Yes and yes.

Its not the identity. Its the ability to do them. I practice swimming so I dont drown... period. As a reward for living I get to bike and run.

So, what is it, specifically, that you dread about swimming? It probably isn't a general "I dread swimming" but specific things about swimming that, if you modified those things, you might find it more tolerable.

For me, the single thing I like the most is when I get in the deep end of the pool to start a practice. The deep end is where the diving towers are, so its really deep. I like to dive in and let my momentum just carry me to the bottom, I hang out down there for a few seconds and look up at the peacefulness above, maybe blow a couple of bubble rings, then push off the bottom and start warming up.


However, the single thing I hate most is getting into the shallow end. no diving allowed, so I have to jump in feet first.


So, whenever possible I'll swim in the deep end.

Come to think of it, I haven't done any bubble rings in ages. Next practice!

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

I know this is contentious, but if toys make it more interesting, try that. I swap out straight swimming with pullbuoy and paddles (focusing on engaging the lats and on the catch/pull), pullbuoy without paddles (to carry that feeling into a faster stroke rate), and finally swimming normally while trying to keep the feeling of hips up and pulling the water that the pullbuoy/paddles helped me get.

Also buy a new swimsuit. Or some nice goggles. When you have new stuff, you want to go use it. In the grand scheme of this sport, a new set of goggles or swimsuit is pocket change.

That is a great question, and its a great question because I cant answer it. Maybe running and cycling are easier and I am a wuss in water? Maybe its because I can look around at things when I am on my trainer or running. I tried the sinning ipod but I liked swimming better without them.

Im going to go swim in the morning and do real intervals thanks to you guys' suggestions, not just intervals in my head. I will report back and see if that helped break things up.

I think I got into a rut or habit of swimming huge sets because prior to this I was deathly afraid of water and didnt know how to swim. So, I was afraid of swimming in open water and not being able to go the distance. In fact, before I started swimming (at 40 years old) I had to take lessons on how to float just like a young child would. That is how new to swimming I was.

Spartan:

Answer honestly to yourself why you're going swimming now. Whatever the answer is represents your current motivation for swimming. Consider building up that motivation to take away the night before dread. Expand your motivation in other areas too. Consider some of the following:

• Frequent swimmer points. Earn yourself a point for every meter or every lap swum. Set up a rewards chart to cash-in points. To an extreme, and this would probably work since you can delay your satisfaction of workouts for running and biking, establish that you can only buy new tri gear for everything (bike stuff, run stuff, nutrition stuff) with only the swim points you accumulate. The more points you earn swimming, the more great tri stuff you accumulate and consume. Win~Win for all. Would also include spending for races you want to enter.
• Get a set of waterproof headphones to listen to music and/or podcasts (lots of device options can be found in other postings in Slowtwitch). A couple of devices will even count laps, swim time, breaths, heartbeat, etc. for you and tell you every 5 minutes or so during your swim time.
• After the '72 Olympics, Mark Spitz was quoted as saying he thought of good looking women at both ends of the pool. May not be PC today, but you get image.
• Set aggressive goals for big tri results. Both short-term and long-term. Embrace the action to go to swim workouts as your motivation for showing up at the pool. Track your actions to your goals to see your progress. On a more subjective basis, you can rate your swim motivation daily (or at least every day you swim). Record and post to ensure you say positive and don't go south on your attitude.
• Challenge your status quo of the continuous swim and raise your expectations to do some intervals to boost speed and eliminate the dread and boredom. Track your actions to your goals to see your progress.
• Get positive about swimming. You're a bit down on this training leg right? Leaders motivate others by being positive. Others are motivated by leaders for being positive. Find out which positive role you want to take in swimming and position yourself accordingly.
  

Every morning before workout, regardless of what you do, project to your post-workout attitude and imagine how good you feel that you did the workout. It's a great feeling right? At a minimum, you know why you're doing the workout, to get that endorphins buzz and the ability to eat a boat load of calories for the day. There are probably a bunch of other of whys for you too, but you don't earn any them if you don't do the workout.

https://www.palmtreesahead.com/tactics2faster-new
https://www.palmtreesahead.com/

I'm also not a lover of swimming, but if you want to do triathlon enough that you will suffer through the swim, you might as well train for it properly.

Just doing 3500m straight is low quality training. You'd be better off doing almost anything else in the pool.

I do get bored in the pool too, but I find that doing 5x100m with different toys and goals makes the time go by quickly enough. After a warm up, 5x100 normal crawl, then 50 back/breast, then 5x100 pull, 5x100 snorkel, 5x100 hand paddles, 5x100 ankle strap, try some sprints on occasion too. I also like a 400-300-200-100 cut down. That's enough to get you to 4000m, which is far, far more than someone who is swimming to survive needs to swim in training!

