Well, I'm new here, but am so incredibly impressed with the information on this thread that I've been talking about it for the past week.

I had a baby (#4) in October, 2006 and started to swim the following January. I hadn't done any serious swimming since I was a teen with a local swim team. In those days, you were told to be like a plank in the water and do a sort of "S" movement with your arms. I only ever breathed on my left side.

Well, doing something when you're a teen and then doing it again in your (late) 30's are two different things: What my body could handle then, it could not handle now -- especially when you add in the shoulder stress associated with nursing a fourth child (all four born in a space of 5 1/2 years).

I had tendonitis in my shoulder and no amount visits to the chiropractor could fix it. It was, of course, my right shoulder -- opposite to my breathing side.

I eventually caved for a shot of cortisone so that I could compete in two sprint tris, but the effects didn't last.

Since joining the masters swimmers, I've learned to roll a lot and breathe every three strokes. I had to scarf down a lot of chlorine (:P) before I could manage to do it well, but it was worth it. Ever since, the shoulder pain is blissfully gone.

So, this is a really long-winded way of saying thanks for discussing this: I'll be sure to breathe every three strokes and roll like a maniac now; especially when sprinting when the temptation to revert back to old ways hits me!