Breathing on the first stroke in distance free

I am definitely a sprinter. My 50 breaststroke is the best and it gets worse as the distance increases. So, I am out of my element even swimming a 200. I have the same issue! I can handle the 50 pretty well, but the more I go beyond that, the worse I do. :cane:

If you can --- then by all means do it! Most of us will try to do this till our brain overrides thought for need of AIR!!!

:agree: As a breaststroker, the most difficult thing for me is the last pullout on a 200 race. :afraid: I thought that last turn was bad for everybody! One thing I started doing Elaine, after my race in Feb @ Auburn, when I thought I was going to just die on the last turn of the blasted 200 *** (why, oh why do I enter that race?) - in practice, as much as possible I will do 2 kicks on my pullout and then the pull. I also do that drill where you take two underwater kicks and then a pull - and do three underwater kicks instead. Due to a severe illness as a child I only have 1 1/4 lungs left - which is how I got into swimming to begin with. You can increase your lung power, even as you age, even as you loose the elasticity of your tissues - but you have to be stubborn & persistent. I've noticed quite a difference already., and during my race at the end of March, it was still a ruff turn, but much better.

When i swim OW, i breath every stroke and sight every 7th. Right now, today in practice- i am breathing alot as i am back indoors in the tomb of chlorine death.

Hey Gull, Yes, in longer swims, I breathe the 1st stroke off each wall & every 2 while swimming. (except for the start) When I'm really hurting I'll breathe the 1st & 2nd stroke off each wall, Did that in my Aug 2011 10k, I know I did it in the recent 1650 I swam, may have done it in a 500 & 400 IM. Breathing the 1st stroke off the wall is a bad idea for 50's, 100's 200s, 400's & 500's Asked Eddie Reese about it and I think he said it's OK for distance swimmers to do that. I'll ask again. Ande btw You don't live too far from the swim center now, drop in for some work outs right now Mon, Wed & Fri mornings are LCM Usually Saturday is too and the focus is distance. You'd enjoy FAST FRIDAYS Dumb question but every 2 Strokes aka hand hits ?

It could be worse, I yell at my swimmers not to breathe off the walls and they noted I breathed off every wall on my 500 and 1650 in Greensboro. Oh, that went over like a pregnant pole vaulter with them. That dang oxygen is addictive. For my first practice after Canadian Nats, I did part of the "Ode to Geek" workout from PWB, and yes, I did breathe first right off the turns. Air is very necessary. Pregnant Pole Vaulter - something to look for, that would be a sight! :applaud:

It's ok for a breaststroker to breath off the wall in all distances. As long as they don't skip out on the underwater pull and kick!! :agree:

What does that mean? A 3K is 3K. In open water you often get incorrect distances measured so it could be more or less. Well, it is supposed to be a "3K" at a lake. But, according to a few swimmers who swam it in past years, it wasn't a correct measurement and the 3K is actually longer.

I thought that last turn was bad for everybody! One thing I started doing Elaine, after my race in Feb @ Auburn, when I thought I was going to just die on the last turn of the blasted 200 *** (why, oh why do I enter that race?) - in practice, as much as possible I will do 2 kicks on my pullout and then the pull. I also do that drill where you take two underwater kicks and then a pull - and do three underwater kicks instead. Due to a severe illness as a child I only have 1 1/4 lungs left - which is how I got into swimming to begin with. You can increase your lung power, even as you age, even as you loose the elasticity of your tissues - but you have to be stubborn & persistent. I've noticed quite a difference already., and during my race at the end of March, it was still a ruff turn, but much better. Yeah, I ask myself the same thing! :doh: But, after thinking about it after Nationals, I realized that the more regret I experience during a race, the more satisfaction I feel afterwards at having successfully completed it! Success, of course, is relative. At Nationals, I felt successful just having completed it without completely ripping apart my already-strained right adductor muscle! Thanks for the lung training ideas; I will have to give them a try!

:agree: I have tried and tried to take a stroke off the wall before breathing It's ok for a breaststroker to breath off the wall in all distances.