Take up duathlon.

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https://connect.garmin.com/modern/profile/domingjm

I'm exactly the same way. In fact, that may be the only thing that motivates me to exercise. Clearly the demographics at ST are different than the general population, but I thought I might be the only person on the planet with such motivations. Even among my local triathlon and running friends, I'm really the only one that's sustainably motivated by PRs, regardless of the metric. As long as there's SOME indicator of improvement I'm pretty happy.

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https://connect.garmin.com/modern/profile/domingjm

This is what I needed. I remember back in October after IMCHOO, I wanted to swim 5K just to say I swam a 5K. I went to the pool and did it and loved it because I was completing a goal. I think I need to find a long open water swim to train for. So instead of doing a duathlon to avoid the swum like others have mentioned and which I have no desire, I should train for JUST a swim.

Do any swims with drills mixed in?

I always do:
Warm up
Drills
Main Set
Cool down

Drills could be 500 meters of the workout or maybe half, depends on the week.
I also throw in fins and kickboard work in as well.

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Ryan
http://www.SetThePaceTriathlon.com
http://www.TriathlonTrainingDaddy.com
I got plans - https://www.trainingpeaks.com/...dotcom#trainingplans

I am with you completely. One of the ways I got through it was breaking up the swimming with things I would make up. My favourite thing to do was to do a 25 with buoy between legs, 2 kick with board and then 25 hard. I don't know why I enjoyed it so much but I really did, and I hated swimming. Find something fun like that to do.

• Swim with others. If you can't join a masters program find/create a group. Breakfast club. Lunch bunch. Whatever. It would appears misery loves company in your case.
• Sign up for a masters swim meet. Give yourself a goal. Better yet, sign up for a swim meet that has dual sanctioning (USA Swimming & USMS). Don't want to get your ass kicked by the 9 year-old boy to your right or the 70 year-old woman to your left.
• The world needs more duathletes....

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#swimmingmatters
Laugh hard. Run fast. Be kind.
The Doctor (#12)

Buy this MP3 player and listen to your favorite songs while you are swimming.
I was just like you. I hated swimming so much, but it's better now.
I feel like I can swim forever with this thing.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B018YKTD1Y?aaxitk=1M3LC9DqWv2iDXpTr37vEA&pd_rd_i=B018YKTD1Y&pf_rd_p=3ff6092e-8451-438b-8278-7e94064b4d42&hsa_cr_id=8090614790401&sb-ci-n=productDescription&sb-ci-v=Swimbuds%20Headphones%20and%208%20GB%20SYRYN%20Waterproof%20MP3%20Player%20with%20Shuffle%20Feature

For the most part, I can't stand swimming. I see it as a "tax" of sorts: you don't enjoy scooping the poop after your dog, but having a dog is worth it. The only time I like the pool is after a hard run, I find it relaxing. But that's not a workout.

Things that sometimes work for me to make it better:
- Zoning the f out and chanting Just Keep Swimming. Seriously.
- Getting my ass kicked. Last Summer I had a horrible swim in a 70.3, had to stop to catch my breath etc., was something like 4-5mins slower than expected. I was pissed and swam 12-14k/week for two weeks after that (all time high for me) and had a PR in the next 70.3 race.
- Shorter intervals that are almost all out. Ankle band helps here: swim a 100 with a band, and then try to repeat or better that time for 5-9 more reps on 5-15sec rest. I always finish with at least one 100 all out. Somehow that makes 10-15mins preceding that last 100 seem less annoying as I'm mentally getting ready.

Swimming is Lovely! Don't approach it like a triathlete. Approach it like a penguin. There's joy in that water & when it feels nice, it's probably fast too

It seems like swimming with others is out of the question but that's the only thing that makes it fun for me. When you're on a team there a lots of mini breaks on the wall. We use that time to bust each other's chops (sometimes you only have 5 seconds). A conversation might last 3 or 4 intervals. A few people get in the hot tub after practice and chat it up. I enjoyed that when I had a lot of spare time.

In terms of competition and goals, you're constantly comparing yourself to others in the pool. How do they swim so fast? Man it feels good to swim faster than my training buddy who kills me on the bike.

I grew up swimming and have fond memories of having fun with my teammates. Joking around all the time on the wall. Doing kick sets together. Whipping each other with towels.

