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Breast stroke?

Hi all,

I am doing my first triathlon at tatton Park in September.(sprint distance)The bike and running is coming along nicely, but sadly my front crawl sucks!!! I have had a few lessons and this has helped considerable, sadly i cant see me being good enough to manage the full distance before drowning and looking an idiot along the way!!!. I am planning to swim breast stroke on the day. i can do 750m in around 18 minutes. Not the fastest but it will get me round! Is it frowned upon to do breast stroke or are others likely to be swimming breast stroke too?

Sorry if this sound daft but stressing a bit about it! lol

Comments

  • jonEjonE Posts: 1,113
    Don't worry about it,so people even breast stroke around an ironman swim.You are better being comfortable in the swim and finishing rather than have someone pull you out of the water,go and enjoy and do the stroke you want,if you think you are slow start at the back
  • ZacniciZacnici Posts: 1,385
    Do what you have to, the swim is to enable you to get to the bike which is enable you to get to the run which is to enable you to get to thefinish.

    If you can do the swim b'stroke in about the same time as crawl and it is going to leave you feeling fresher then go for it.

    I would only ask that if you are going to mix strokes then try and be careful when switching from crawl to b'stroke as you could kick someone in the face. OK its not a tea and cucumber sandwich party and most will just mutter a word or so, shrug it off and crack on but just a little thought could prevent an angry confrontation with a snapper.
  • mickwoodmickwood Posts: 93
    General, don't worry. I do breaststroke if I'm feeling tired/off etc just be aware of other swimmers really. No one will look at you any differently to be honest, it's all about enjoying it and until you have the front crawl cracked you won't enjoy it so.....front crawl all the way baby!!!

    EDIT: Definitely don't stress about it - it should be fun! and I can virtually guarantee there will be others doing the breast stroke!
  • QuitterQuitter Posts: 160
    Conehead wrote:
    Firstly - if you can afford to do Tatton you can afford bespoke 1-1 swim coaching out in Kona by Chris Lieto or someone. You must crap £50 notes out or something.
    :roll:
    <ahem> http://www.220triathlon.com/forum/its-bbq-season-t49227.html#p67594
  • Race1Race1 Posts: 58
    Don't worry about it. I daresay your Breast stroke is faster than some people Crawl

    Most rules seem to say crawl OR breast. You aren't allowed to back stroke though. And I suspect Butterfly might be a bit wearing.
  • GeneralGeneral Posts: 26
    Butterfly??? Steady on, i can just about muster a poor breast stroke and an even poorer crawl!!! I am taking this race as a starting point. Earn a bit of sponsoship money, master the art of front crawl throughout the winter then do the tri thing properly next year! Well thats the plan............!
  • BmanBman Posts: 442
    Butterfly is supposed to be the fastest stroke isnt it? Think I might do some butterfly training before some barefoot running. Might throw a session of blender-biking in between too.
  • steve68steve68 Posts: 18
    I have done 3 sprint tris - pool based - and done breast stroke in each, and was not the only one. I didn't do tumble turns either or wear a tri suit. I know I'm not going to win but I aim to get round faster than the previous one. As long as you get in the water and start, don't worry about the stroke. I keep thinking I'll spend the winter learning to crawl, but it never seems to happen.
  • Race1Race1 Posts: 58
    steve68 wrote:
    .. I keep thinking I'll spend the winter learning to crawl, but it never seems to happen.
    As a newbie to Tri (and finding I had forgotton how to swim in the intervening 15+ years ) I found the Total Immersion (TI) book and Youtube videos helpful.
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