Newbie from Glasgow

Hi Try chick I suppose the vast majority of folks on here have the same prob. 
I started tri trg 1 June 2009 hoping to do a half ironman this year but the improvement in my swimming just didnt meet my expectations. 
In the mean time I did duathlons, sportives and running races. 
The improvement is coming slow but sure I have adjusted my racing plans accordingly and am looking at a try a tri and a sprint this year and with another good winters worth of swimming a half ironman next year. 
Both the tri's are pool swims and if I feel in trouble I will do a length or so of BS.

I've just completed my first couple of sprint tris this year, and breaststroked a good proportion of them. I only do front crawl in the pool, but I found it took me some time to get comfortable in open water so I had to improvise a bit! If you are planning on doing an open water race, I would definitely recommend practicing in open water before the race.

From what I have seen, the majority of people will crawl but there will be a few at the back doing breaststroke. If you know you can complete the distance doing breaststroke I would say go for it. A good idea at the start of the race is to hang back to let the more confident swimmers get away. That way you are not being swam over, and you can breaststroke without worrying about kicking someone in the face. Also, consider starting on the far side of the first buoy so that you don't get swam over when going round it. Haven't done a pool race, so can't comment on that I'm afraid.

I think everyone gets nervous about the swim, even after they've done a couple! Just enjoy the experience, then afterwards you can think about how to improve next time. Good luck!

Thanks 4 the advice guys! I guess its the difficulty of trying 2 choose a first event I suppse!
There dont appear to be any pool events and I have tried 1 ow swim and didnt manage to complete it as it was 1 full mile... I guess I'll just have to find an event that suits and train hard!!!

Hi Try Chick
ive got my first open water in  Loch Lomond in mid july and depending on the conditions i can see myself alternating between fc and bs , hopefully get up to the loch and get some practice in as i live on the Ayrshire coast and swimming in the sea is a bit daunting yet, i think glasgow tri club have a weekly swim night at loch lomond you might want to check their website
Al

Al,
Yep I am aware of both GTC and Fusion... I live in the East of Glasgow though and dont drive - its a heck of a trek - I am looking at possible pool lessons with a club - thinking learning proper technique may help at the very least, then try and get some OW practice in from there!! Would love to attempt a mini sprint in Kelso in August!
Thanks again!!

TC