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Swimming Scared
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I have never done a triathlon before. I signed up for a half ironman and have nine weeks to train for it. I can easily complete the bike; of course running 13.1 miles after that might prove a bit tricky. My main concern though is the swim! Right now I can swim 50m without stopping. I don't stop for too long but at least ten seconds. My longest swim has been 600m. I do have a personal swim coach.

Tonight my husband let me know that he has doubts about me being ready for the swim. He has been strongly encouraging and he's an experienced IM has finished 4 full IM and at least 6 HIM so I really trust his advice. His doubts are freaking me out though.

Anybody want to comment on my chances of being able to finish the HIM with only 9 weeks to train at my current level?



Nor do I use punctuation in the way a child sprinkles glitter over a ribbon of glue on construction paper - Trash Talk
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Re: Swimming Scared [lesson989] [ In reply to ]
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Can you talk/ask your swim coach for advice?? Is it a wetsuit swim?? How often are you swimming and what is the duration/meters of each swim? Can you swim 3-4x/week? Was your 600m swim continuous?

The swimmers on this forum will probably chime in with some really good advice on how to build up. I think you have time to build up if you can get to the pool 3-4 x's/week until the race. I would do one swim/week continuous and build up to 2500 straight.

If you get swim workouts in a binder you can follow the plan in there.

Good luck!!
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Re: Swimming Scared [lesson989] [ In reply to ]
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I think you'll be able to get through it. Talk to your swim coach... and make sure you get practice in open water before your race.

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Re: Swimming Scared [lesson989] [ In reply to ]
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don't let negative thoughts enter your head! you've got the same aerobic system that does so well biking and running- just needs to be tuned for swimming- I second the fact that you need to do one long continuous swim a week- just for confidence- even if it's just a mile-you have time-is it a wetsuit legal swim? that will help you- you can really rest in a suit as you swim-try it in the pool as well
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Re: Swimming Scared [lesson989] [ In reply to ]
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just go from buoy to buoy. they're usually about 50 meters apart. it's perfectly fine to hang on the buoy till you get yourself together. your time suffers, but if you're not into being truly a speedster, who cares? it's only the first one that's a beeatch. the others are a lot lot lot easier once you get one positive event under your belt.

and don't let DH do that to you! tell him if he doesn't have anything positive to say, then don't say anything at all. (so saith Thumper).

best of luck!
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Re: Swimming Scared [lesson989] [ In reply to ]
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i agree with the posters. you have time to build up to the distance. you won't win any speed records but who cares, just do the swim in your comfort zone ( within the time limits!) and get on with your race. there will be plenty of support out there, hang onto bouys, float on your back, just get through the distance. start now gradually getting more swim time in. if you can swim 600 now you can get to the race distance in the time you have left to train. and if it is a wetsuit swim, it will make it even easier.
good luck and stick with it. you CAN do it.
jana



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Re: Swimming Scared [lesson989] [ In reply to ]
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I'll echo what everyone else has said here, you can do it. I'd talk to your swim coach about techniques to maximize your efficiency (i.e. be able to swim longer with less effort) DEFINITELY practice in open water in your wetsuit, and focus on relaxing while you swim, think about nice long exhales, stretching your arms out fully for your stroke, etc. It will really help you get settled on race day. Speaking of which, start at the back of your wave at the start - the drafting will not help you nearly as much as the jostling will hurt you. It's much better to have some clear water to swim in and only have your own pace to focus on.

Just keep in mind that your goal for the swim is to arrive at the shore ready to get on your bike. It doesn't matter if you don't swim as fast as you could have. If you have to stop and rest along the way, there's no shame in that.

Michelle

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Re: Swimming Scared [lesson989] [ In reply to ]
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As a swimmer here are my thoughts:

The swim portion of a tri is really 95% mental. If it is a wetsuit legal swim remember that it's virutally impossible to drown in a wetsuit since they're so bouyant so when/if you get tired in a race - or just if your heart gets racing too much and you're having a bit of anxiety - flip over on your back and let the wetsuit hold you on top of the water while you catch your breath and slow down your heart rate.

