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Getting Started

Of the swim, bike and run that make up triathlon, often times the swim portion can be the most daunting, especially for those who didn't learn to swim as kids. You are not alone – a lot of newer triathletes are in the same boat. With time and practice you will be comfortable.

Swimming is safe. I would argue it is probably the safest thing we do out there. Training in a pool, if you feel unsure about yourself – stand up. In open water, you will be wearing a wetsuit, and they are super-buoyant. Once you can recognize that you are going to be okay, you can relax, learn to like swimming more, and probably get mush faster as a result.

When you first get in a swimming pool, you may be able to do just one length before feeling tired. So let me say right off the bat- that's ok. Just like running, it takes time to build up endurance in swimming. But it will definitely come in time, if you can commit to swimming 2-3 times per week.

Pools are typically 25 yards in length. However, and this is especially true in San Francisco, some pools are "off" lengths: most 24 Hr. Fitness pools are 20 yards in length; the Hamilton Pool in Pacific Heights is 33 yards long, as is the Olympic Club pool in Nob Hill (good luck getting in!); and of particular interest, the Sheehan Hotel pool in Nob Hill is an unconventional 21 yards in length.

For most pools, one length is 25 yards- one lap is 50 yards. However, you will sometimes people describe lengths as laps. If a swimming distance described in laps sounds ridiculously long, then likely the person meant lengths. People often use the term "laps" when they mean "lengths," but it's usually clear by the context of the workout they are explaining what they mean. For example, if you are swimming with a friend and he says, "Hey, let's swim 500 yards straight, it's only 20 laps" he really means 20 lengths- 20 laps would be 1,000 yards, a distance far greater than what most swimmers do in a single set even in masters classes. (A masters class is where a bunch of hard-core or semi-hard-core swimmers work out under the tutelage of a coach, and they usually practice the wierdo strokes, like butterfly and backstroke.)

If you jump in a lane at your pool and see people swimming up one side of the lane and then down the other side, they are circle swimming. Keep to the right side of the lane as you are swimming, touch the wall somewhere near the center, and then swim back down the pool, again keeping to your right. Leave the flip turns for later, when you start swimming like one of the wierdos in the masters classes.

As a beginner, you might set as a goal to finish 20 lengths of a standard pool, or 500 yards. In time, you will likely swim total yardage somewhere around 2,000 yards in a workout. The single most important thing at this stage, either as a beginning swimmer or a swimmer just getting back into the pool, is to remember the combination to your padlock in the locker room. It's a real hassle to have to call a friend or roommate to bring clothes to the pool for you.

Created by: admin last modification: Sunday 21 of January, 2007 [05:02:16 UTC] by admin

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