Learn How to Swim Training Group (Page 14)

Forgot to mention, about every third breath I take in some water.  Not much, but if you expect it, it's not so shocking.  And while it's maybe 1/4 of your mouth's capacity, there's still some air in there.  So it's kinda tricky, but you can let the water settle to the bottom of your mouth and still get the air in.  Then when you exhale, you also expel the water.

Thanks again for the input, I appreciate it although right now I'm "swimming" in a bit of too much information. (OK, that was a bad joke...)

Anyway, I did try the pull-buoy trick and I did actually get in a full 25 with ~A LOT~ less effort than normal. It seems that maybe I'm just kicking waaaayyy too much. I know it uses a lot of energy and also causes drag behind you.

So I thought I might spend a few nights using the buoy so I can focus on front body timing.. just getting the arms and breathing into a predictable rhythm.

Panicking... Yes! I am, absolutely. I notice that when I get to the drop off in the pool I get very anxious and I start flailing a bit. Everything tightens and my stroke turns into more of a churn while I scramble those last few yards. I swim like a dolphin down there in the shallow, but my mind grips me with an iron fist when I get out there in the deep. It's very unnerving.

Any luck?

Signed up for my first 'official' triathlon on July 16th, in Bloomington, IL.  Took my bike in for new tires and a tune up.  Woot!

Boy that all sounds so very familiar.  I started taking lessons in April with zero prior swimming experience.  I had a bad experience as a child and never got in the water again.  Learning to swim as an adult is difficult, but very rewarding.  I still struggle with my freestyle, but when I get it right it really becomes fun.  I used to joke with my instructor that the pool level was lowered an inch after I got out because I swallowed that much.    I've finally gotten through the wall and am building my endurance.  The last 3 days I've done 400 yrds which I couldn't have imagined just a couple weeks ago.  

Update after my first month of Masters swim class:

I swam 2100 yards on Friday for the last class of the session followed by a 3 mile run brick!  The coach is one of the high school swim coaches, and has been so helpful with my form and breathing.  I'm still the slowest person in the class, but I keep going MWF at 5:00 am.  My first tri is a 300 yard pool swim, so I timed my first 300 yards on Friday, and it was 7.22 in a 25 yard pool . . . yes, very slow, but it's getting better. The actual tri will be in a 50 yard outdoor pool.  I have never swam in a 50 yard pool.  Will I be able to knock of some precious seconds by having less turns and lanes to go down?

I signed up for another month of Masters swim class!

Also, I was seriously struggling with breathing when I began because coach told me I was holding my breath.  To help, I tried humming in the water after I breath to force all the air out, and it works really well.  Sounds very strange, I know, but humming forces all the air out through your nose, and you can make sure you empty your lungs every time before each breath. Also, I tried bilateral breathing my first class, and it was a TOTAL MESS!  Coach said, you're better on your left . . . stick to that.  So I breathe on the left, hummmmmmmm, left, hummmmmmmm, left, hummmmmmm.  It's a good thing no one can hear what's going on in the water besides me, or else they'd get a pretty good laugh.  My friend swims with me, and we always share a lane.  She always laughs when I tell her about my humming.  Eh, whatever works, right?

You are doing great! And I promise, you are not the only one that uses the humming trick to learn to exhale in the water! You will probably find that your 50 meter time is actually a bit slower at first since you will tire without that rest at 25 yards. Don't be discouraged if you find it harder than a 25 yard pool. It IS harder, so try to swim in the race pool once or twice befor the race so you know what to expect.

I am currently training for a sprint triathlon. It's nice because the distances are super short, 250 m swim, 10 mile bike and 2.5 mile run. It's made speficially for beginners which is why i signed up. I'm a runner and am comfortable on the bike but CANNOT SWIM!!

So i'm excited about this group and this training plan. I don't really even know what i'm doing but I thought I'd give it a shot!

Wendi

Hi Wendi! Let us know how the swims are doing! We love to keep up with people as they work through the plan!

I'm in week two of the "How to Swim" program -- for the warm up swims, does it matter what stroke we use? Should I be trying to develop endurance with freestyle during warm up or is it okay to mix the strokes up? For instance, if the warm up says 200 yards, I'll do 50 breast, 50 back, 50 swim, and 50 breast.

Oh, and did some heavy duty kicking lengths today and my hip flexors are screaming!

Never had any formal training or even a lot of swimming until this year.  Before I started I watched a few TI videos, and had a private coaching session to get the basics.

Some of the things I was told I was I had a great natural rotation, but dragged my feet.  So I've been working on trying to get into a better position.  I've recently gone from swimming 25's to 50s, but haven't been able to work on increasing my endurance enough to swim 100's.  When I've tried to do 100's by the time I finish I'm completely out of breath, even when I try to swim easy.  Its actually pretty difficult for me to swim easy because I always feel like I'm sinking.  For a while after my coaching session I felt like I improved a bit, but lately though I feel like I've hit a wall with my swim and I think I've been getting slower and my technique has gotten worse.

