Soldato
I've been swimming regularly for a year now and, although the notion of simply swimming up and down in a lane initially bored me to tears, in fact it's actually really enjoyable and beneficial. So I'm putting up a thread to share my experience, hopefully others will contribute and maybe some forum members will decide to get their trunks out from the back of that drawer and take a dip.
In the depths of winter last year I'd yet again gone into hibernation mode and was just eating and hiding indoors from the cold. My sister was very unwell in intensive care and all I was doing was working and hospital visits. I needed something to aim for, so signed up for a triathlon which was to take place in late spring. I'd never done a triathlon, but 20 years ago I used to do a bit of running and I've done lots of cycling over the years. The swimming was my weakest discipline.
I always enjoyed swimming as a youth, going with friends etc. We just used to mess around diving in, bombing, doing handstands and pretty much everything except proper swimming. I did my swimming badges in school and jumped in wearing my pyjamas to collect a brick, so I knew how to swim, but I wasn't a strong swimmer. I certainly wasn't a natural. As an adult I would find that I only ended up swimming while away on holiday. Many times I resolved to do more swimming when back at home, but never did. Having spoken to some family and friends, I think many people have a similar swimming background to myself.
So I knew I had to do some actual swimming training for the triathlon, and started doing lane swimming at the local pool. It's separated into lanes with a slow lane closest to either side, 2 medium lanes next to those, and a fast lane in the middle. You swim up and down in a clockwise fashion to ensure you pass other swimmers in the same lane without colliding. Needless to say, I started in the slow lane
I knew how to swim front crawl. As a kid if we raced from one end of the pool to the other it would always be front crawl, and I also knew that the vast majority of triathletes swam the same stroke, so I decided to practice that. I could only swim 2 lengths before I had to stop to rest, so I needed to work on my stroke.
I watched lots of YouTube tutorials and gradually learned to tidy up my stroke. I learned how to swim with my face down, which I really didn't like at first, but with the help of good old YouTube I learned to become "comfortable in the water", control my breathing and become more efficient, so I could swim for longer without stopping.
I found that I was often swimming faster than the people in the slow lane, who mainly do breast stroke, so after a few lengths in the slow lane to warm up, I moved to the middle lane. By now I could swim 750 meters in one go (30 lengths), which is the triathlon swim distance.
I took a sea swimming coaching lesson during a weekend away on the coast. Two lovely ladies took me out and videoed the session. This feedback was invaluable because it highlighted my bad habits. Lots of them!
In April I got a wetsuit and started doing open water swimming sessions at an aqua park, which is basically a lake for watersports. Open water was completely different. The wind sometimes creates choppy water which affects breathing, the wind blows about causing me to veer offline, plus there's no black line along the bottom so you have to keep poking your head up to stay on course (this is called sighting). Trusty YouTube helped me learn what I needed to know and I gradually became comfortable swimming in open water.
By this time I was well into triathlon training, but I was enjoying the swimming more than the cycling or running! My weakest discipline! When I registered for the triathlon in winter I was asked to enter my average 750m swim time. I had no idea at the time, so entered a guess of 25 minutes. By now I could swim 750m in about 27 minutes in the pool, so not a bad guess. I was also able to do 2 laps of the lake, about 1200m, so I felt ready for the triathlon swim.
Race day:
I really enjoyed my first triathlon. I was mindful of adrenalin causing me to swim too quickly and burn out, but at the halfway point I decided there was enough in the tank to push harder and I did the swim in 21 minutes, though I was very tired climbing out of the water. Thankfully I got my breath back taking the wetsuit off and putting on the bike helmet and shoes.
My current 750m swim time is 18 minutes. I'm still in the medium lane, the swimmers in the fast lane shoot past me but I'm fine with staying out of their way. I really enjoy swimming and have made it part of my routine. It's actually quite therapeutic. The sound of the bubbles, the water supporting you. It's other-worldly in a way. I have to stay in the moment and concentrate on what my body is doing to swim well. Unlike running or cycling, I can't just zone out and let my mind wander because my stroke goes to pot, I go all wobbly and swim really slowly. I go swimming early before work, there's not many people about and it's a nice bit of "me time" before the busy working day begins.