Obviously I like swimming on a team but I don't right now because I'm busy. When I stopped to do the math, I was only getting 50 min of swimming for 2 hours of time. Running and biking are not like that. I can jump on my trainer or step outside and be exercising immediately.

The only time I was okay swimming on my own was when I was retooling my stroke. I was always thinking about it. Doing drills, etc. It was fun for a while.

I also hate being cold. I got a parka for winter and that seemed to help.

Good luck!

And really you have just scratched the surface of the diff ways to move through the water. When you add in kicking with and w/o fins, swimming w/ fins, w/ fins and paddles, w/ just paddles, to your swimming w/ pull buoy and paddles, and just buoy, plus just swimming, then you end up with about 8 or more diff ways to swim, and that is just freestyle. If the OP could learn the other three strokes, he could have 32 or more diff ways. Further, you can kick w/ or w/o the k-board, plus on your back you can kick reverse dolphin and breast kick, so really 6 ways to kick w/o fins. Tri people may argue no point in learning the other strokes but we lifetime swimmers know that being able to swim all 4 strokes improves your freestyle. :)

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

Cripes man, let me try and become not laughable at one before attempting to make the lifeguards not die from laughter with the others.

Actually, IME the guards really don't pay that much attention to who swims well and who doesn't. I've swum my very best times on occasion and never yet has a guard come up and said something like "wow, you were really moving today". I think most of them are just bored and don't pay much attention except to those who really look shaky. :)

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

I used to absolutely hate swimming, and I could barely make 100m without thinking "f**k this!". The only reason i still swim now is that i signed up for a 70.3 a few years ago so had to stick with the swim and i gradually got better and then began to enjoy it. I am an AOS who can do a HIM swim in 33 mins so i'm not fast but it's doable now.

I use swimming as daydreaming time or idly thinking about work stuff or problem solving. I swim in a pretty empty, nice pool and rarely do any intervals. I usually swim 2 or 3 x 1km at a tempo race - enough to get the pleasant burn in my arms and to know that i've had a workout but apart from that i've learned to enjoy the feeling of being in the water, the sense that i am moving through it like a (pretty slow) fish.

If nothing else just learn to think of it as a sort of meditation time and just cruise along all happy.

If it's of any help I emphasise with you completely. I'm a decent enough club runner in the mid 230s for 26.2 and a good cyclist, 40k pb 51min.
I despise swimming.

I think it's because I'm terrible at it. I flail around and go nowhere and am in the second slowest lane of the local tri clubs sessions. So much so that I quit tri after my second IM (78min swim) and haven't been in the pool for 2 years. Have not missed it one single instant.
Got suckered in to signing up for IM Cork as its local and seemed like a good idea.
I've kicked the can so far down the road and still haven't got in the water with 4 months to go. I love going out and smashing a run currently on 80mpw building for a may marathon. Just. Cannot. Face. Swimming.

Bought a vasa to avoid being in the water any more than I have to be. Cant even manage 10 x 100m on it before my shoulders are so heavy I cant lift them.

So you aren't alone and in fact the mental strength you possess grinding away at it will stand you in good stead.

My thoughts are a bit different than others here. A bit of history - I do NOT have a swimming background and still do NOT do flip turns. In my first triathlon, 1981, I was last out of the water. In recent years I have had several FOTW (first out of the water) at IMs and 70.3. I basically swim 30 minutes five days a week, and have done this very consistently in the same pool for the last 34 years. I throw in a couple of longer swims in the weeks just before an IM. Consistent effort over time produces positive results. I do this when the pool opens at 5 am and haven't missed a morning swim for any reason in the past at least 5 years . . . maybe more.

Everyone always asks how I keep doing the same thing (not my personality at all!). I love the swim time because even in a full pool I am "alone" and no one can talk to me. I do things things, which by the way have researched based positive impacts on your life: 1) Spend some time in prayer/meditation/gratefulness 2) bullet point what I am going to accomplish during the day 3) troubleshoot/problem solve the biggest issue I am facing. By the time I have done those three I have many times gone further than planned. I do no count laps. I do some fartlek type pick-ups.

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David
* Ironman for Life! (Blog) * IM Everyday Hero Video * Daggett Shuler Law *
Disclaimer: I have personal and professional relationships with many athletes, vendors, and organizations in the triathlon world.

When you say FOTW, I'm guessing you mean in your AG not overall???

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

+ a million

This is the single most important thing you can do to improve your swim and make it bearable. I have been swimming for 30 of the 36 years of my life. I hate swimming alone. Join a masters group. The coaching and varying sets they provide means that no two practices are the same (and it's higher quality training as well).

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Strava