Losing My Breath in Open-Water 750m Swim - Triathlon Week

GP35 · 06-27-2006, 11:22 AM

I just completed my 3rd sprint triathlon. The swim is 750m in a lake.

I'm a decent but not good or fast swimmer, having been a mediocre member of a swim team as a child.

My training for the triathlon was generally swimming 1,000 - 2,000 yards once or twice a week, all freestyle, without rest, occassionally using a pull buoy for 250-500 yards. I generally did 250 yards in about 4:30 - 5m. I breathe on alternate sides on every third stroke (counting each arm as a stroke).

I've had a very good swimmer look at me in the pool and he says I don't have any glaring flaws.

My goal is modest: I want to swim my 750 yards in the lake all in freestyle maintaining my alternate breathing and not getting out of breath.

The problem is that I get out of breath in the lake, not helped by bumping into people, etc., and it totally throws me off my game. This year I did my swim in 15m, but the more important problem was that losing my breath totally demoralized me.

I start out pretty relaxed and I know to start slowing and take good breaths at the start, but still . . .

Also, there is an upcoming Olympic distance triathlon in my area that I wouldn't mind training for, knowing that with some discipline I could get in shape for the run and bike, but the thought of doing a 1,500 lake swim when 750m is so unpleasant for me in a race is totally intimidating.

What can I do so I don't lose my breath in the lake swim? Other than simply swimming more often, my best current thoughts are:

(i) Swim more in a nearby lake. I've done this before and it was tougher than in the pool, but I didn't really lose my breath like in a race.

(ii) Do interval training in the pool. My plan is to warm up for 500 yards, then do 50yards fast, 25 slow, 50 fast, etc, til I've done 10 50's, ending with a warm down. I would then increase the interval length to 75 yards and then 100 yards, etc.

(iii) Do 250 yard sessions breathing every 5th stroke (as I define it) to help my wind

(iv) Finally, I want to hire a coach for a few sessions to work on my form.

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Any advice y'all can give? My pool swimming may not be fast, but it gives me confidence going into my triathlon, only to turn out to be misplaced as I suck wind in the lake. I'm surprised that the problem hasn't gone away, even as my swim times improve each year.

Thanks in advance

hmullett · 06-27-2006, 12:01 PM

What I did was to do more speed work to improve my breathing. I'm also an every other stroke breather (only to one side), and trying to breath every 5 makes me more winded. It also might just be as simple as upping your pool time to increase your lung capacity.

Remember though, that your heartrate will increase during a race; due to adrenaline. Try racing people in your pool workouts.

CarolRawinia · 06-27-2006, 12:28 PM

You clearly breathe properly since as you say you count strokes and breathe on every third which is the most efficent way to swim. Please don't retreat to breathing on every alternative stroke or just to one side because it always damages your stroke and means that you can not navigate well in open water; and this is because you can't swim straight over long distances if you only breathe on one side. You say you have done three tri's but you don't say how many swim starts you have had because this could just be about nerves in which case you need to enter more swim events to learn to manage this. Also you need to be really careful that you breathe out into the water just prior to turning your head to take the next breath. If you do not do this you don't actually have enough time to take the breath as you turn your head. Also it is helpful to remember that when taking a breath you gilde for a moment in the water, by that I mean that you turn your head to take the breath and rests for a moment or two on your out stretched arm. This reduces the number of strokes you take and helps you keep your form. Finally I do recommend some practice in open water and a swimming caoch if you can afford it. Swimming is the most technical aspect of a tri and is the area in which most people with a little coaching could improve; having said that swimming is about both form and speed particularly over long distances. Good Luck

GP35 · 06-27-2006, 01:36 PM

Thanks for the advice. This is great.

I will stick with breathing on both sides, because it is ingrained. I hated having to breathe on just one side when I lost my breath in the swim. Just three 3 swim starts.

I think I breathe out first into the water.

"Also it is helpful to remember that when taking a breath you gilde for a moment in the water, by that I mean that you turn your head to take the breath and rests for a moment or two on your out stretched arm. This reduces the number of strokes you take and helps you keep your form."

-- This sounds great! Never tried that.

I'm spending plenty on swimming lessons on the kids now, so I can certainly justify a few for myself!

Oddly, my triathlon friends are all insane swimmers, as in they win the swim portion of every meet they enter! (Buddy did our lake 750m in 9:45) The problem is that they are so good they can't really give advice on swimming, because they haven't had to go through the learning process.

