I like to challenge myself, so I thought I’d have a go at the London Triathlon, the Sprint event.

Cyling 20k – no problem as I already TT
Run 5k – I can, but need to practise to get up to speed
Swim 750 – here’s the crux of the matter, as I type I can’t swim.

So, I reckon its achievable. I have the fitness – which I’m aware will be very different than I think – I’m sure but I’m not currently confident in water. I’m guessing then, 7 months could get me through a plan to swim 750m in Open water?

Is it really achievable?

as I type I can’t swim

don’t try and do both at once and you may have more success.

hth.

Fnar… 🙄

I’m assuming the Tri swim is open water? If so, check the rules on wetsuits. Typically, if the water is <14*C, wetsuits are mandatory.

Don’t take open water swimming for granted. Open water swimming and swimming in a wet suit are both very different from swimming in a pool, where you get to touch the side every 30 seconds or so.

If I were you, I’d join the local Triathlon club and get some advice there. They will have contacts and access to discounted group swim training both in pools and open water.

It is certainly possible. I taught myself to swim in 2014 and made a deadline by entering the new years day sprint triathlon.

After spending so long floundering, I’d go back and take a couple of lessons if I was to do it again.

Go for it, triathlons are great fun!

Oh, and get a warm-up event in the schedule. There are plenty of sprint-triathlons that are pool based for the swim over relatively short distances (e.g. 300m). These are a great way of getting to grips with transitions and learning how to pace a race.

Yes possible. Get involved with a tri club or some adult swim lessons – these need to be crawl focused idealy, though no reason you can’t do breast stroke, it’s just slower.

Once you’ve got more confident in the pool, then do some open water sessions before your race. Do these with a tri or open water swim club – you’ll get good coaching on the first couple of sessions. Open water is HUGELY different to swim in than a pool. As mentioned, you don’t turn and kick off regularly, but more importantly the water feels very different – its usually much colder which takes some getting used to but also it tastes different and you generally can’t see much in it… all of which can freak people out.

Its certainly possible, I couldn’t swim this time last year. Did an indoor sprint tri (400m swim) in April and then did a standard distance in June which was 1300m

Now training for a 1/2 ironman distance next may.

Go for it!

Yes. Book some lessons with a swim coach.

awaits ‘how to be a credible triathlete’ thread.

I honestly think that if you have 7 months then you will not consider a sprint to be ‘challenging yourself’ given your bike fitness. If you get to swimming 750m then it really isn’t much of a stretch to go double that and do the full olympic distance, which I think you’d find more rewarding.

I’m also thinking about a triathlon next year, although I’m going to do a beginners one first that only has something like a 200m swim. My issue is also with the swim because while I can swim the distance no problem (and 750m would also be fine) I’ve never been taught to swim properly so am very, very slow (i.e. probably around 6 minutes for 200m) so would almost certainly be last at the end of the swim. I expect I’d make up time on a lot of people on the bike and hold my own on the run.

So far I’ve joined a gym with a pool and invested in a watch (Vivoactive HR) that works for pool swimming and am thinking I’ll take some lessons once I’ve got a bit more used to swimming again.

probably around 6 minutes for 200m

there will be others at a similar or even slower speed.

first thing, buy the book Total Immersion Swinming for Xmas, perfect for tri swimming as it relies on not kicking so saves your legs from the other 2 parts of the race, plus imo it saves massive amount of energy swimming in that style compared to how freestyle is conventionally taught.

you’ll need to practise open water at some point before your race as it’s more stressful trying to swim around alot of people all jostling around for space in a big pond than just doing lengths in a warm pool.

My advice would be to try and find a more relaxed triathlon. I did the Wee Triathlon at Fort William in March. It was a 400m indoor swim with no timed transition between the swim and the bike which gave plenty of time to get dried and changed. There were also some people who were very slow swimmers, but the set up was two people per lane with no tapping your feet to get past etc…. Once you had completed your lengths you got out and someone else got in.

One woman did backstroke and it must have taken her 25-30mins, but it didn’t matter as there was no pressure on her to finish quickly.

am thinking I’ll take some lessons once I’ve got a bit more used to swimming again.

Don’t do this, you’ll end up re-enforcing bad habits early and spend all you time at lessons trying to rid yourself of them. Start lessons as early as you can, I did an adult swimming course early and just improved rapidly from the start. Swimming is apparently 70% technique, raw fitness will only you get you so far

Total immersion is a very good place to start. I got some one to one coaching using that technique at my local pool a couple of years ago, and went from not being able to crawl for more than about 3 or 4 lengths to now regularly doing a km swim a few times a week, and will happily cover that distance in about 15 ish minutes. I’ve done a few two mile open water races this year and have signed up for a 5km next year, as well as hopefully Coniston end to end.

