Swimming 1.5k race in 3 months

[asdfasdf]

So a while ago in idle conversation I mentioned that I liked swimming, this led to me being signed up for the swimming leg of the company triathlon. It's 1.5k, and I just got in the water for the first time in 4 years (first time at any distance atleast) and it took me over 50 minutes to finish.

I have the feeling that's a horrific time, what should I be shooting for here? I don't expect us to win or anything, just want to be on par with average for other participants. Also I'll be training mainly in a pool, and the chlorine really bothers my eyes, I got goggles (4 years ago, when I swam) but they don't seem to fit well, to get a tight enough fit for the water to stay out they bruise a ring under my eyes. Does anyone else have experience with this? Are there a lot of different types of goggles such that I should be getting a new pair to get around this? The thing is given the eye bruise situation there aren't really a lot of times that work to train, really just late in the evening, but I'd rather avoid that if I can (late excercise tends to keep me from sleeping well).

Oh, another thing, this'll be in a lake in summer, but I think fairly warm. I've always just swam with typical man swim trunks, and no cap, if anyone has done something like this will that attire make me look ridiculous, will everyone be in body suits?

Obviously I can ask some of these questions to my teammates, but would rather not appear too naive at this point for fear of them losing all confidence in me. TIA for any thoughts.

[Dumbdumb]

Depends on the triathalon. I've just started researching some triathalons for myself for this summer, and it seems that some have specific rules as to when you can wear a body suit, i.e. only if the temp is below a certain point.

[Keep It Real, Yo]

I can swim 1.5K in about 36 minutes... and I am usually in the bottom 1/3rd in a triathlon upon finishing the swim.

[asdfasdf]

Originally Posted by Keep It Real, Yo

I can swim 1.5K in about 36 minutes... and I am usually in the bottom 1/3rd in a triathlon upon finishing the swim.

36 minutes, ok, that'll be the target. What is your usual stroke? I choose to believe that my problem was I'm just not used to breathing properly while swimming anymore so when I was trying to the front crawl I couldn't get more than 1 or 2 hundred metres with it before having to switch. Will most people be doing something more aggresive than a crawl, or something similar?

ETA

Originally Posted by dumbdumb

Depends on the triathalon. I've just started researching some triathalons for myself for this summer, and it seems that some have specific rules as to when you can wear a body suit, i.e. only if the temp is below a certain point

Hmm, guess I'll have to check that, to be honest I don't really want to buy one just for this event, I'm just thinking swimshorts aren't gonna gut it and I'll need to get a banana hammock, although I'd prefer to avoid that as well as I wouldn't be using that for any other purpose either.

[Keep It Real, Yo]

I do breaststroke, but that's due to an odd body shape. I have very dense, very strong legs, and a comparatively skinny upper body. I can't do the crawl stroke for more than 400 meters. Seriously. If I hold a kick board and just kick my legs as you would in the crawl stroke I go backwards.

Good part about the breaststroke is being able to see with all those bodies in the water.

[A Student]

When i did an ironman, I did the swim (2.4mi?) in ~1hr, and was in the bottom half. In good conditions, a decent swimmer should be able to do 1.5k in 20 mins.

Wear a speedo, that will be common and you won't look out of place (although, you'll feel weird). If you want more coverage, wear something like bicycle shorts, but without the chamois butt pad. I actually like wearing the speedo under running shorts for additional support, so its possible you may get more use out of it.

[Jim Luther Davis]

Originally Posted by asdfasdf

36 minutes, ok, that'll be the target. What is your usual stroke? I choose to believe that my problem was I'm just not used to breathing properly while swimming anymore so when I was trying to the front crawl I couldn't get more than 1 or 2 hundred metres with it before having to switch. Will most people be doing something more aggresive than a crawl, or something similar?

you'll be better off training for the swim doing plain old crawl or freestyle. it's the fastest stroke, most efficient etc. stating the obvious there. 1.5k anything other than freestyle would be a bear.

Originally Posted by A Student

When i did an ironman, I did the swim (2.4mi?) in ~1hr, and was in the bottom half. In good conditions, a decent swimmer should be able to do 1.5k in 20 mins.

20 minutes would be blazing and in many tri's would place you near the first finishers (unless in open water and you had the advantage of currents carrying you).

look up race results from prior tri's with same distance and examine the finish times. if for some ungodly reason the swims were in a pool i doubt you'd see many 20 minute finishers. that would still be in the range of top times.

