Going to give Tri a go - cyclist/runner with sinky legs syndrome

Hi all,

Firstly, I love this website/forum - there is an absolute ton of information here, and lots of great people willing to offer helpful advice from what I've seen lurking the past week.

I suspect there are hundred of people like me on this forum - I got into cycling a few years ago as a way of exercising after losing some weight (3 stone / 19kg). Before that, I'd been quite athletic in school, and had an active career but my fitness was woeful (running for a bus once almost made me sick) and my weight just kept going up and up.

It was actually just messing around with an unwanted step-meter that got me thinking about losing weight and getting fit again. Found myfitnesspal app, tracked my calorie intake, and cut out the snacks I always ate as well as doing 3 walks a day and some light cycling on a weekend (10-20 miles). Suddenly the weight just fell off (2 lbs a week roughly) and the whole thing just snowballed. The weight kept dropping, and as I got more confident on the bike, I bought a road bike and joined a local cycling club.

This was the turning point in my lifestyle. More and more mileage with a great set of cycling friends, now the fitness was coming on really well. And I've kinda just kept it going from there. Started running last year and have done a few 10-12 mile local off-road races and a few long runs in training too.

I guess Tri is the next challenge, I can't swim well at all really. Maybe 50m front crawl and I'm struggling to breathe. My legs sink without trace (quite lean, 177cm/5'9" and 70kg/154 lbs). I've started going to adult improvers swimming classes - and the coach (a lady who also does Tri) is already improving me after 1 lesson! She obviously has a very good eye for what I'm doing wrong.

Right now, I have some questions although I think these may be answered by local race organisers.

1. There's no way I'll be able to 400m (super sprint, pool only for now) non-stop just yet. Should I wait until I can do this, or should I just get stuck in to racing and do my best?

2. Does swimming fitness buidl the same way cycling and running fitness does? i.e. is it just a case of getting in there and doing the miles? I realise I have to work on technique (a lot) but did you guys starting from zero swimming see gains just from regular pool time?

Thanks guys!

Joe