That being said, a few other thoughts:

1. You do want to start working on building up the distance you can do before stopping. Most HIM have the bouys about 600M or so from one another (assuming it's a triangular course) so you want to know that you can comfortably swim from one to the next without stopping. Since it sounds like right now you're basically there and just stopping briefly at each 50 you want to try and lengthen it out so that you can make the whole 600M without stopping. That's honestly not as hard as it sounds. I would talk to your coach about building in ladder sets such as 50M swim, rest, 100M swim, rest, 150M swim, rest and go back down. As your endurance builds you'll be able to bump it up so that you're increasing the distance.
2. If you haven't done a lot of open water swimming I would try and get in some open water swims. If that's not possible then ask your coach about including some "siting" drills into your swims. For example, in a pool you could do 25's or 50's (depending on if you're in a 25 or 50 yard/meter pool) swimming normally, then add in a few head raises where you can see the other side of the pool, and then put your head down and practice swimming normal once again. You want this to feel relatively comfortable so that during a race you can look up and site the bouys to help keep you on the right course. The last thing you want is to swim more then the actual distance because you went off course. Remember that the shortest distance between two points is straight line so you want to swim as straight as possible from bouy to bouy.
3. Practice with your wetsuit. Best if you can get in a few swims outdoors with a wetsuit but if not then suck up the fact that you're going to look like a tool and just go to the pool in your wetsuit. Swimming in a wetsuit feels very different. Not a bad different but different (and it does make swimming much easier) so you want to know what that feels like outside of the nerves and such that come along with race day. This of course assumes the race is wetsuit legal. If it is and you don't have a wetsuit either find one you can borrow/rent that fits right. It may cost you just a little bit extra but it's really worth it if you're not a comfortable swimmer.
4. During the race break the swim down mentally just like you break down the triathlon in and of itself. Rather than looking at triathlon as a whole many people recommend mentally taking it in chunks so that 1. the swim, 2. the bike, and 3. the run. You don't get ahead of yourself and focus on the run while you're still in the water. If your not a comfortable swimmer you can do the same thing with the swim and simply focus on getting from Bouy A to Bouy B rather than focusing on the entire swim. Taking it in chunks will make it seem more manageable and not as overwhelming.

Ok, that's a lot of info. Feel free to ask me anything and I'll be happy to cyberhelp. You can definitely do this but you may want to put more of your time and effort in the next 9 weeks into the swim since it already sounds like you're well ahead of the curve on the bike. It's not about being the fastest swimmer but making sure that you feel comfortable in the water. As long as your comfortable you'll be able to finish and before you know it you'll be on the bike and zooming past all the fishies.


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Re: Swimming Scared [lesson989] [ In reply to ]
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You can do this in nine weeks.

Maybe you need to slow your swimming down and little to extend the length a little. are you kicking like a Mercury outboard and making yourself out of breath?

can you get a coach or a group to work with? that would help more than anything.

how many days a week are you swimming?

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Re: Swimming Scared [lilpups] [ In reply to ]
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First thanks everyone for the encouragement. I'm not backing out of this half so I'm going to literally have to either sink or swim. I do have the opportunity to swim in the ocean once the weather warms up. I have heard from friends that it is much different swimming in a wetsuit and it is good to get used to it before race day. I'm very happy I won't have to do that in the pool! But I have also heard that turning over and swimming or floating is not as easy in a race as it sounds. Especially for someone like me who is really not 100% comfortable in the water. (I need to stop saying that). But maybe once I try an swim in a wetsuit I will understand this whole bouyancy thing.

I get the impression that most everybody thinks I'll need to stop during the swim and that 9 weeks is not enough time to build the endurance necessary for a mile-something swim, is that pretty accurate? If so, maybe I should practice stopping now or when open water swimming is an option. I'm absolutely not a fast swimmer so making the cutoff might be an issue for me, too much stopping could affect that I guess.

