself to focus on two things:

1)  Relaxing my mind and body - I find that when I tense up, I use too much energy to perform a front crawl plus there are too many situations in the water which will create panic so having a calm and focused mind was super important for me.

2)  Breathing - As mentioned, executing 1 length was a challenge.  I started alternating by doing a 1 length free style swim then doing the other length by using the breast stroke.  This made up my lap.  The breast stroke allowed me to come up for air a lot easier than free style.  This built my endurance.  I later started doing continuous free styles without haveing to inject the breast stroke

It took me a year of this to prep for my 1st "give-it-a-try".  It was tough but rewarding.  I can now swim 3km open water straight at a decent pace.  I am part of the Kelso Open Water Swim Club.  My swim is still my weakest area and I finish near last in my age group but sometimes some out in top 10 in the run.

You've got a coach...great stuff!  Some have mentioned downloading the swim smooth app...I agree.  Get some open water swims in after you have established a nice base.  Then start to incorporate swim drills.  Enjoy the process and you'll soon be giving another newbie advice on how to start swimming!!  :-)

I swim with other triathlete's at York U!  It's a fun and relaxing atmosphere!

Henry