"...the shallow end of the pool." <snicker>

I so resemble that remark. No, really. I saw my last half mile in the first lane. The one next to the steps. The one that only gets about 3.5 feet deep. <g>

Okay, so my input: I can swim a half mile in the pool. (I was doing a mile before my sinus surgery in May and I'm rebuilding.) I am not fast, and I don't do it all in one steady beautiful freestyle rythym. Oh, no. I break up the laps. Breaststroke, crawl, side one, side two, breaststroke...and it takes me about 25 minutes. My side stroke is actually a lot stronger and faster than my breaststroke, and it's easier to breathe. (I think because I'm Weeble-shaped and not at all aquadynamic.)

And another thing, I was reading an article, I think in Competitor magazine, from a woman who was winning triathlons talking about her first one. She said she did the breaststroke the whole way. She was slow, she said, but she was hooked. I think you just need to do whatever gets you to the finish line breathing.

My point is, if I can do it, you can do it. Just go practice a couple of times and you're good to go.

Good luck!

Roxy