Training for triathalon, need advice for swimming?

Question

Hey, I'm a college senior that runs a pretty good 10k and knows how to cycle well, but doesn't really have any formal swimming training/knowledge. I plan on doing triathalons next year, and I need either some good advice to begin with, or better yet a link to the best sites that have the correct info on long distance swimming.

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

My advice to you is to get a coach or trainer. Triathlon isn't just about being okay at the disciplinces, it's about making your body work in all of them continually. The only way you will improve your swimming technique is if your current technique is evaluated by a properly trained eye. There are programs that exist to help train triathletes and they are all useful but in order to get to that point, hire someone (or beg or offer beer to someone) to evaluate your stroke technique and help you make the proper changes to maximize your efficiency. Once you see a coach or trainer twice or three times you may not need to see him/her again, it depends on what you want to get out of your sessions. (I trained a gentleman last years for three sessions. He was an amazing runner, a great biker but couldn't swim to save his life. Once he got the art of kciking down he was on the right track and didn't need anymore help. But to get that grasp he DID need an eval and some tips from a trained pro and in exchnage he helped me with my running!)

A great place to find a coach or trainer or experienced swimmer to help you out is your local triathlon club. Ask around at your pool or look for teams at races in your area. Most teams will take anyone who races and if you find a good one they will have plenty of seminars, training sessions, experience and other beginngers to learn with.

There is a book called The Triathlete's Training Bible by Joel Friel and it's probably the only book you'll ever need to race. It contains everything from the decision to get off the couch and train to completing your fiftieth Ironman. It's easy to read, well written and exceptionally valuable to your training. I highly recommend it.

The website Beginner Triathlete (www.beginnertriathlete.com) is a great resource as well for anyone who wants to race and intends to do a triathlon. They have free logs, workouts, tips, tricks and nutritional info to help beginners (and anyone else!) keep track of their progress. There are also open forums on there that are useful and of course it's free which is great. You can also try Slowtwitch (www.slowtwitch.com) which is a great fitness resource for the endurance athlete.

To find races in your area check out www.trifind.com and click on your state - viola, an entire year's worth of upcoming events and how to register for them!

My advbice is to stick with it, consult the experts, make friends with other athletes, read Friel and enjoy yourself. Triathlon is extremely addictive!

Good luck!!!

Answer 2

If your college has a Masters swim team (different from the college athletic program--a coached swim program for 18+ year olds), that is a great resource. Most masters teams have swimmers of all levels, relative beginners (assuming you can at least swim some) to advanced (former college swimmers, etc). There are usually many triathletes on masters teams, which is a great resource, and the coached workout should provide an opportunity for tips (and the coached workout should make it easier for an inexperienced swimmers to improve more quickly than if you try to swim alone on your own schedule).

Beyond that, if you simply want a written resource, check out the book Swimming Fastest.

Answer 3

im a distance nationally ranked swimmer. start training to get used to swimming for long periods of time at a steady pace. breathe consistently, kick moderatly (dont kill ur self the first half), take it out at about 70% and come home at about 95% or as hard as u can go (idk wat the order is for triathalons, so it depends) idk any links, sorry :-] if you can breathe every third stroke (2 strokes w/ ur head down [but not buried] and breathe on the third) maybe try going to ur college's swim coach for advice.

Good Luck in your triathalons, I think it's great!

Answer 4

You will need a steady kick that isn't too fast or too slow. Let your arms do alot of the work. Also you need to learn how to get yourself at a steady pace.

Answer 5

Make sure you build up your upper body as much as possible. That will benefit you most on the swim.

Answer 6

just keep a steady rythm, but not slow of course, try to sing a song in your head...
bend your elbows...
pull as far as you can, kick below water..

Answer 7

for long distance swimming kick strong and dont stop or youll get crAMPS