70.3 augusta

I think it's NOT been wetsuit legal........ONCE.

Buy a wetsuit.

sleeved or sleeveless

That's your preference......but, you won't need sleeves @ Augusta. You'll be faster with them......but, they're not necessary to keep you warm.

thanks nc, greatly appreciate the info. on a side note. you said on another thread there was a time you struggled to swim 200 yds, how did you beat that obstacle

I realized a few things:

1. I needed to swim more. 3X/wk for an hour is a minimum. I went 4X/wk when I was struggling.
2. You're gonna be uncomfortable in the water every single workout.....if you're doing it right. What I mean is - you'll need to tax your system to make gains. Someone's going to disagree with this. So be it. IMO, you're not going to make swimming gains with the mindset that everything is slow and smooth. In the very beginning, yes...you need to relax. After that, you need to get uncomfortable every time.
3. Plenty will argue with this advice, too. So be it. I swam with a pull buoy for a long time, starting out. Sometimes I'd swim my whole workout with it. I was so bad, it was the only way I could do the workouts. Slowly, I weaned off the PB. I still wear CORE shorts a lot. Sue me. I did an IM in Oct. I don't have anything to prove to anyone.

Good luck.

thanks nc. i needed to hear that.
I AM OFFICIALLY IN AUGUSTA 70.3.
i did a 100 mile ride and full marathon in the last 3 mos. doesnt translate to 10 mos from now i know, but i know i can do those events. the swim has be mentally beat before i even start. my swims are horrible. with that said i did not train to swim for either of my tris last year, both .65 swims and finished them. not fast. i have to speed up or will get a dnf before i get to the events i can succeed in.
i hope yall dont mind me picking your brains for every bit of info i can get. i will try not to get annoying.

Congratulations. Good luck in your race.

thanks guys. there is no indoor pools within 40 miles of me, at least lap pools, and i cannot find a swim coach other than the teach kids to swim coach types.there has to be someone out there and im still searching for a coach. i can float for 45 minutes, lol. and if i can float it that fast i will finish. however, i cant imagine getting it done in 45 minutes. it took me 40 to get done with my .65. yes i know thats horrible. i hate the water an did not train for that one.
im gonna swim in the local lake public swim area when it warms up, but that will be may next year. hope to find a coach and get a solid form built somewhere indoors in a mos or two then transition to the local outdoor then.
so seriously, everyone says you can float it and make the cut off, but realistically how long does it take.
if anyone knows of a coach in middle missouri let me know

You can go out to the IM Augusta website and look at past results to get an idea what everyone swims in your age group.

Re: swimming instruction: David Luscan operates the Finding Freestyle website. That and Swim Smooth might be good places to start. I would get a camera that you can use to shoot above and underwater views of your stroke. That would be helpful if you go the online coaching route...you can even post the video here and get some feedback.

Get some stretch cords (look up Shelia Taormina’s videos on stretch cord exercises) to give yourself some dry land work when you can’t get to the pool.

thanks, i will take a look at those sites. appreciate it