Keep it coming!

CarolRawinia · 06-27-2006, 05:57 PM

Sorry I should have said that the other reason you want to gilde for a moment or two is that if you don't you tend to be falling forward into the water, in other words you don't keep a stable position in the water and thus the effort to swim is magnified. This will make you feel out of breath.
I swim with a number of elite Ironmen including my coach; who agree that the glide along with bilateral breathing, and the scribing of a figure eight when the arm passes through the water (in other words you never drive your arm straight through the water as it is inefficent) are the indicators of good swimming form.

sfricks · 06-28-2006, 09:58 AM

One thought... If your form is OK, you may simply be overexerting yourself. You may want to run a 4 minute mile but cannot because of the exertion level. You may want to swim a 1:00 hundred but cannot for the same reason. Try slowing down a little & focusing on your form. If you're out of breath then, it's technique, if not, it's likely related to your fitness level.

Also, try this... Most swimmers focus on the inhale. Try focusing on the exhale making sure your lungs are mostly empty when you turn to breathe. This forces you to take a complete well oxygenated breath and makes the inhale more automatic. Good luck!

cdmorten · 08-13-2006, 03:35 PM

I have a similar problem, but I think mine is from nerves. In a pool swim tri, I'm good. Throw in some splashing, bumping and the possibility of dying and I get a little freaked out and I have a hard time breathing until the bodies thin out and I can put together a few good strokes.

I just joined a Masters swim team that practices early morning. Besides, getting some coaching and more pool time than before, I'm getting used to swimming with other people in my lane which helps with the splashing/bumping aspect. I'm hoping that gets me used to open water swims.

mtnbkr81 · 08-18-2006, 11:52 AM

I was a swimmer in high school and when i did my first tri about 3 years ago, when i jumped into the lake to do a quick warm up (mind you this is the first time i swam in a lake), when i put my head in the water and couldn't see anything, i could feel myself start to freak out. So, it took a lot of practice swimming in lakes before i could convince myself to just relax. So, before each race i would get in and just begin my warmup swim with a really smooth slow 250 or so to just get acclamated to not being able to see and concentrate on my breathing.

calvin25 · 12-09-2006, 10:53 PM

All great ideas, esp. practice open water swims. However, I discovered that my problem with open water swims and loosing my breath was my WETSUIT.
I have a long torso and my wetsuit was restricting my arm rotation. Thus more effort to keep up the same pace. I found this out during a group training swim at a local lake. We swam in wetsuits for race prep, then just for fun I went out for another lap around the bouys sans wetsuit. What a difference. I'm now shopping for a two piece suit to help aleviate this problem.

siggismara · 12-18-2006, 04:44 PM

Sounds like me when I haven't practiced swimming in a wetsuit for a while. I suspect every wetsuit will have this effect, some more, others less. Probably has more to do with one's position in the water than restriction in arm rotation.

I find that I need to do at least a biweekly (preferably weekly) open water swim in my wetsuit to keep my body adapted to the difference in position.
So before you run out and buy a new wetsuit try swimming on a regluar basis in the one you have. It might make the problem go away.

I don't understand why you say that your arm rotation would get easier in a two piece suit. I'm no doctor, but isn't your arm attached to your shoulder rather than your torso? ;)

Floyd · 12-20-2006, 11:20 PM

It's definitely better to breath at least every three strokes, so that you switch sides. It will make the swim faster to, because it will make your body more streamlined. 5 strokes is better than 3, though.

Living_to_tri · 03-15-2007, 01:16 PM

These are great responses to swimming. Having just started training for my first sprint, and not being a strong swimmer, having a coach (even once or twice) can pay big dividends. It's all about form. Speed follows.

multisportcast · 03-19-2007, 08:18 AM

I think you should also consider the mental aspect of the swim. It sounds like your approach to training an competition is right but there my be just a little bit of performance anxiety going on with race day. When that bull horn sounds we release a lot of adrenaline. Stack that on top of a crowded start. and it could lead to a brief moment of over exertion that could cause you to get out of your normal swim rhythm. With swimming relying heavily on maintaining a smooth breathing pattern this would cause a noticeable increase in exertion pretty quickly. I don't know if this is your case but I speak from my own experiences. After a few rough starts i definitely had to mentally regroup before finding my rhythm for the rest of the swim. Hang in there whatever it is You'll figure it out.