Swimming is tough! (Page 2)

x1000

That post by Big Fuzzy Doug was my transition point from struggling with 1 pool length back in June to swimming 1/2 mile nonstop with no problems.  I discovered the Total Immersion (TI) method, read the TI book Triathlon Swimming Made Easy, watched TI DVDs, and just finished a set of private lessons with a TI instructor, and spent 3 sessions a week in the pool.

Swimming is now fun, and I look forward to a lifetime of improvement.

Struggling to swim 750 meters and then 2 months later swimming 2.4 miles in 1 hour and 20 minutes? Two comments. First: I need to see your blood work :-).  Second you should write an article and see if they will publish it on this website. A terrific success story.

 I must have been dimwitted growing up. I t took me a lot longer to learn to swim 2.6 miles non-stop. A 2 day course and 3 months of practice? These kind of stories blow me away. I think a career as a swim coach for triathletes is a dead end for those considering it. I think it's time to make the swim harder. How about throwing in some sharks? It takes more than a 2 day clinic and 3 months of practice to swim 2.6 miles in shark infested waters, although you may never live long enough to get the full 3 months of training in.

As everyone else mentioned, just stick with it.  When I started to swim in Dec. of '05 to prepare myself for a June HIM I could barely do consistant laps without getting winded.  I was not at all comfortable in the water.

The next summer I finished my HIM swim (it was ugly, but I finished) and have only gotten more confident since.

Today I set a 1,000 yard TT personal record in a time that when I started 2-3/4 years ago I would never have thought possible from me.

Actually I believe I was not "fit enough".  When you run you can get as much oxygen as you want.  When you swim, the amount of oxygen you can get is limited.  I had to train my lungs and body to operate differently and utilize the amount of oxygen intake differently.  Apparently once you develop this "swim fitness" it doesn't leave you as people who have not swam in many years can return to swimming.  I am guessing the body learns and it never forgets, and the "swim fitness" returns rather quickly.  So running fitness and swim fitness are entirely independent of one another.  Whereas I was fit enough to run 26.2 straigt miles at an 8:04 pace, I was not fit enough to swim further than 50 yards without stopping each time. 

x2... I had the same fantasy that my running endurance and body building would easily translate to fast swim times. Boy, was I wrong.

With good form and technique, this is not an issue.  You can inhale the same amount of air when taking a breath while swimming that you do while inhaling on the run.  The reason it seems like "swim fitness" sticks with you, even if you lay out for a while is because you still remember how to swim, and thus, you can still swim longer. 

I just can't stress enough how important a lesson or two is two brand new swimmers.  It will knock down a major wall.  These swimming breakthroughs that people get are not because they have gained some sort of aquatic fitness, it's because their form has now allowed them to use the fitness they already have.

If you plug away at the swimming you will improve.  Never fear just work hard.

For me... it is the running.  eek.