My question is about freestyle stroke that i am learning at this time. When i try to do a lap, as i go to the deeper side of the pool (5+ ft) i feel very very exhausted. I'm perfectly okay in the less deeper side though (5 ft and below). Is there anything i could be doing incorrectly and losing all my energy? I am unable to finish one lap because i am losing all my energy!
That was my first thought too. Unless it's less than 3 ft deep, your forward movement is not effected by depth. The problem then would be your hands hitting bottom in the shallow end.
Based on your handle, and your statement, "freestyle stroke that i am learning at this time" I am guessing you are a novice swimmer. Is it possible that the deeper water causes some anxiety that disrupts your regular breathing, leaving you feeling breathless & exhausted? I have a friend who got quite anxious when the water was deep, even after becoming reasonably proficient swimming and was, in my estimation, perfectly safe to venture into deep water, at least from a stroke mechanics and endurance perspective. If this is the case, pay particular attention to your stroke mechanics when venturing into deeper water. Giving your mind something constructive to think about may deter anxiety, and it's always good to work on technique anyway. Mostly just have fun swimming!
Might be due the parallax effect. When you swim in deeper water the bottom appears to go by slower and tricks you into thinking that you are going slower.
I have a friend who began a short time ago and was very apprehensive in deep water. She took a couple clinics two years ago, which didn't help her anxiety much, but improved her stroke mechanics. She joined our masters team last year and swam various sets and intervals for many months. She finally got comfortable in the pool, then entered a triathlon with a half mile lake swim. She froze with fear as soon as her face hit the water and ended up swimming almost the entire half mile backstroke. Got out of the water dead last, but she did make it. The next week we got into the same lake, same half mile loop, and I told her I'd swim right beside her and keep my eyes on her. She made it the whole way freestyle this time. The process took more than a year, but now she's a very competent swimmer, both pool and open water.
It looks as if we agree that the fear of deep water is the thing that causes you to do poorly. If you can't make one length then you need lessons to correct any stroke problems you have. This will also increase your confidence to do better.
Please do not enter in any "open water"swims until you are much better!
I agree w/ Karl_S. Anxiety can rob you of energy with both poor breathing efficiency and unnecessary recruitment of muscles. Recommend you spend some of your workout time "brain training" the anxiety away. Some stuff that I have done are: alligator breathing standing in the shallow end, back floating in deep end, zero energy front floating in deep end, blow down bobbing in deep end. IMO this is where swim training turns into a rewarding journey into your mind :)
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