[Jim Luther Davis]

Originally Posted by asdfasdf

So a while ago in idle conversation I mentioned that I liked swimming, this led to me being signed up for the swimming leg of the company triathlon. It's 1.5k, and I just got in the water for the first time in 4 years (first time at any distance atleast) and it took me over 50 minutes to finish.

I have the feeling that's a horrific time, what should I be shooting for here? I don't expect us to win or anything, just want to be on par with average for other participants. Also I'll be training mainly in a pool, and the chlorine really bothers my eyes, I got goggles (4 years ago, when I swam) but they don't seem to fit well, to get a tight enough fit for the water to stay out they bruise a ring under my eyes. Does anyone else have experience with this? Are there a lot of different types of goggles such that I should be getting a new pair to get around this? The thing is given the eye bruise situation there aren't really a lot of times that work to train, really just late in the evening, but I'd rather avoid that if I can (late excercise tends to keep me from sleeping well).

Oh, another thing, this'll be in a lake in summer, but I think fairly warm. I've always just swam with typical man swim trunks, and no cap, if anyone has done something like this will that attire make me look ridiculous, will everyone be in body suits?

Obviously I can ask some of these questions to my teammates, but would rather not appear too naive at this point for fear of them losing all confidence in me. TIA for any thoughts.

in open water you will definitely see a lot of people in suits. some races require you wear a swim cap because it identifies what wave of racers you are in. different colors for different waves.

as part of a team you need to worry less about transition time so wear whatever you are most comfortable with since you wont be changing to prepare for the bike. you've said you aren't planning on winning the swim event and your time tells me you aren't gonna be worried about every last second shaved off your time so if you wanna wear plane old swim trunks then do it. the drag isn't going to add minutes to your swim.

not sure what kind of goggles you currently have, but if they are that old your straps may be getting brittle and the padding may not be worth a crap.

if you want a set of goggles that offer a good field of view look up swedes. i think you can just google swedes goggles. they are old school, cheap as hell and have no padding. they take a few swims to get used to them but they are the best goggles imo. squirt some rainx inside before you swim and no fogging.

[Basso]

I was a HS swimmer. In HS, I did 1500m in about 17 min. I'm no longer in HS, and I spend way more time training bike/run than swim, so on 2 3000yd workouts a week, I am able to swim a 1500m open water in about 22 min keeping my HR below 140, and I usually exit the water in the top 1/4. Unfortunately, I suck at cycling/running so from that point on, I only get passed . So, based on that background, I think your 30 - 40 minute goal is reasonable, especially if you don't need to follow the swim with a cycling/run effort. Most of this will be in technique, not fitness. Look up Total Immersion and get your hands on a copy. Do the drills, you will swim faster. Freestyle is the stroke to use for LD speed, and you should swim even pace. To swim an even pace, practice negative splits...ie swim the end faster than the beginning. In a 25 yard pool (the most common around me) you need to be doing 2 lengths of the pool every 1:00 to 1:10 to hit your goal. Breaststroke is hard in open water when surrounded by others unless you have no objections to kicking the folks around you. Be warned that people don't appreciate this, so either steer clear the group or beware your surroundings.

As for attire, don't wear baggy trunks. go with speedo jammers (cycling shorts without the padding basically). This will reduce resistance and still keeps you somewhat modest. This will also help your psyche when your shoulders start to ache since you won't be cursing your parachute. You will have to wear a swim cap so get a cheap latex cap and get used to it. Swedes are great for competitve swimming in a pool, but I don't recommend them in an open water mass start. Too many flailing arms. Mostly, go to a store and try on goggles until you find ones that are comfortable to your eye socket and eye separation. If you are going to swim in the sun, get mirrored or shaded finishes.

Lastly, I suggest you practice sighting and being prepared to breathe on both sides. Wave action can make things very difficult to breathe if its coming at your face. To that end, DO get to a lake with a beach and swim along the outer bouys for practice sighting. Swimming in a lake is a bit strange at first because it is dark underneath, there are no lines to guide you, and no walls to give you a push off.

Best of luck!

[Basso]

Originally Posted by Dumbdumb

Depends on the triathalon. I've just started researching some triathalons for myself for this summer, and it seems that some have specific rules as to when you can wear a body suit, i.e. only if the temp is below a certain point.

USAT rules for wetsuits:

• USAT rules state that competitors may wear wetsuits if the water temperature is 78 degrees or lower.
• USAT rules also state that if the water temperature is between 78.1 - 83.9 degrees, competitors may wear wetsuits but will not be eligible for awards.
• If the water temperature is 84 degrees or above, participants may not wear wetsuits.