Swimming in a wetsuit also does require a change in technique but obviously also helps with buoyancy and tends to help correct sinky legs (which a lot of people have).

Where about are you based? I can recommend some very good open water clubs and training in South Yorkshire if you need.

Friend of ours is a swimming and tri coach. Probably the friendliest and most open sports clubs I have come across, do find a local one and get involved.

Did a novice triathlon i 2012. I could swim a few lengths, but by swim I mean thrash about creating maximum splash, minimum efficiency, for maximum effort.

My local pool advertised a 10 week block of lessons for 40 odd quid, went to that, had all sorts from the guy who’d had a heart attack and was shit scared of the water but needed exercise, up to me and a lady who was a decent swimmer but wanted to work on her technique.

Gave me a good start, then I bought total immersion book and took it from there.

I was still last out the pool (I completely underestimated my swim time!) But made it up on the road bike before ambling round the run.

I actually found going from bike to run the hardest bit, like using someone elses legs, every wee tri I did after that was the same, as I never bothered with brick training.

I’ve got a copy of Total Immersion. PM me and I’ll post it to you if you like.

You’re London-based, right? My wife learned to swim from scratch (as in never had lessons or any pool time as a kid, would probably have drowned if she fell in water), nearly 10 years ago with SwimforTri and they did a great job, didn’t take all that long either. She’s a much better swimmer than most as she doesn’t have decades of bad habits that she needed to unlearn. Talk to them about what you want to do and where you’re at now, I’m sure they’d be able to get you where you want to be.

They do open water practice sessions too, early on a Saturday morning (I don’t really miss doing those!) which are great to get the experience of swimming in a lake in a wetsuit.

Swim 750 – here’s the crux of the matter, as I type I can’t swim.

No disrespect intended, but is this “I cant swim very well” or “ive never been in a swimming pool and would genuinley drown if i fell in a river” scenario?
If its the latter then get some lessons booked at the local pool asap. So many adults underestimate the time it can take to get confident in water – What looks so simple when you see children do it is a whole different kettle of fish by the time you’re middle aged.
If you cant swim that well then get practicing and maybe try and get a few coaching sessions from a masters club (even if its just swimming in an opposite lane and listening to their coaches!).

i couldn’t swim crawl when i entered Iron man in 2013. I read the books, looked at videos, practiced practiced practiced but i just couldn’t do it. felt like i was sinking when i was turning to breath. then i had an hour one on one with a decent coach. he spotted that i was turning my head way further than i had to causing my opposite shoulder to sink so by the time i went for the breath i was well under water. with a bit of encouragement to trust that i didn’t have to turn so far, i had it nailed in that session. From there to doing the full 3800m took no time at all (fitness was otherwise ok)
so i’d agree with the above – get some coaching
id also agree that open water is a very different beast. i was pretty confident in my abilities by the first time i tried it so i was very surprised i found it very very difficult. The shock of the cold on my face and not being able to see much made me panic and feel like i couldn’t breath. again, a little bit of encouragement from more experienced swimmers mostly sorted that

I did my ironman training as part of a university study into novices doing their first endurance event. 30 of us later contributed chapters to a book describing our individual journeys. might be of interest to you

I like to challenge myself

What does your coach think of this new challenge?

Definitely take lessons and sort your technique. I’m no fish but with a bit of help and lots of practice have improved from dire (puffing after one length) to not too dreadful so as to get through several Sprint, Oly, Half Im distance events to last summer completing the Outlaw (IM distance). My technique is still poor and a long way to go but Swimfortri are very good for 121 and group sessions.

Totally agree re Open Water Swimming. I find the wetsuit makes things 10+% easier but then you need to keep track of where you’re swimming. In the Outlaw ended up swimming 150m more acc to my watch.

@petrieboy – great book!

No problem

TI and Swimsmooth.com are both great sources. But essentially all swimming has the same basics.

Do get some lessons and dont try to do too much. You dont win a tri in the swim but you can loose it. Give yourself plenty of time to get used to swimming in a wetsuit and in OW

Enjoy – and enjoy the biff at the start. Swimming in a tumble drier is a reasonable analogy

Did my first sprint tri last summer and the swim was my big worry too. I could/can swim, but not well and had never done open water. I intended to get a lesson (or a few) but never got round to it, which I started to regret when I did a shorter Aquathlon (open water swim and run) as a training event a month before the tri. The swim went quite badly. Got caught up in the ‘washing machine’, got dragged into racing with the pack at the start thinking I had to keep pace, and basically got panicked and absolutely knackered after only a few hundred meters. I basically had to stop and tread water to catch my breath, get my bearings, and calm down before I breast stroked to get moving again. Eventually got back into crawl but it was pretty horrible. Mine was a sea swim and I also took no account of the tide direction, and my spotting and ‘aim’ was all over the place.