My first triathlon is next weekend. It is a pool swim and still I'm apprehensive. What better way to 'get your feet wet' (excuse the pun) in triathlon than with a pool swim I guess. Still I'm nervous though because even though it is a short swim, it is farther than i can swim without stopping. I wonder if it is possible to seed yourself dead last!



Nor do I use punctuation in the way a child sprinkles glitter over a ribbon of glue on construction paper - Trash Talk
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Re: Swimming Scared [lesson989] [ In reply to ]
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The only reason I mentioned stopping is b/c 99% of the swimmers out there stop at some point or another. I'm typically one of the top 3 women out of the water in my tris (and subsequently get chased down on the bike and the run by the rest of the ladies) and I stop from time to time to get my bearings, fix goggles, fix cap, etc. I'm not saying stop for a long time but just stop to catch your breath and reorient yourself in necessary and then put your head down and keep going. Definitely don't think of "stopping" as something negative or something that only less confident swimmers do.

The key to flipping over on your back and floating for a minute is to make sure that you're out of the path of traffic. If your HIM is a mass start just seed yourself towards the back. If there are wave starts just get off to one side if you want to flip over to make sure that no one comes barreling down on top of you. My husband has done this in races and he says it makes all the difference if you start getting anxious.

Good luck in your tri next weekend. I personally find pool swims for tris far harder then open water swims - the water can get incredibly choppy in pool swims - so you may find the HIM is actually easier!

You'll do great. Remember, it's 95% mental.


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Re: Swimming Scared [lesson989] [ In reply to ]
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9 weeks is a long time. No really it is. You will be fitter , faster ( maybe only slightly but faster none the less ) and hopefully will have a better
stroke technique by then ( If you have a swim coach that knows his/her stuff , it's amazing what you can achieve in that time ).

You gotta practice with your wetsuit on ( changes your body position , and for your sake that is a benefit ) , make sure it fits well and is put on correctly.
Find out what areas are likely to rub and make sure you apply plenty of lubricante ( oh-er ).

You will do the swim , finish it in the time limit with out any worries , start near or at the back so that nobody is gonna swim over you, crash into you
or or just plain upset you and put you off.

As stated above , if you get tired just roll on to your back and float , get your breath back and then start again.

Practice , practice , practice with the wetsuit on and in the sea ,you will be fine and dandy , have faith in your abilitiy.

Confidence is the key. Best of luck for when it happens . ;)
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Re: Swimming Scared [smiler666] [ In reply to ]
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    Wow, what great support you received here and all of it is accurate. I began tris with a lot of swim anxiety and now just start swimming with many halfs and 3 full IMs under my belt. Nine weeks is plenty of time. You can and will do it. Rest a few moments at the bouys if you feel like it. Start very slowly and relaxed.Slower than you think possible. Get in a rythym and just cruise.Follow a pair of feet to help you site-just check it now and then. If you can swim 600 now you can do it. Let us know how you do.

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Re: Swimming Scared [lesson989] [ In reply to ]
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In the pool- work with other swimmers so you get used to what it feels like when someone runs into you. The vast majority of swimmers won't push you under- it's both rude and actually slows down the person doing the pushing. But incidental contact happens and you want to learn that it's not that hard to deal with getting bumped around a little bit.

It's one of those things that's more of a mental skill than a physical one.

One other thing- open water swims are different. They can be really different- waves, currents, not being able to see more than a foot in front of you, mucky muddy bottom of the body of water, small aquatic creatures out for a frolic.

As soon as you can, go out to the beach or lake or wherever you can swim open water. Put your wetsuit, and then...

Go play in the water like a little kid would. Float, bob, do somersaults, grab rocks out of the sand, all that good stuff. Go to where you can't touch, and tread water for a couple of five minute stretches. The idea is to put yourself into a mental place where the water doesn't seem scary. Do a little bit of light swimming, but that's not the core point of the exercise.

