FC Swim Speed

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rf_fozzy Jul 2012 7:21pm, 6 Jul 2012 2,857 posts	0 rf_fozzy I'm interested in knowing what sort of speed people swim FC at - it takes me about 38mins to do 1500m at present (no tumble turns, as I can't do them) - is this good, bad, average? The girl in the lane next to me was significantly quicker than I was, and I know that my friend swims about 23mins in a triathlons. I'm curious, because I want to know where I need to be before I think about entering a tri. Currently I reckon I need to at least get my pool 1500m time down to 25ish mins, as I suspect I will be significantly slower in OW. What's the best way to get faster? Keep doing drills (as I get in my swimming lessons) or do some intervally type stuff? Anything else? There are still flaws in my technique and I suspect I'm not very efficient, and I know I have a weakness on my LHS. Thanks
MudMeanderer Jul 2012 7:38pm, 6 Jul 2012 597 posts	0 MudMeanderer In the two ow tris I've done so far I've been at about 2mins/100m pace (c30 mins for 1500m) and probably wasn't far off mid way through the field. You'll be well up if you manage 25min pace. I also found ow swimming quicker than in a pool. I did do intervals with Worcester Tri last year, but unless your technique is sharp, I think getting comfortable with holding form whilst being relaxed matters more. The swim is only a small proportion of a Tri.
jacdaw Jul 2012 8:02pm, 6 Jul 2012 116 posts	0 jacdaw I'm currently stuck at 34mins for an OW mile (but might be swimming further than everybody else - leaky goggles ), so not really qualified to advise.... but, I think you need to sort out technique first, as it is easy to learn bad habits, but hard to break them. Then worry about speed. I'm a big fan of swim smooth, here - swimsmooth.com
sallykate Jul 2012 8:07pm, 6 Jul 2012 2,727 posts	0 sallykate Slightly off-topic but: will a wetsuit in OW make you more buoyant and therefore faster? And can you check previous results to see whether you're way off the pace? Technique and efficiency are the way to go - is there a course you can do? Sorry for more questions than answers!
AngusClydesdale Jul 2012 8:12pm, 6 Jul 2012 3,420 posts	0 AngusClydesdale OW is usually quicker than the pool because not turning is marginally faster and the wetsuit buoyancy really helps. You probably need to try to get to the pool a couple of times per week and make at least one session an interval-type session. You could do worse than read Gail Bernhardt's Swim Workouts for Triathletes. I would swim a time trial (say 4 x 100m with 20sec recovery between each) and average the time taken for the 100s. This is time 'x'. Then using that as my benchmark, next time I would warm up (about 400m) then swim 10 x 100 on ('x'+20) secs - which means that if your average per 100 was 120secs you would swim 10 x 100 leaving the wall every time the clock goes past 140 (or 2min 20secs). It should feel tough and the last 5 ought to be difficult (and your RI should reduce). If it's too easy, reduce the swim interval (i.e go every 135). I wouldn't reduce the RI to less than :15 (unless it's the last couple of reps) otherwise it becomes more or less a straight swim. Don't forget to stretch during swim down. You should have covered about a mile at this point. I expect Legless will be along in a minute with wisdom. Enjoy
jacdaw Jul 2012 8:55pm, 6 Jul 2012 117 posts	0 jacdaw The extra buoyancy I get from a wetsuit makes me faster, in the same way a pull buoy makes me faster. It suggests I have poor position / sinking legs. Others, especially women, find that they are already buoyant enough and a wetsuit (or a pullbuoy) makes them too buoyant and either doesn't help or slows them down. I've noticed that a wetsuit in salt water makes me feel like I am swimming on the water not in it; presumably to do with greater buoyancy in sea water compared to freshwater.
rf_fozzy Jul 2012 1:51pm, 7 Jul 2012 2,863 posts	0 rf_fozzy AC - I think that session might be far too taxing for my currently ability level. 10x100m is a lot of intervals (for me) and that session would easily take an hour. I'm usually knackered after about an hours "normal" swim. Might try something similar, but with less repeats. I'm still in the stage of making sure my technique is right on each stroke (I have a tendency to let my left arm go under my body when breathing to the right, for example) - when I'm really knackered, technique starts to go out the window. SK- I do lessons every Saturday morning. I'm nowhere near good enough in terms of speed or stamina to do something like a Master's session or a proper coached tri session. As for being faster/slower in a wetsuit, I don't know what the difference will make to me - I've never swum OW. I expect to be slower due to colder water and the need to do a few strokes of BS every few hundred m in order to catch my breath. MM- Is there such a thing as being relaxed on FC? I never feel relaxed - I'm always thinking about my stroke - am I kicking from hips? am I rolling? how tight is my chest due to lack of breath? did I just swallow a mouthful of water instead of a mouthful of air and so need to breath again on the next stroke instead of after 3? etc, etc The swim may be a small proportion of the tri, but taking 5mins longer on the swim is still 5mins on your time (for example), and for me at the moment, it's going to be far easier to find 5-10mins on the swim that it's going to be possible to do on the bike or run.
halfpint Jul 2012 2:16pm, 7 Jul 2012 12,706 posts	0 halfpint fozzy - I was told by an experienced triathlete (a fetchie one) that my tri time was not far off par. My time over 400m was 8m21s and I was told that 2min/100m is average. I was 2nd out of the pool in my heat and there were heaps of people slower than me. Don't put too much pressure on yourself. I know that performance and times are important to you but for a first tri I would just try to enjoy it and use it as a learning experience
rf_fozzy Jul 2012 2:27pm, 7 Jul 2012 2,865 posts	0 rf_fozzy HP - that's still 30mins for 1500 and I'm about 8-10mins slower than that at the moment, so still a long way to go. If I got my 1500 time down to 30mins, I'd enter a tri, although the ultimate aim has to be to get that time down close to 25mins.
rf_fozzy Jul 2012 3:35pm, 26 Jul 2012 2,917 posts	0 rf_fozzy Looking at Castle Howard Tri results (which I think was no wetsuit), my 1500m time of around 38-40mins at present would have meant that there would have been people behind me, but not many. Maybe I'm just a crap, slow swimmer and need more practise. I just don't get how some people can just get into the pool and bash out a fast pace. It's not fair!