Swimming is a highly technique-specific sport and no amount of generalized/cardiovascular fitness gotten thru means other than swimming will translate into swimming. This is why you may see guys who don't look super-fit swimming like dolphins: they may be former competitive swimmers who have stayed consistent over the years and their technical abilities allow them to "cheat" on the fitness side of things. In fact, the better you are technically the less effort you expend on swimming and it loses its "calorie burning" effects. But you can toss a 2:15 marathoner who has no swim background into the deep end and he will sink like a stone.

You are going thru the hardest part of swimming and it is what even experienced swimmers hate about the sport: any time away from it and it feels just like starting over. There's no easy way around it but try to keep your overall session length short and increase the frequency of your sessions. Add some stroke drills too as they will rapidly improve your feel for the water. Try swimming a few 25s with your fists closed or holding tennis balls in each hand. Then swim some 25s without and see how much more water you feel and catch. Try swimming with two fingers then one finger (index) then whole hand. You'll improve quickly. Dave Scott says set your goals for 2 weeks and reevaluate and you will almost always notice gains.

good luck!!

Chip's reply was right on in that swimming is highly technical and allows those that may not be in the greatest of shape to whip up on those hard bodies who haven't been in the water very long. Spend a majority of your time on drills and build your swimming up that way. I am a good swimmer, I grew up swimming competitively, yet I still do drills in all my pool sessions. Some drills that have helped me a bunch can be found on www.cruciblefitness.com. There are some great articles on swimming, and I think they will really help you out. Good luck.

Mark

First of all, welcome to the swimming world. =)

To begin, you gotta find someone to teach you how to swim. It's something you can't master by yourself since you cannot see what your doing and if your doing it right. Sign up for a Masters Team, I'm sure the guys in there will be more than willing to help you out.

Basically, right now, just focus on your stroke technique and not on going fast. Speed and endurance comes from what your technique is like, so right now, devote 100% of your water time to the small things. Most importantly, have fun!

You may want to try reading the Total Immersion book. You can buy it on the internet or like myself at a local bookstore. Like the previous replies (All of which have great advice) it details how to become more slippery "cheating the water" as the author of the book puts it through the use of drills