On race day if you think you're going to have to stop, the best place to do so is wide of the buoys. The pack hugs tight to the buoys, and you'll get in the middle of very hard contact. If you need to grab onto sdomthing for a couple of seconds, grab onto a kayak (as long as the kayaker doesn't move you forward, you won't get DQ'ed)
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Re: Swimming Scared [lesson989] [ In reply to ]
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Improving on your swimming endurance is often NOT an incremental thing. We find at our swim clinics that when the new swimmer begins to relax their distance per workout jumps up dramatically. It's just too exhausting to swim tense and inefficiently during the first few weeks, so they don't last long.

Work on RELAXING. Long strokes, regulated breathing, blowing out ALL your breath underwater before you inhale. The more you relax, the longer you'll be able to swim without stopping - even tackling the entire swim without hanging onto buoys.

You may find that one day you get in the pool after many frustrating workouts to find that the lightbulb has gone off suddenly and you've made a significant improvement.

Get in the pool as often as you can, even if its only for 300m/yd of drills. You'll quickly adapt to the water and begin to relax. The coach can get your yardage up after that.

Which race are you doing?
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Re: Swimming Scared [lesson989] [ In reply to ]
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OK no one has so I gotta ask:

WHY did you sign up for a HALF IM when you can only swim 2 lengths of the pool without stopping????
I am sorry it is one thing to encourage and say go for it, but this is a little extreme I think. Why not sign for a shorter one first? why not learn to swim first?
it is VERY dangerous to rely on a wetsuit for this. I disagree that swimming is mostly mental. Maybe getting over the fear of open water, the fear of swimming with other people, etc, but she said she could swim 50m!!!!! you can't 'visualize' yourself swimming a half IM distance!!!
sorry if this seems harsh but you are putting yourself and others in a dangerous situation, if it is true that you can swim just 50m right now without stopping.
I really hope that this is exagerrated and you are swimming farther now.
Last edited by: kbee: Mar 24, 08 14:34
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Re: Swimming Scared [lesson989] [ In reply to ]
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This is a tough one. I admire your guts but also worry about you being out there putting others in danger because you aren't ready. I would be swimming 4x/week to get ready. You need to be putting in the time. Get in the open water ASAP. Swimming a mile in the pool is nothing like swimming a mile in a lake.

For any nervousness swimming in a lake, I count my strokes. One two three breathe....one two three breathe....I focus really hard on the counting. It takes me a couple swims in the lake until I'm Ok with it again but after that I love it.

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Jen

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Re: Swimming Scared [kbee] [ In reply to ]
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My first and only DNF was in an Oly, when someone swam right over me, I panicked and that was all she wrote. I could swim the distance, had done the distance, but in a wet suit. Open water swimming in a tri is a whole different ball game. I it is wetsuit legal, I think you will be ok. Here's a site that builds up to to 1650 in 6 weeks: http://www.ruthkazez.com/...uts/ZeroTo1mile.html

Good luck.
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Re: Swimming Scared [lesson989] [ In reply to ]
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If you have never done a triathlon before, why would you sign up for a half ironman? Why not something shorter? It get some experience? Why do you keep stopping? Are you out of breathe? If the race starts in waves, maybe you should wait until everyone is gone so you can focus and not worry about everyone else beating you over the head.
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Re: Swimming Scared [lesson989] [ In reply to ]
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The real answer to your question may not come until closer to the race. If you can't swim continuously due to panic issues then you need to involve your husband and continue to ask that question as you address the problem. If it's becomes just a question of whether or not you swim the distance without stopping, or do it very slowly, then that's a different scenario than panicking.

