Fatman to Ironman

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  • "I may be a rubbish swimmer but i worked as a diving instructor for 4 years so feel comfortable in lakes & sea."

    let's see how you cope with swimming in OW. one of the original pirates is an experienced diver, yet he always freaked swimming in OW - bizarre.
  • fat buddha wrote (see)
    "I may be a rubbish swimmer but i worked as a diving instructor for 4 years so feel comfortable in lakes & sea." let's see how you cope with swimming in OW. one of the original pirates is an experienced diver, yet he always freaked swimming in OW - bizarre.

    This is a big topic on this side of the pond.  I'll link one of several articles but apparently the main cause of swimming issues is actual panic attacks--nothing to do with your health. 

    If you've had that almost can't breathe, etc. feeling to start an open water swim, that's the feeling.  I had a guy die within 20 feet of me at IMKY last August.  No other abnormalites but a panic attack is most likely what did him in.

    Article on Tri Swim Deaths

  • That is strange. I guess its what your used to. All the open water & speciality courses i taught were in the sea. Andaman sea got quite rough in the winter, a lot bigger waves than a lake for sure think i'll be ok, lol.

    Right what you say about panic though. I got the bends trying to stop a divemaster from bolting for the surface once. Experienced but she just lost it in a strong current
  • panic attacks get many OW swimmers - even some experienced swimmers.

    the problems often relate to the (lack of) visibility, taste/salinity, fear of the unknown (what's underneath you, buoys, chains etc), noise (motors) and then conditions such as temperature, swell, waves, currents, breakers etc. take a swimmer out of the comfort of a nice warm pool with lines to follow and stick them into a murky lake, then panic can easily set in.

    I'm fine in OW as I swim in the sea a lot in summer, but even then you can get the odd freakery like putting your hand on a plastic bag (eeek), or jetskis getting too close (some riders break the close to shore limits) or - if you're my missus - putting your hand on a surfacing cormorant (that freaked both of them!!)

    a few of us did IM Florida back in 2007 - lady died in the swim there but that was a cardiac incident but don't know if it was panic induced

  • Ironyank - interesting article, thanks for sharing.
  • Fb, totally agree mate, the low visability issue can certainly get the mind going. I've had to calm myself down a few times in the past to avoid panic with that one.

    my biggest concern is the 2hr 20 time limit. Whats the best way to increase swim speed please? Similar to running & doing sprints?
  • SausageDog wrote (see)
    SausageDog wrote (see)

    Sod it, 2013 it is then.

    Thanks for making me see sense, I think??

    Holgs, i think you have contributed plenty already with your inspirational book. Anyone who hasnt read it should do!

    Next event for me is Fritton Tri, be my first open water one. I may be a rubbish swimmer but i worked as a diving instructor for 4 years so feel comfortable in lakes & sea. Looking forward to donning a wetsuit again. First practise session is beginning of May

    Lewis (FiveToes) - a new Park Run is starting at Fritton Lake from 5th May. Open water sessions there are 8am - 10.30am on a Saturday so you could incorporate a run & some open water training.

    Are you doing the Norwich 100?

    Didn't take SausageDog long to crumble. I think I already knew it would be this year when I lurked in about October. Straight away though I was entering the single Enduroman!

    I went for this because I already had found the site via a friend who knows No 6 from th Arch to Arc. It just went from there.

    I'm happy with the £135 I paid to enter rather than the £375 for IMUK or IMW. Too much for me I'm afraid. If I had waited a bit longer I think I'd have gone for the Outlaw as so many people on here seem to be going. However I'll meet others in the New Forest come early June.

    Good luck on your voyageimage 

  • SausageDog wrote (see)
    Fb, totally agree mate, the low visability issue can certainly get the mind going. I've had to calm myself down a few times in the past to avoid panic with that one. my biggest concern is the 2hr 20 time limit. Whats the best way to increase swim speed please? Similar to running & doing sprints?

    I'm a big fan of Total Immersion Swimming.

    Total Immersion

    I did 4 sprints over the winter/spring, each with a 400 yard swim.  By the last swim, I had cut 1 minute off my time after doing some of the TI drills.  The whole idea of TI is to not fight the water.  

    Take a look at the winner in this video: link. So smooth it looks nearly effortless.

  • "Whats the best way to increase swim speed please?"

    alongside what IY says

    1:1 coaching
    drill sessions
    just swim more

    I was once told by a tri coach that there wasn't much wrong with my technique, I just needed to swim more - so I did - and guess what? I got quicker.

    the other thing to bear in mind - with OW swimming you're usually in a wetsuit which aids buoyancy which for most people gives them a better position in the water so you swim faster as a result, and the wetsuit surface helps reduce friction so again, you'll swim quicker.

    plus, in a race, you will also benefit from some drafting on swimmers in front. if you are able to stick on the feet of a swimmer ahead, it can save you up to 20% on energy demand. in reality it's bloody hard to do that without a lot of experience
  • fat buddha wrote (see)
    ...the problems often relate to the (lack of) visibility, taste/salinity, fear of the unknown (what's underneath you, buoys, chains etc), noise (motors) and then conditions such as temperature, swell, waves, currents, breakers etc.