Anyway, thanks for reading about my experience with swimming and if you have any tips or questions please do shout
In the depths of winter last year I'd yet again gone into hibernation mode and was just eating and hiding indoors from the cold. My sister was very unwell in intensive care and all I was doing was working and hospital visits. I needed something to aim for, so signed up for a triathlon which was to take place in late spring. I'd never done a triathlon, but 20 years ago I used to do a bit of running and I've done lots of cycling over the years. The swimming was my weakest discipline.
I always enjoyed swimming as a youth, going with friends etc. We just used to mess around diving in, bombing, doing handstands and pretty much everything except proper swimming. I did my swimming badges in school and jumped in wearing my pyjamas to collect a brick, so I knew how to swim, but I wasn't a strong swimmer. I certainly wasn't a natural. As an adult I would find that I only ended up swimming while away on holiday. Many times I resolved to do more swimming when back at home, but never did. Having spoken to some family and friends, I think many people have a similar swimming background to myself.
So I knew I had to do some actual swimming training for the triathlon, and started doing lane swimming at the local pool. It's separated into lanes with a slow lane closest to either side, 2 medium lanes next to those, and a fast lane in the middle. You swim up and down in a clockwise fashion to ensure you pass other swimmers in the same lane without colliding. Needless to say, I started in the slow lane
I knew how to swim front crawl. As a kid if we raced from one end of the pool to the other it would always be front crawl, and I also knew that the vast majority of triathletes swam the same stroke, so I decided to practice that. I could only swim 2 lengths before I had to stop to rest, so I needed to work on my stroke.
I watched lots of YouTube tutorials and gradually learned to tidy up my stroke. I learned how to swim with my face down, which I really didn't like at first, but with the help of good old YouTube I learned to become "comfortable in the water", control my breathing and become more efficient, so I could swim for longer without stopping.
I found that I was often swimming faster than the people in the slow lane, who mainly do breast stroke, so after a few lengths in the slow lane to warm up, I moved to the middle lane. By now I could swim 750 meters in one go (30 lengths), which is the triathlon swim distance.
I took a sea swimming coaching lesson during a weekend away on the coast. Two lovely ladies took me out and videoed the session. This feedback was invaluable because it highlighted my bad habits. Lots of them!
In April I got a wetsuit and started doing open water swimming sessions at an aqua park, which is basically a lake for watersports. Open water was completely different. The wind sometimes creates choppy water which affects breathing, the wind blows about causing me to veer offline, plus there's no black line along the bottom so you have to keep poking your head up to stay on course (this is called sighting). Trusty YouTube helped me learn what I needed to know and I gradually became comfortable swimming in open water.
By this time I was well into triathlon training, but I was enjoying the swimming more than the cycling or running! My weakest discipline! When I registered for the triathlon in winter I was asked to enter my average 750m swim time. I had no idea at the time, so entered a guess of 25 minutes. By now I could swim 750m in about 27 minutes in the pool, so not a bad guess. I was also able to do 2 laps of the lake, about 1200m, so I felt ready for the triathlon swim.
Race day:
I really enjoyed my first triathlon. I was mindful of adrenalin causing me to swim too quickly and burn out, but at the halfway point I decided there was enough in the tank to push harder and I did the swim in 21 minutes, though I was very tired climbing out of the water. Thankfully I got my breath back taking the wetsuit off and putting on the bike helmet and shoes.
My current 750m swim time is 18 minutes. I'm still in the medium lane, the swimmers in the fast lane shoot past me but I'm fine with staying out of their way. I really enjoy swimming and have made it part of my routine. It's actually quite therapeutic. The sound of the bubbles, the water supporting you. It's other-worldly in a way. I have to stay in the moment and concentrate on what my body is doing to swim well. Unlike running or cycling, I can't just zone out and let my mind wander because my stroke goes to pot, I go all wobbly and swim really slowly. I go swimming early before work, there's not many people about and it's a nice bit of "me time" before the busy working day begins.
Anyway, thanks for reading about my experience with swimming and if you have any tips or questions please do shout
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