What race is this? Will you have to contend with waves? that adds another dimension to the scenario. Are you guaranteed a wetsuit?
Gulf Coast 2003 is a good example of a race that normally is a wetsuit legal, easy swim....only it wasn't that year. Many racers ended their day never making it out past the warm surf (sans wetsuits).

in truth, depending on the race conditions, you may not make the final decision until race day. No race is worth risking your safety - there are always other races, other times. The upside is that if you put the training in now, you can go on to sprints and other races prepared for the swim, so it's not wasted, even if you don't race.
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Re: Swimming Scared [FLA Jill] [ In reply to ]
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I definitely plan to swim with a wetsuit as soon as it is possible and I really like this idea of getting used to the feel of the water and being in the suit first with no pressures to swim. I am definitely going to try that as soon as I get out there in the wetsuit. I'm hoping for a mid-april start for that, that's when my husband started last year.



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Re: Swimming Scared [Tightey] [ In reply to ]
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You are exactly right, and I have improved significantly from when I started believe it or not. So much of the struggle for me is because I am not relaxed, reasons unknown, and I am pretty much fighting the water most of the time. I've gotten much better at that and that fact is mostly due to time spent in the water. I think your suggestion that being relaxed helps to make great strides in endurance is exactly right.

My husband also suggested the importance of getting in the pool at least 4x a week even if just for 500m or so. When I told a friend I was doing that she was incredulous, 500m is just a warmup for most I guess. But I found that following that advice helped me actually get in the pool more frequently. I still am only doing about 700m total but at least I am getting there a lot more frequently.



Nor do I use punctuation in the way a child sprinkles glitter over a ribbon of glue on construction paper - Trash Talk
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Re: Swimming Scared [kbee] [ In reply to ]
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Your question is reasonable, why would someone sign up for a HIM when they cannot even swim. Well I signed up for it back in August and I figured it would give me the motivation I seemed to need to actually get in the pool. I kept talking about learning to swim, but never actually doing it. The HIM I signed up for is Eagleman and I guess it seemed like a good idea at the time! I know that most people start out with a year of sprints and oly's and maybe that would have been the thing to do; but it's too late now.

I went to the pool Saturday just to swim and see how far I could go without a serious break. I swam 400m without hardly stopping so I am making progress. I am doing an olympic distance in April so I will use that as a benchmark to decide if doing the half really will put me in danger. I do trust my h's advice and judgement so if we get close and he really thinks I should reconsider, I will. But 9 weeks out I don't want to give up if there is a chance of success. My only goal for this one is to finish and it would mean a lot to me to reach that goal.



Nor do I use punctuation in the way a child sprinkles glitter over a ribbon of glue on construction paper - Trash Talk
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Re: Swimming Scared [lesson989] [ In reply to ]
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You have plenty of time to get to the point where you can do the whole swim without stopping. Just keep swimming! When I first started, I had to stop every 50 or 100 meters to catch my breath. After a few months, I suddenly went from stopping every 100 meters to swimming 1000 meters non-stop (and I could have gone longer, but the pool was closing). Get as many swim sessions as you can in over the next 9 weeks. In every workout, do at least 2k of swimming so you get the 1/2 IM distance in even if you have to stop. One day you'll find that everything will click and you'll be able to swim until your arms fall off.
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Re: Swimming Scared [lesson989] [ In reply to ]
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well I didnt want to come across as harsh, but it seems everyone was giving the 'yeah you can do it!' which is great, but sometimes a person needs some reality.
Ok who hasnt bought something too tight for 'motivation'..and we know how THAT worked out, right? ;)
I really hope you can do it. Like was said, get in the water as much as you can, without hurting yourself of course, listen to your body and back off if doing too much. You CAN work on technique which is more mentally fatiguing than on the body.
A plus is the Eagleman swim one of the easier ones I should think, I have done it and remember it was being pretty calm. There were nettles and I got stung through the wetsuit, but no surf and waves, etc. It was warm and I dont know if they ever had non wetsuit legal weather there.
Good luck to you and let us know how you are doing.
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