Hi everyone, my first post here!
I have no experience in any formal swim training/competition whatsoever. Like alot of people, i was interested to attempt a first tri-athlon and therefore I dragged myself to the pool.
My experience in swimming was from elementary school, swimming everyday in HK (beach)- is that the same as open water, not sure what the difference is. Everyone said that open water swimming is different from the pool, does swimming at the beach count?
Anyways, I am fairly good with breaststroke endurance wise, I haven't really count or time myself, but my guess is I can do 30x 50meters okay.
However, I can't do other strokes. Don't know what's wrong with me coz i cannot get pass 25 yards with the crawl (breathing becomes difficult). Not sure if this is aerobic related or just my technique coz i can do it with breaststroke.
I really want to polish my front crawl and from all i read, everyone recommends the masters swims. Can i join the masters if i can barely do 25 yards of front crawl? I don't want to having to stop and cause traffic jam in the slow lane all the time.
Should I just practice in the pool until i can do 100meters before joining the masters so that I won't upset anyone?
Parents
Former Member
Just find a team and do it. The whole point is working out with a group of like minded people to relieve the boredom of swimming your same old, same old. Everyone was a beginner with their current club at some point. Some of us who move frequently are beginners every few years, and often times more than once as we try several clubs before we find the one that works the best.
There is nothing you can do on your own that is better than working out with a team. Need technique help? Your coach and your teammates can give you plenty, and certainly more than the lifeguard during lap swim. Need conditioning? It is much more fun to swim challenging sets with a group and trying to keep up than it is to flog yourself to go faster on your own. Worried people will point and laugh? In my experience, it just doesn't happen on any USMS team I've ever heard of. I dare say the strangers at lap swim are more likely to ridicule another stranger to whom they have not been formally introduced than are your USMS teammates who get to know you. In fact, you are more likely to be noticed for making drastic improvements from where you started. If you care about what people think, you actually want to show up as sloppy and out of shape as possible. As you get better and change lanes, people will start to talk.
So, don't deprive yourself. You're plenty good enough to join us just as you are. Come on in, the water is...fast.
Matt
Just find a team and do it. The whole point is working out with a group of like minded people to relieve the boredom of swimming your same old, same old. Everyone was a beginner with their current club at some point. Some of us who move frequently are beginners every few years, and often times more than once as we try several clubs before we find the one that works the best.
There is nothing you can do on your own that is better than working out with a team. Need technique help? Your coach and your teammates can give you plenty, and certainly more than the lifeguard during lap swim. Need conditioning? It is much more fun to swim challenging sets with a group and trying to keep up than it is to flog yourself to go faster on your own. Worried people will point and laugh? In my experience, it just doesn't happen on any USMS team I've ever heard of. I dare say the strangers at lap swim are more likely to ridicule another stranger to whom they have not been formally introduced than are your USMS teammates who get to know you. In fact, you are more likely to be noticed for making drastic improvements from where you started. If you care about what people think, you actually want to show up as sloppy and out of shape as possible. As you get better and change lanes, people will start to talk.
So, don't deprive yourself. You're plenty good enough to join us just as you are. Come on in, the water is...fast.
Matt
