Think I'll TRY to tri (again)

So as I read all the race reports as the triathlon season wears down elsewhere...I am comtemplating a tri in Dec. Some you may remember I did a tri last summer. My swim was horrible. It was my first one. I did finish and was not DFL, but close on the swim (father and young son were the last).
So the 1st weekend in Dec. is a new tri in Key West. That is about an 8 hour drive from here. Makes training during cooler (but not cold) weather. It is a sprint distance. I will have just completed a 1/2 marathon in late Nov., I am also finishing up a 150 mile weekend ride in Oct. So I'll have good biking and running base. But it is the swim.
I don't even know WHY I want to do this. I am afraid of the OW swim. I have a real hard time with the swim. I can't say I enjoy swimming it is so much work! In reality I have a hard time w/ all the discplines...not built for speed. But with the bike you can always just take it slow, with the run you can walk, with the swim....one just sinks if they cannot swim (or drown!)
So Sat I went to pool, swim (although poorly) 1000 yards...resting between each 25! And some w/ fins. But it was first time in water in 1 year. This AM I had a "lesson" at the local pool. It was really just one of the young lifeguards. But she watched me, told me a few things AND when I got all the things going (for maybe 3 strokes) it felt different and "easier"??
So I THINK I am really going to do it. I hope this experience is better than my last. I know I need to spend LOTS of time in the pool and really working on my stroke (and kick!) But I have NOT registered yet, I am close, but not yet.
Advice?
K

Is it an ocean swim? I'm pretty scared of the ocean ... and as flat as the water is in South Florida, I don't know if there are even surfers there ... but I know that one of the first things they teach you in surfing lessons is how to read the water and what to do if you get in trouble. I'm really considering taking a few lessons, not because I'm at all interested in surfing, but just to get more comfortable in the water.

You're asking the wrong person, but it sounds fun. Ocean swims are not an area I'm familiar with, though I'm toying with the idea of race-vacationing somewhere with an ocean swim just to experience it (don't tell my husband yet ;)). December is a long time away and it sounds like swim lessons here and there might be just what you need to get over the swimming hump. You could stall on signing up until you do a few more swims, but if you got in the pool and swam 1000 yards even with the breaks, I think you can make the distance, but to make the distance a little more pleasant you'll need more time. :)

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Originally Posted by katluvr

I don't even know WHY I want to do this. I am afraid of the OW swim. I have a real hard time with the swim. I can't say I enjoy swimming it is so much work! K

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LOL! I didn't realize I hated swimming until my first tri in June :) I suck at swimming, so I feel ya! It's a good thing it's the first part of a race, because I look forward to getting out of the water, and that is motivation for me to keep thrashing about in the lake. Swimming made me "enjoy" running, because I didn't used to - but you can't drown on land :p

Just keep up the practice in the pool, get your form down, and pretty soon you'll be able to swim 50 before having to rest. Then 75; then......you'll get better at it. At least, that's what I tell myself. The difference in the swim between my first and second tris was all mental - the distance went from 250 to 500, and my time was exactly twice as long on the 500 as the 250, but I didn't panic, I felt relaxed, and I could actually jog up the shore into transition instead of cursing the day I registered for this crazy thing! I find that signing up "forces" me to swim - I signed up for another tri in September, a 750 swim distance, so I have to practice swimming. No way I can fake my way that distance.

I really do enjoy triathlon. I love the competition, pushing myself, mixing it up with the three sports - it IS fun for me. The swim is just my nemesis!!! What sucks for me, is that I'm not afraid of the water; I grew up in So Cal on the beach, even had a pool at my house. Apparently I just didn't "swim" very much. I just have this thing with water in my face - i H-A-T-E it...HATE IT!! It doesn't matter where it's coming from; even in the shower, I cannot stand water on my face. And it has nothing to with a fear of drowning; I just don't like it. This is making it incredibly difficult for me to get down into the water to swim efficiently; not only does it take me forever to get from point a to point b, but I'm beat by the time I get there since I have all this drag when I swim. So I will practice what I preach to you, and I will PRACTICE SWIMMING! :) I mean, I already paid for it, right?

See if they have a duathlon option, no swim, just running.

Good luck to you katluvr! I'm not fond of swimming either but I'm getting there...baby steps....baby steps....

To quote finding nemo, "just keep swimming...."

You have lots of time to build it up! Keep getting little lessons and swim consistently.

So we have season football tickets for USF (University of South Florida). They have a home game the same weekend as the tri in Key West. AND they play UCONN, my SO & family is from CT, even I lived up there for awhile. So we are opting to keep our tickets & stay home for the game. Why so they have to ne the same weekend?!
So I'll be looking for another late winter, early spring tri to do.
K

They don't have a 2011 calendar posted yet, but take a look at TriFlorida later on in the year. The National Triathlon Training Center in Clermont has a sprint series - I considered doing one of them last year, but it was just a little bit too far for me to travel.

Just researching what kind of wetsuit to get for an open water cold swim and found this thread. Did you post a race report?

Roxy