Thinking about a half Ironman in 2019, the bike and run I can do. I’ve tried to swim freestyle, even had a lesson or two but find the technique to be efficient beyond me.  But I’m ok at breaststroke. Will this be too slow or counter culture??

You could, and some do, but why would you? It’s really not unreasonably hard to get to a reasonable level of crawl that is  much easier, more efficient and faster. This is especially true in a wetsuit. I went from ‘swimming to stay alive’ to a mid pack 75 minute IM swim between September and July. This was using a combination of swim smooth drills, youtube and around  20 group lessons. Using buoyancy shorts in training really helped me too. Before I started I couldn’t really do more than a length and thought it might be beyond me. Much better and more satisfying to do it properly and learn a basic crawl stroke.

You could. But I wouldn’t.

Get some lessons, it may take quite a few lessons, and a lot of practice, but it will be worth it.

Yes, breaststroke is allowed. Plenty do it but it ain’t fast.

If you’ve got time, lessons are the best option.

Dont force it though, you may have some sort of joint issue that’s preventing you from doing the fore stroke naturally.

Swimmings ace, sounds like you’re about to embark on an adventure..

Yes you can but it’ll be a fair bit slower than most but you’ll get to see more! Plus you’ll get to pass loads of people on the bike which is very satisfying.

Some do but you’re putting yourself at a relative disadvantage – given the amount of pool time you’ll put in for training its perfectly reasonable to get proficient, particularly if you join a club as many have coaches.

Wot all they sed. Plus breast stroke is a bit more intensive on the legs, and you’ll be needing them later on.

Also I’d imagine with breaststroke if you’re in and around alot of other swimmers and the water gets choppy you’re going to be expending alot of extra energy to lift your head out above the water to take your breaths…with front crawl when you breathe to the side your head creates a sort of bow wave that smooths out the water and provides a nice space for you to take air in.

the technique is easy and intuitive.. I think if you invested the pool time you’ll have it licked soon enough. You’ll be over thinking it at the moment but in time it will become second nature. Also work on your core, the most important thing in swimming, your arms and legs need a firm base/foundation to work from. It’s important in any sport but absolutely essential with swimming. If you have a soft core you don’t stand a cat in hells chance.

As others have already said of course you can swim breaststroke but the biggest issue is it’s a very leg intensive stroke so you’ll certainly feel it when you start cycling and on the subsequent run. I’m a swim teacher and if you’re anywhere near Bristol I’d be happy to give you a few lessons in return for coffee and cake.

One year when I did the Olympic distance at ripon the water was so warm wetsuits were banned – I swam most of it breaststroke and beat a lot of people swimming front crawl badly without a wetsuit. You’ll never be as quick though, and a wetsuit does make crawl a lot easier – and as pointed out it does save your legs for the bike and run.

What are you wanting from the event?  If you want to be competitive then sure, you need to nail freestyle. If your goal is to finish regardless of time, then swim whatever you like.  There will be plenty of other doing breaststroke or doggy paddling their way around.  It’s still a fantastic achievement however you do it.

Apart from the above, the Ironman events tend to be very time cut off based, presumably to keep it relatively elitist, so I wouldn’t expect a breast stroke swim to be fast enough unless you are very quick.

And then if your that fast at breast stroke, you should be more than capable of putting in a good front crawl time with the required practice.

I understand the problem as I too am crap at crawl. When I met the missus many years ago I could easily beat her over a couple of lengths as she got knackered too quickly.

She’s now on her umpteeth half ironman and can swim for miles using front crawl. I still blow after 2 lengths.

It is do-able, just takes time and dedication to learn.

Depending on where the swim is, front crawl might not be necessary. You could just lie down on the weeds and pull yourself along on those, it looks a lot like front crawl from the surface.

What’s the ebike equivalent for swimming?

Fins!

OP, where abouts are you? There are lots of good tri clubs about with free coaching, I go to Hathersage masters (though haven’t been much this year), great set up and lots of mixed abilities.

Backstroke is the only strike outlawed during tri’s (lying on your back with your arm raised is the distress signal for needing assistance)

so you can use breaststroke, and the cutttoff time is usually 2hr20 for the swim. So you should have enough time.

But if you’re considering a long / middle distance tri, the financial and training time invested, use some of that for lessons. Average FS will piss all over decent breaststroke in a triathlon, so as above, I’d make the effort to learn.

Swim cut off is normally 2.20 hrs (check the exact event your interested in though) so breaststroke should be fine, though as already suggested front crawl is a better option

 presumably to keep it relatively elitist,

No, to keep the event logistically feasible.

Are you sightseeing?

I’ve done breaststroke in a full Ironman distance event. I did it because I decided to concentrate my training on the running and cycling. So yes it can be done. However i would recommend learning crawl. If I do another then that’s what I’ll learn.

Problem for me was that I was always worried about making the time cut. Ironically most of my worrying was during training when my times suggested I would be cutting it very fine. However on the day the combination of wearing a wetsuit and the adrenaline pumping meant I got in with about 20 minutes to spare. However it did mean I was starting the bike ride in the bottom 10%.

So yes it’s quite feasible but I would strongly suggest learning crawl.

Good luck, it’s a great feeling on the day.

My mate swims breaststroke in open water swims and comes about mid table in the result.  Get some lessons though it really helped me.

I learned front crawl in my mid forties after being a breast stroke only swimmer, when I started doing tris.

took a few months to get halfway comfortable but now it’s my default stroke.

ive done a couple of IMs and wouldn’t want to do breast stroke for that distance, too slow and tiring.

i can do the IM swim in 1:15 without smashing myself.

get some lessons and it will eventually click.

You can but as others have said it is slow.

My experiance of swimming lessons – Over the course of one winter I went from the slow group (of five) to the middle group fairly rapidly and then plataeued a bit. Went from breathing every second stroke (on my left every time) to the more normal every third stroke alternating left and right. That’s an hour a week of group lessons and no lessons over christmas, so maybe a dozen altogether.

Decent progress in not much time, worth doing.

Just been watching some of the Weymouth Ironman. A few doing breastroke. I think the cycling may be wetter than the swim. Pity the poorvbuggers in the run.  But at the moment Force 7 gusts and really wet roads make for an interesting bike ride. Stay safe guys.

My wife joined the local tri club when she entered a half ironman. She went to there swim sessions once a week and went from struggling to do a length in front crawl to doing the full swim in it between January and May.

Might be worth looking to see if there are any clubs local to you and see what sessions they run,

Weymouth live feed

http://m.eu.ironman.com/triathlon/coverage/detail.aspx?race=weymouth70.3&year=2018