Swim times @ the beginning

So training it going well, and I seem to have found my legs for running and cycling.

Now I have to concentrate on my swimming.

I have all winter so I'm not overly concerned but I am wondering, what were you swim times for Sprint and Olympic distances when you very first started doing tri's.

I have no wories about covering the distance, it's just that I am very slow and my front crawl is terrible.

I'm just wondering the kind of times you were all clocking in the beginning.

if you have alok at most race results you will will see that a lot of people are slow and near the cutoffs.....some epopel breast stroke the whole way in all distances.......

I have only ever done 2 pool based tris as I struggle with front crawl withourt a wetsuit to kep me going.they were back in 2008/9.....the first was at about 10 mins and the scond about 8........I can never swim 8 mins for 400m without it being in a race situation........i need the adrenaline and feet to draft off to swim that quick

My first triathlon was an olympic and i had to grab onto a kayak 3 times.. i was nearly last out of the water but i'm not sure of the time! If you can comfortably cover the distance you're already doing well. I think my first 750m sprints were around 15-16 minutes. Down to about 25min for 1,500m and 11:30 for 750m now.

Depends whether it's a pool or open water. My first OW 750m swim was 19 minutes and I wasn't at the back.

My first two Olympic tri swims were around the 40 minute mark.  Like you I wasn't worried about covering the distance, but my technique was awful (not that it's all that much better now).  I wasn't last in either swim.

I've not done an Olympic and only one pool based tri, rest have been open water.
Times:
200m - 5m 41s (lake)
400m - 10m 6s (lake)
750m - 18m 24s (lake)
2000m - 49m 0s (lake)
750m - 17m 19s (lake)

Wasn't last out of the water in any of these.

always used to get beaten by the missus who swam competitively as a youngster.  gradually I have eroded the margins between us and have at times recently beaten her in the water.  

she took great pleasure beating me by 15 seconds in a 3k swim the day before Outlaw. I take great pleasure that my IM swim time is faster than hers....  

so stick at it and you will improve

fat buddha wrote (see)

she took great pleasure beating me by 15 seconds in a 3k swim the day before Outlaw.

But didn't she do the 5k swim?

Cheers guys. That's made me feel a little better.

I have plenty of swim stamina when doing breast stroke.

At least I have the winter to work on my front crawl.

Doing pool 759m (it's a 33m pool) in 23 mins

1518m in about 52 mins

All breast stroke atm.

Like I said. I'm slow, but I get there

What is the cutoff for an Olympic distance Tri?

If there is one I suspect each event would be different dependant on whether it is pool or lake based
Check previous years results to give you an idea of times

Ahhhh, good idea.

Things always seem so obvious when other people point them out.

Thank you very much

I've just done my first tri, Olympic at London with a 6.30 am start, having been overly anxious about the swim for many many years. This summer bought a wetsuit and practiced in a lake, using youtube for technique. After a half dozen lake swims it suddenly clicked - slow, yes, but suddenly able to go on ad nauseam.

I did 41 mins - it was cold - taking my time being unsure of the distance - I was 80% down the field in my age group, but I was only ever there to complete, not to compete, other than with myself. It was SUCH fun I've already registered for next year. The closed road race to Westminster and back was just 'epic' (as I believe the young ones say...). I might be converted.....

I also started my triathlete training last year and will be going for my first attempt coming year.Learning how to swimming doesn't have to be boring or traumatic but can actually be many fun, if the right strategy to diving training is used.I recently learning the butterfly stroke.

ET7 wrote (see)

I'm averaging at 12 mins for the sprint distance in a pool and I'm not last out
. I've only been doing front crawl since June when I started having swimming lessons.
To begin with I would do 25 m and end up coughing and spluttering all over the place but now I can swim easily but slowly for an hour FC.

It will suddenly click before you know it so stick with it.
Getting some lessons really made the difference..good luck!

I agree with the above. After 4 weeks I had managed to achieve front crawl consistently, and after 12 weeks did my first tri. 400m in 10 minutes. I even overtook people in the pool. The problem with breast stroke is that it's energy inefficient, and easy to pull a muscle. For short distances I can still be out paced, but after 10 months I am now doing 2000m. There are many, many people who are annoyingly more efficient. They have floaty legs and therefore less drag. There are those people who have, due to years of practice, got swimmers trianglular muscles. That translates into power, or as I see it, the ability not to get tired out.

My markers for progress are twofold: The 400m time (shortest pool tri), and the mile time (an indication of threshold pace). Occassionally I try and fit in a longer swim in order to lift my distance record.

Coaching is key. Training with others helps to push the pace.