So I figure I'll "start over" and concentrate more on my technique and drills.

So Hi!

Great question! Yes, you should be working on endurance with your freestyle stroke, so perhaps save the other strokes for the cool down. In the end, it's not a big deal if your warm up is mixed strokes, but for the sake of becoming a better triathlon swimmer, it will serve you better to stick to freestyle for now.

You are not alone! It is very, very common for new swimmers to not be able to slow down without sinking, so they blast through the water to stay afloat but end up not being able to swim more than 25-50 yards from exhaustion. It's ok to get slower as you learn to swim properly, so don't be too concerned with your pace right now and instead focus on developing a good feel for the water. The speed will come back once you get that feel for the water and improve your form.

@TTMA Thanks, that does make me feel better that I'm not alone on the sinking.

Did workout #2 today and got my strokes down to about 18 per length, but I noticed one lengths where I was more tired my stroke count went back up to about 24.  I'm assuming this is probably normal in new swimmers as well?

I think it was from me thinking that if I took more strokes I could get across the pool faster and get to rest, but I know in OW I won't have that option.

Just came back from two weeks of travel, where I really couldn't swim much.  I did, however, grab a 400 yard open water swim in Dale Hollow Lake, near my TN house.  I didn't panic (which was my goal) and after I returned to the boat, I just kind've hung around in the water, treading lightly for about 20 minutes.  Man, being able to do that really boosts your confidence about open water, I think.

My first tri is Saturday (Lake Evergreen Tri near Bloomington, IL).  I'm pretty excited....

Yeah, when we get tired the stroke becomes much less efficient, so you end up doing a lot more work for the same amount of forward progress. You get across the pool faster by learning to farther with each stroke, and that takes technique and time in the water to develop a powerful and efficient pull.

Isn't it FUN to see open water as a playground instead of a battleground? Good luck this weekend!

First of all, congrats on completing your first triathlon! You are not alone in having a weak swim compared to the other disciplines. I am glad you found this learn to swim program since it will help you focus your workouts a bit more and make sure you are in better shape for your next race.

I also completed my first on Saturday.  Tough.  Very tough.

I though going in that the bike portion was "sprint" distance of 12-13 miles, but it was actually 25.

I was actually very confident of my swim ability going into what (I thought) was a short 500 yard swim.  I have been swimming a mile, non-stop, every day before work, and have even done 2 miles non-stop.  I figured 500 was a breeze.  Ooooops.   It all changes in open water, with 50 other people slashing around you.

I panicked after the turn, around 300 yards into the swim.  Don't know why.   I know I went out too fast (I'm a very slow swimmer).  I had to stop at a kayak to re-orient myself and "get it together."  It was a pure mental lapse, I think, because this morning I swam a mile before work and got out of the pool ready to do more.  Saturday I crawled out of the lake and spent 4 minutes in the transition area breathing hard.

I realize now that I'm a long way from ready for Chicago, where there will be 20,000 people, not 600.

I am trying to learn how to flip turn. I started today practicing somersaults, and I became extremely dizzy and nauseated. I can't imagine flipping at the wall 8 times in a 400m pool swim. Help! What will help me? ear plugs? closing my eyes?

The swimming is going well, which is why I think I'm ready to try proper turning techniques.

Open water is a different beast. I was fortunate enough to be able to practice OWS a few times before my first tri. I prefer them because there is no wall to keep stopping at, but I have to admit, I am thankful my next tri is a pool swim. There is a big mental block to open water. Your next one will be better, I'm sure. You know what to expect now.

In between doing day 2 & 3 of week 1, I had my first 2 OWS.  The first I'd classify as OK.  I accomplished what I wanted and got some experience in.  The 2nd swim was much better.  I did about 600 meters total only stopping to rest a couple times which was infinitely better than the first try.  I still need to work on my sighting but I'm ok with that. 

Now day 3 is where I am actually feeling pretty good about myself.  I did the workout exactly as planned.  It was tough and at times I was pretty tired but I was able to push through it and finish it without too much impact on my form (well as much as I can tell )  It almost felt like when I was doing the C25K program.  It was tough but I was able to push through it and get it done.

Hopefully I can continue to see improvements like this.  Thanks!

Glad to hear it! You are doing great.

It gets better with practice, I promise! It helps so much to practice in open water but if you can't do that, you at least will gain experience with racing. You now know that you should not go out hard, that you are capable of the distance, and that you need to prepare to stay calm, controlled, and relaxed while racing in open water. You ARE making progress!