Breathe OUT when your face is underwater. The issues you're describing are probably breathing issues...

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

there's a few things.. your technique might be "fine" but hard to tell wihtout someone getting an underwater view. in my experience (swimmer and coach of masters) there seems to a very common issue with masters swimmers where the pull underwater is all at one cruisy speed... try this and see how you go: catch the water at the front of your stroke, pull your arm down to your mid-stroke position underwater and then work really hard to increase the speed of your arm and push the water really fast down your leg in the back half of your stroke. ie, push the back end really quickly as this should be an acceleration phase of your arm pull-through. and yes, breathe out when your face is in the water. get more oomph from your push before you do your arm recovery and that should propel you faster forwards.
underwater cameras are pretty commonplace these days so get someone to film you front on, from the back, and side on and have a look at your stroke timing and body position with your coach.
i swim with an amateurs club which kicks my ass on a regular basis too but it is worth it... keep it up :)
j :)

You'll be fine. It should be getting a bit easier. here's the thing with swimming though: once you hit the "reasonably decent" plateau where stroke and form are manageable and you're not quite just struggling to survive - gains aren't always perceivable in minutes and less fatigue. Swimming is always a sport of oxygen debt and being tired. As soon as you get things manageable with one interval and/or one form change - those pesky coaches go and throw something else into the mix or lower your intervals a bit. Even a very small change in interval produces large results in fatigue.

You mentioned that it seems a little better - you're doing the right thing. Don't stress too much about it and just keep plugging along. You seem to be working harder than many are willing to. For that - great job!

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AW

In my opinion this is terrible advice, and I'm surprised no one has jumped on this yet. There is a great thread by Gary Hall Sr. in the main forum who debunks 10 "swimming myths." I've copied #1 below: And to get more excellent tips, search for any thread posted by Gary.

But first, to the OP, I completely understand your frustration because I have the same frustrations with my running. And I don't think there is any kind of magical workout, technique change, or coach that can make you breakthrough- besides the basic stroke mechanics, to get better I think it is a culmination of consistency, frequency and a great attitude. Embrace the sport and believe in yourself.

"Myth #1 To go faster in swimming one must push out the back of the arm pull.

I believe this myth may have originated with an article that appeared some time in the 90's. The article showed a swimming figure mimicking Alex Popov's freestyle pull. It showed the figure with the left arm in front and the the right arm in back ready to exit the water for the recovery. A graph showed the velocity of Popov's body in the water as a function of the position of the hand. The velocity ranged from nearly 3 meters per second down to about 1.4 meters per second during a single pull cycle. The slowest speed occurred when the hand appeared to be at around the shoulder and the fastest speed occurred in the position shown in the figure. The author erroneously concluded that since the speed was so high as the right hand was about to exit, that this is where the most power must be....hence push out the back.
My study with the velocity meter doing freestyle concurs that it is these two positions that consistently show the highest and lowest velocities of the stroke cycle in freestyle (though I was seeing more like a 30 to 40% drop, not 50%). But it is not because of the power out the back that we see the speed highest in this position. It is because it is by far the position of least drag (most streamlined). The propulsive power in this position actually is derived mostly from the left arm out in front and the kick, with little or no power coming from the end of the arm pull. The propulsive power may be even greater when we see the hand at the shoulder (slowest body speed), but because the arm is jetting straight out, perpendicular to the body, the drag coefficient skyrockets and our speed drops instantly.
The harm that is done by pushing out the back is that it delays the recovery and slows the stroke rate. Most of the arm propulsive power is derived from the entry to the shoulder (called the front quadrant....about 1/2 of the total arm cycle time is spent there). So the sooner one can get the hand back to the front quadrant after leaving the shoulder, the better.
If you happened to be blessed with Mercury motors for legs, like Michael Phelps, Ian Thorpe, Gary Jr, Natalie Coughlin etc, then you can afford to use a slower stroke rate...but hold in front, not in back.
For the rest of us mortals, keep your arms moving faster and in the front quadrant. Think you can't do that for 2 1/2 miles, think again. Lot's of distance swimmers use high arm stroke rates. You just have to train that way and get fit.

Regards,

Gary Sr. "

Understood. however one does not need to be so rude as to state out right that i have provided "terrible" advice, and perhaps you could have asked for further clarification on the matter before berating someone so quickly.

In an elite swimmer your discussion is correct, however in poor swimmers the push out the back emphasis generally serves to increase the length of the stroke so that one doesn't pull the hand up out of the water above the hip level and actually encourages acompletes a full stroke. the velocity of the stroke is a mental focus which although isn't shown to actually affect the stroke, generally serves to produce increased length and completion of the pull phase of the stroke in preparation for arm recovery. i would not advocate a Popov style stroke for the average swimmer. And i have coached many a masters swimmer and have qualifications in such, and find different ways to explain stroke techniques to achieve the desired effect as generally proprioceptive input is greatly different in water and what one thinks one is doing and what one is actually doing are generally very different things.
the point of my advice was not to debunk common swimming theory, but to provide an impetus for increasing power in the pull phase and elongation of the stroke which, if done correctly then allows for increased front end glide without rushing the hands over in recovery - increased stroke efficiency in the end. Delaying recovery and slowing stroke rate is not a terrible thing if one's stroke is inefficient and short and overly rapid in the first place (measured as a stroke efficiency quotient or distance per stroke etc)- particularly when considering the need for energy conservation in longer open water swims for triathlon (as opposed to purely swimming without having to follow up with further hours of energy use in different disciplines) where one is not Popov sprinting, but rather endurance swimming, and the stroke techniques for these two disciplines are considerably different. I am happy to clarify further if required but please, in future, ask politely.

regards,
:)

I totally 100% agree with an underwater view. Underwater is where the magic happens...or not. You can get a cheap underwater camera. I have the Kodak Playsport and just jump in and film my athletes underwater. It's amazing how a stroke that looks fine above water is a mess below. And for sure - front, side (both sides) and rear view of kick are important angles to film.

Thank you, NPDA! The G.H. Sr. information helps. He has a lot of free information on his web site that is worth checking out.

See how you feel after a few hundred meters warm up. All swimmers tire quickly before a warm up.

It sounds like you might be using too much energy in your swimming. A few simple drills that help you relax and stretch out a bit can help. Start with kick on the side and get comfortable being in the water. Fins are good to use when starting out.

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Effortless Swimming

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After three summers (inc. swimming with masters) of not getting anywhere, I tried Finding Freestyle. It's an on-line program that focuses on the building blocks of swimming (rhythm, timing, etc.) It was exactly what I needed to make a break through in my swimming. Check it out and see what you think.

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No coasting in running and no crying in baseball