Swim Panic

[MaTadams]

Hello All,

I have been reading these forums for a few years now and I've learned much, but I rarely post. I now have a question and I'm hoping to gain some insight. I am preparing to participate in my first triathlon this coming Sunday. It is a sprint distance and the swim is in an indoor pool. I know that this should be easy, but I have to force myself through a 'pseudo panic attack' every time I start swimming.

When I first started training, I could not even swim a length of the pool without gasping for air at the end. I can now swim 1000 yards without stopping, but EVERY time I start out, I feel as though I can't breathe and I am fighting panic. When practicing, if I swim a second 500 yds, it does not happen - it is only in those initial laps when I first get in the pool.

Why is this? Have any of you experienced this, and if so, how did you overcome it?

Thanks so much for any insight / suggestions / advice.

[Selkie]

Love the water and don't fight it. Sounds like you just have to get into your rhythm. Maybe do breaststroke your first length to warm up, then do you first length of free focusing on your form, and exhaling slowly and evenly. You'll soon be into your groove.

You know you won't drown. Don't psyche yourself out and try to enjoy it. :-) Good luck.

[Susan Otcenas]

I always fight panic in the water. It used to happen to me on pool swims as well as outside, but I've managed to get to a point where I don't panic indoors anymore.

I HATE HATE HATE the breathless feeling I get at the start of a triathlon, both outdoors and in a pool. In the pool, though, I know that the deck is never more than 12.5 yards away (or in an Olympic Pool 25 yards) in either direction and that I can always make it at least that far. Plus, there are spectators who wouldn't let me drown....

But really, there are two things that helped me the most:
1) Lots and lots of swim training. As I grew stronger, I simply became more confident in my strength and ability. Not any faster, really, but more endurance. The farther I swam, the more I knew I *could* swim that distance.

2) Learning to swim to recovery. What I mean is, if you KNOW you are going to feel breathless at the beginning of a race, do some training in the pool that makes you breathless to start, then recover WHILE swimming. In practice, what this means for me is to swim 50 or 100 yards AS HARD AS I CAN so that I'm panting at 100 yards, and then, WITHOUT STOPPING, I slow down and swim an easy 100 or so. It forces me to calm down, and swim slowly enough that I teach myself to bring my heart rate down and slow my rate of respiration, while continuing to move forward. When you learn how to do this in the pool, when there's no pressure on you of people watching, or the time clock of a race ticking, you will be able to recall how that feels on race day, and keep swimming while you recover.

Of course, none of this helps you now, with race day coming this weekend. So, my best advice to you would be, if at all possible, swim a lap (or two) before your heat starts, if you can. I've done some pool tris in the past, and there's usually 2-5 minutes between the end of one heat and the beginning of the next. Use those 2-5 minutes to swim a lap, or even halfway down and back if that's all you have time for. You'll get past at least some of that initial adrenaline-fueled heartrate spike.

Finally, go into the race giving yourself permission to pause at the wall if you feel breathless. Trust me, it's OK to do that and YOU WILL NOT BE ALONE. Many beginners (and even many not-so-beginners) have the exact same experience as you, and particularly in the slower heats you will see many people take a brief pause at the wall, even if it's just for an extra breath or three.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes!

Susan

[tulip]

It occurs to me that perhaps you learned to swim as an adult and never played in pools as a kid. Is that a fair assumption? If so, it's not surprising that you aren't comfortable even though you can swim. I spent much of my childhood just playing in the water and love it. But it sounds like you've never had FUN playing in the water. Maybe learning to just play in the water would help you with your swimming.

[TsPoet]

I've done support for several local triathlons. Many outside in the Columbia river.
All I can say is, I've done support - in other words there is lots of support! All of the tris I've been involved in have several people in the water (in the river) and several watching and there to help in pools.
the only issues we've ever had, even with all of these people there "just in case" were due to hypothermia - never had another issue and never hypothermia in a pool.
You will not be alone, and you will be with people who care and support you.

[tangentgirl]

Been there, done that. Until I did my first race, I was petrified. In 4-ft water. Surrounded by people. After swimming almost a mile through freezing, kelp-infested water like a boss (I can say in hindsight), I realized I could take on anything. But I had to do that first. Now I surf and swim and stuff.

Adding to Susan's race advice...even though it's indoors, if you get a chance to be in the water before the race, try to put your face in the water and hold it there for a bit. Somewhere safe, where you can touch the bottom, or hold onto the side. That's a big thing for outside races, especially in cold water, but I'm willing to bet the psych effect will help you a little in the pool as well.

Good luck, you can do it!

[GLC1968]

I can now swim 1000 yards without stopping, but EVERY time I start out, I feel as though I can't breathe and I am fighting panic. When practicing, if I swim a second 500 yds, it does not happen - it is only in those initial laps when I first get in the pool.

I'm going to go against the flow here and suggest that you are not actually having a 'panic attack' (you did classify it as pseudo) but that you are just making the jump from anaerobic to aerobic at the point where you feel like you can't breathe. You say it happens at the beginning of every swim, right? I have the exact same thing. If I jump in the pool and start swimming, at some point, I get that same 'holy crap, I'm running out of air, I can't breathe, I need to stop now' feeling. Now that I've been swimming for a couple of years, I've learned that for me, it happens at about 200yd into the swim. I get the same feeling when I run - about 1/4 to 1/2 mile into the run. It's WAY more pronounced in the water than when running because in the water, you are forced to breathe at a certain interval. When I'm running, I just breathe faster for a bit. In fact, it took me a long time to even realize that it happened when running because at that point in my run training, I was on an uphill and blamed the hill for making me breathe a little harder. It wasn't until I changed my route that I realized it happened even on flat ground.

I forget where I read it, but somewhere I saw that this is the point where your body systems are switching over from anaerobic to aerobic. I notice both in running and in swimming that once I push past that uncomfortable feeling, it goes away and I get into a groove.

So, if this sounds like what you are going through, I can say from experience that it helps to anticipate the feeling and know that if you just put up with it for a length or so, it goes away and the effort starts to feel much easier. Mentally, knowing it's coming and knowing its both normal and temporary has really helped.

Another big help would be the ability to run or swim until you hit that point BEFORE the race even starts, but most of the time, that's just not possible.

[MaTadams]

These replies have given me much to think about - and work on. The best part is to know that I am not alone.

Tulip - I learned to swim as a child and then never swam until training for this tri; I did play in the water through, but never worked in the water.

I will have a chance to swim a lap before the tri begins - and I plan to do so.

GLC1968 - interesting perspective and I don't know which it is - panic or anaerobic / aerobic. I've never experienced anything like this - with running or cycling - and it sure felt like a panic attack of sorts.

Whatever it is - thanks to all of you - I have been encouraged and I have strategies to try.

Thank you, so very much, for the input!