    Thanks FB. There's lots in that list I hadn't even thought of.

    What is it about bouys and their chains that freaks people (me included) out?

  • Lol at the Seren and Holgs show earlier!!


    How to improve at swimming?  Swim lots  image
    seriously as FB has said, get some 1 to 1 lessons and iron out any kinks early on, join a masters group or something like that
    2.20 is actually a fair amount of time to get round the distance (IMO)

    Welcome aboard to those who have succumbed today .... Lanza next year??  image
  • Thanks for the swim tips. So my one hour a week sessions may not be quite enough lol.

    How much swimming do you guys do?

    From next month i'll be doing one pool session & one open water.
  • Currently 2 hrs a week. Averaging 5km - 5.5km per week. And I always find the first weekly swim harder the longer it is since the week before. I could do with another swim hour in the week, but would have to give up a run or bike.

  • The common thought is to swim 3 times aweek to improve and twice a week to maintain .... which I suppose means little and often to improve at this stage
    What you dont want to do tho is to carry on the wrong way .. get some early advice and crack on  image
  • Just been told ive now got a place on Watisham Tri. So, next event 12th May.

    Slightly longer than last Sunday

    300m swim
    20k bike
    5k run
  • Super, thanks.

    I did get some front crawl lessons at the end of last year. Now i can do a few lengths front crawl i'll probably go to some of TriAnglia's weekly coaching sessions.

    I should really drop a bike session & add another swim considering its my worst bit. Tend to do more cycling because its the most enjoyable image
  • Its comfortable to do the sessions that you are happy with

    This would be excellent time to get the swim base sorted
  • "How much swimming do you guys do?"

    compared to others very little - in the pool perhaps 3 x 30min sessions a week (often just 2 sessions). and as soon as the sea gets to a comfy temperature, I'll be in there instead. I'm not a pool fan anyhow - chlorine does me for 24hrs if I don't use Beconase, and even then I can be sneezing lots after a swim

    BUT my swimming is maintenance swimming these days, not for real improvement - I'm at the older end of the tri spectrum where maintenance is more important than trying to knock time off - age will do that for me!! and that's probably the same for all 3 disciplines for me - maintenance of form rather than improvement

    as long as I can keep up with most of my age group and still beat some of you youngsters, that will do for me
  • Before my first try (May last year) I was travelling alot with work and so had easy access to the hotel pool. I think I swam 3 times a week. Not much at first - maybe 50m or so. I hadn't really swum since school.

    I just kept reading about technique, looking at videos etc then plugging away in the pool. I think by Easter I'd cracked 4-500m. 

  • me - i live in the pool - do just over 10k a week on average over the last 4 months - yes i can swim but it aint fast and it aint pretty image

    oh and after outlaw im doing the reverse - im going to try a ironman to fatman
  • Sausage

    image CAUTION image

    DONER KEBAB is a serial over trainer, he likes pain with a dollop of pain on top, a rest day for DK until recently still involved training!!!

    WARNING DONER IS NOT YOUR BENCHMARK

    perhaps not even normal... In fact DK does a great job of making everyone else look relatively sane image
  • image


    Is anyone on here actually sane?
  • the voices in my head are always telling me I'm the sane one image
  • Just back from my swim and fortnightly weigh in. Lost another 2lbs, down to 14st 3lbs now, lightest ive been in over a decade.

    Swam 71 minutes & did 80 x 25m. I guess you can take off the time it takes to turn round after each length in a pool as you dont need to stop start on an open water circuit.

    Even managed 4 lengths of front crawl in a row, new record. Must be from the inspiration on here image

    Nothing wrong with a bit of insanity.
  • I like to put pencils in my earsimage
  • "perhaps not even normal... In fact DK does a great job of making everyone else look relatively sane"

    if it wasnt for the nutters on here i would still be sat on my arse shooting zombies and warlocks until 3AM, now im up at 6AM in the pouring rain running half maras for laughs - i WAS relatively sane
  • OK case in point....

    DK now openly admits being SANE before Triathlons....

    BUT

    DK's version of sanity involved shooting Zombies at 3am....

    FINAL RULING

    DK has never been sane, somehow in my quiet suburban life running at 6 seems for more normal than shooting zombies at 3am
  • gastank wrote (see)
    somehow in my quiet suburban life running at 6 seems for more normal than shooting zombies at 3am
    I find that hard to believe, knowing where you live! image
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