I did however learn a lot from this! When the tri came around, I made sure I knew the tide direction so could account for it. I started further back and my sole focus was to keep a steady rhythm and to control my breathing. Just arm over arm, steady and consistent and my sighting was much better.

Even though the tri swim was 100m further than the Aquathlon I completed it in 6 mins quicker without any additional fitness improvements. The time was made up completely from learning from the bad experience and having better tactics and a smoother rhythm. I can’t emphasise enough how important it is try and do something in advance to prepare you and to get your mistakes out of the way.

It was a fantastic experience though and I’ve booked another this year and may aim for a full later in the year. Also, it was brilliant once I got on the bike and pegged back loads of people. The swim is the shortest leg and the bike the longest so you can really make ground back easily. I flew through the pack (and then also got pegged back a bit by the strong runners!). Good luck but go for it.

Get swimming lessons, and sign up for the Olympic distance. Sprint’s far too hard!

Or do what I did for my first triathlon and sign up for Ironman distance. The 20-30 minutes you lose on the swim are nothing compared to what you can make up on the run 🙂

Don’t under estimate how different open water and tri are to a pool. In my youth I’d even played some water polo and so reckoned it couldn’t be too hard. Suffice to say I was suitably schooled especially as my first (and only) tri was a half IM.

But I excited the water ~750 and finished the run ~350 so there was a lot of overtaking in the latter legs. 😀

Where will you find the time for swim/run training given you’ve not currently got enough time for the amount cycle training you think you need?

I did this earlier in the year, I’m a decentish runner, passable on a bike but I couldn’t swim a length of crawl without getting absolutely knackered.

I’d run the Manchester Marathon in April and fancied a break from running so accepted the challenge to do a sprint triathlon in a month. After a couple of sessions of flapping about I got two 1/2hour 1:1 lessons fixed my over kicking and crap breathing. Within a few weeks I could do the 400m in the pool and managed the pool tri no problem.

I went on to do a 1/2 ironman in July (1900m swim), I actually find open water much easier as the wetsuit compensates for my legs by lifting them up and mentally its easier (think pool = treadmill lake = trail run)

Watch out it can be a bit addictive. Training for the full now Ironman now, I’ve kept at the swimming and managed 1 1/2 hours in the pool this week but I’m now having real problems with my sinuses reacting to the chlorine.

The advise about coaching and lessons is the most important lesson to take away from the above replies. Swimming is an unusual sport in that technique is so much more important than any cardio vascular fitness. Its a rare sport that a good five year old will beat a poor 20 year old.

You should do it. You’ll fit in perfectly in the triathlon world. The potential for angst is immense.

You’ll fit in perfectly in the triathlon world. The potential for angst is immense.

😀

Thanks for the advice so far.

Scotroutes – there is alternative reason – my 7yo is turning out be a somewhat very high level swimmer (mum was an ex-county champion and once considered for GB in the Atlanta olympics). But I can’t swim and am not confident in water. Jnr really wants me to splash around on holiday, but he means the kind of jumping in pushing each other about stuff, which I’m not confident doing.

So, I want to swim/play with the kids so this is the main reason for learning to swim / gaining more confidence. I always do one thing a year outside my comfort zone for charity, and this could be my 2017 goal.

I’m not aiming to be a triathlete, or podium. I just want to do something to push a boundary and force some competence in swimming. Fwiw I don’t care if I come last due to the swim, its just doing it that matters.

So, I want to swim/play with the kids so this is the main reason for learning to swim / gaining more confidence. I always do one thing a year outside my comfort zone for charity, and this could be my 2017 goal.

Sounds like a great reason to learn. Like others said, get some lessons and it’ll be a lot easier.

Kryton – try to overcomplicate swimming (says someone who reads lots of books/websites on the subject). The basics are simple and common to most schools – except the dreaded s-shaped pull. Make the swim easy and efficient – a lovely way (London Docks aside) to arrive at a nice bike ride and then a running race.

Also remember that the start of a tri swim is a weird and potentially scary situation. Unfamiliar surroundings, no nice line on the bottom of the pool to follow and lots of other people swmimming in front, behind, over, around, under you. Be prepared for the immediate chaos – ie, stay at the side or at the back!!

The offsetting pleasure (!) is the feeling of warmth that engulfs the lower half of you wetsuit, 30 seconds after entering the water. The reason why all triathletes have an odd smile on their faces just before the start!!