Dropping swimming in the winter surprises me a little bit. Personally I focus on running in the fall and basically drop swimming until the end of November. Winter is when I get better.
Maybe the folks who can afford not to swim in the winter are those who already are strong and have their technique mostly dialed in?
well, only 14% have said they are dropping swimming over the winter, I’m guessing they are mostly folks who only swim because they have to…
…or they are members of Endurance Nation. 
well, only 14% have said they are dropping swimming over the winter, I’m guessing they are mostly folks who only swim because they have to…
…or they are members of Endurance Nation.
well, only 14% have said they are dropping swimming over the winter, I’m guessing they are mostly folks who only swim because they have to…
duathletes that are forced to float in the summer months to play.
I’m not dropping swimming, but I must admit I’m not looking forward to swimming outdoors all winter. Hours at the municipal pool are also not as good for my schedule as when my neighborhood pool was open (it closed first week of Oct.)
I haven’t been to the pool in 3 weeks due to a variety of life factors but I know I have to get back at it.
I figure I can’t get any worse by not swimming.
I’m planning to do a couple of masters swim meets next year, so I’m actually planning to do more swimming from now until April. If anything I’ll probably cut back on my cycling.
Mark
For some of us, swimming is an evil necessity. There have been several seasons that I’ve dropped swimming for the winter, picking it back up close to race season just to make sure I can make it to T1. The “offseason” is often a time to mentally unwind from structured training, and if swimming is a chore then forcing yourself to go to the pool can be counterproductive.
I’m swimming through this winter, but I also took most of 2014 off due to injury!
i’m swimming much more now that it’s cold. I really enjoy running/biking outdoors not on a treadmill or trainer, and find swimming in a pool acceptable in comparison so I focus more on swimming in off season.
I take the winter off swimming so I can focus on weight lifting and crossfit.
Tucson is a weird place to live .
Best time to take off swimming in Tucson: July-August.
I would rather run and bike in 100+ degree weather, than swim train in 92 degree water.
Oddly the pools are full in July with lap swimmers who are supposedly “exercising.”
Now that exercise is possible, the pools are empty .
Maybe the folks who can afford not to swim in the winter are those who already are strong and have their technique mostly dialed in?
I don’t know if I can ever say that I have my technique dialed in. But, with triathlon’s de-emphasis on the swim leg of the race, I can get into pretty good swim strength (compared to the field) and come out of the water ready to ride in a couple of months. A year long focus might yield up to 5 minutes off of my HIM. I’ve got a lot more time to save by focusing on the bike and run. Swimming is just, sadly, low-hanging fruit in the triathlon basket.
I’m a MOP no-talent adult-onset swimmer here, nothing comes easy for me.
I cannot relate to all the people who say they can take months off swimming, and then get all their ability back in like 2 weeks. No friggin’ way for me. Before I got a Vasa trainer, the local pools would close for a month or two around here, and I’d stop swimming for that time to focus on bike/run.
4 wks off results in a precipitous dropoff in ability for me. I lose at least 10sec/100 and my endurance in the arms goes to hell and I struggle to complete 2000yd workouts. The worst part was that it took a lot of hard work to claw back to my original level pre-pool closure. Granted, I wasn’t swimming 20k+/wk, so it took longer, but I see the folks who come back to FOP speeds within a week or two of huge layoffs from swimming, and I can’t help but think talent, talent, talent, much as some folks can run sub 16min 5ks on <35mpw of haphazard training in high school and bust out a low 18 on pretty much no training at all.
My cycling is normally an hour tacked onto commutes, but it’s getting uncomfortable to do that. So I’m about to upgrade gyms to one that has a pool and do the extra couple hours there.
Well, I’ll try at least. Today is the first day I packed my swimsuit.
You are assuming that poor swim fitness does not have an impact on the bike and run segments of a triathlon.
+1
Feel free to burn ALL your matches before even getting to T1.
I am a certifiable fish and not a member of EN, but I spent too many winters of my life swimming already, there is nothing LESS appealing to me than getting into a cold pool when I’m already cold. I have tried it both ways, suffering through winter swimming at the start of my tri career and (for the past 3 seasons) not swimming at all from my last race in August until after the new year. I spend all the extra time in the fall/early winter improving my weakness (the run) and mix in the bike for low-impact aerobic work. This has really paid off for me, you never realize how much better training can be when you aren’t trying to juggle 3 sports at the same time until you finally break free for a while. Every year when I have to add swimming back it instantly becomes challenging to stay consistent and fit all my training into my week. I personally think it is nuts to keep working on three sports if you can cut it down to two due to relative strength. I have improved my run dramatically in these 5-6 month breaks from swimming, and every year I am back to swimming form almost instantly. I know a lot of people don’t want to hear it, but swimming really is all about technique. Once you have good form you can build your aerobic base in other sports and it only takes a few weeks for swimming to catch back up.
That said, if swimming is your weakness (or if you enjoy it) I would probably not recommend taking a break for more than a month, cut something else instead. I would also avoid cutting out running if you are injury-free just because it can be challenging to build that running volume back up if your body isn’t used to the pounding. So basically I say cut swimming or cycling in the winter, if they are both your weakness then pick one to focus on this off season and work the other one next off season.
I drive to an indoor pool in winter, so it is actually the only discipline that stays consistent regardless of weather. But I can only make 2 proper sessions a week, due to the distance getting there. I always find it easy to get to a pool session, whereas I will often struggle with motivation to run or bike.
You are assuming that poor swim fitness does not have an impact on the bike and run segments of a triathlon.
Actually, if I were to assume anything, it’s that you didn’t read or understand my post. Here, let me point out the pertinent text:
**I can get into pretty good swim strength (compared to the field) and come out of the water ready to ride in a couple of months. **
This is the sport as it applies to me. I have a swimming background and am a relatively weak runner compared to the field. I can get into pretty good swimming shape in roughly 8 weeks of swim training, which allows me to post a decent split and come out of the water in a position that it doesn’t impact my bike too much. I know this because I’ve been in the sport long enough to have experimented and pay attention to all my splits (s,b &r). I’ve done the whole ‘no swimming at all’ thing. I’ve done the ‘swim all winter long’ thing. Now, I’m at the ‘start swimming in March’ thing. Sometimes it’s April. Maybe May. But definitely by June. I get that this method may not work for the masses nor am I recommending it for anyone other than myself.
Ironically, swimming is the more pleasant sport to train for in the winter months for me so I will be swimming several times per week through the winter months. The pool I use is an indoor pool, kept at a decent temp (not too warm or cold), and less people go there in the winter months. I swam yesterday and there were only two other swimmers and an older lady doing exercises in the shallow end of one lane.
We are in the house market and I plan on installing an endless pool system inside a pool house enclosure so that I can swim every day at home when we buy the house. I hated swimming when I started competing in triathlon but over the years my attitude has changed and now swimming is possibly my favorite event. If I had to stop competing in triathlons, I would continue swimming and investigate more masters swimming and open water swimming events to attend.