How hard is a 750m swim?

MickeyTake

Starting from scratch, how hard would it be to swim 750m in the sheltered sea?

With a high level of fitness, but a very poor swimmer, is it realistic to hop into the sea and swim 750m, or is that a step too far?

How long does it take to build up to 750m OW swim?

catweazle

Theres a lot of issues here

To some extent its a different type of fitness, just because you are a eg marathon runner doesn't mean your fitness will transfer to the swim.

Have you ever swam in the sea before, I know plenty of reasonable swimmers who will only take part in pool based triathlons as they are scared of the deep water, even though they can swim the distance comfortably

I would suggest that you should consider joining the local pool, if you cant swim the 750m in one go in the pool before the race you are unlikely to be able to do it in the sea

If you go regularly you will be surprised how quickly you can build the distances, there are sprint races right up till the end of September so you have time.

* If a Triathlon official cancels or reduces a swim that you are taking part in, don't even think of cheering or you will get throttled by some of the boardies on here

woody1

ok, ive just started swimming in february, i can do 750 and a bit more in the pool, ive been in the sea and local lakes a couple of times now and aside from the getting comfortable with the depth, i find the sea physically a nice bit tougher.. im presuming because of currents / swells ..and probably my own stress levels..not being as relaxed as i could be
i swam i would say maybe 150m in one go the last time i was in the sea and i was totally wrecked.. now there were other considerations including other training i had done that weekend and indeed that day.. but to me sea swimming is just tougher..
catweazles suggestion is good for a start..

Chartsengrafs

MickeyTake wrote: »

Starting from scratch.... but a very poor swimmer, is it realistic to hop into the sea and swim 750m, or is that a step too far?

I've edited your question a bit but you probably know the answer yourself. If you're a very poor swimmer then no, you more than likely won't be able to jump straight into a 750m swim.

However, that doesn't mean to say that it won't take you long to get to the stage where you could do it.

tunney

Go for it, that's what the water safety craft are there for.

Oryx

MickeyTake wrote: »

Starting from scratch, how hard would it be to swim 750m in the sheltered sea?

Depending on what that means, impossible, to ridiculously hard, to reasonably tough. How long is a piece of string?

With a high level of fitness, but a very poor swimmer, is it realistic to hop into the sea and swim 750m, or is that a step too far?

A high level of fitness wont make you swim if you dont know how, and 'fitness' in general is very different from swim fitness.

How long does it take to build up to 750m OW swim?

From not swimming a stroke, with a lot of hard work, 4 - 6 months. Unless you just depend on the wetsuit and float your way, in which case you could do tunneys thing.

paddyh117

MickeyTake wrote: »

Starting from scratch, how hard would it be to swim 750m in the sheltered sea?

With a high level of fitness, but a very poor swimmer, is it realistic to hop into the sea and swim 750m, or is that a step too far?

How long does it take to build up to 750m OW swim?

How long depends entirely on the individual, and how quickly you can learn a stroke and put it into practice - i know some very fit guys who struggle to do more than a couple of lengths as they've never learned how to swim properly.

On the flip side i know some very fit guys, who couldn't swim, but went for lessons kept practicing and would now do 750 in 10 minutes or less

short answer = impossible to say.

red face dave

It took me 6 months. That included 6 lessons and training 4 times a week to complete the swim part of Athy in 13 minutes.

It certainly was not easy but it was sometime that I wanted to do. If I had jumped straight in I would have probably gone straight to the bottom.

Take your time you will enjoy your first triathlon alot more

griffin100

If you can swim then 750m is not hard..........if you can't then it feels like forever.......

At this distance fitness is pretty irrelevant, it's more about swim technique / ability. Case in point, my 9 and 7 year old kids would on occasion cover 500m in a swim lesson no bother!!

Any difficulties you might experience could be added to by it being a sea swim.

As to how long it takes to build up to 750m depends on you - your current ability, no. of swims per week, if you get lessons etc. You should IMHO allow at least 12 weeks if coming from a poor swim background.

Nappy

I'm training for my first triathlon which takes place this saturday. I have put in 3-4 weeks training. At first completing the 750m was tough but now I'm very confident. Try and do 1500m in the pool, it will be good for your confidence. I have improved significantly since starting. I was an ok swimmer as a kid though so It might take longer for yourself.

Best of Luck!

MickeyTake

Thanks folks-lots of great advice there.

The reason I'm asking is that I find swimming in a pool mind-numbingly boring. I find after a few hundred metres I've run out of motivation because it's just the same thing over and over. It's just not for me, basically.

The idea of swimming in the sea I find more motivating. A bit more of a challenge maybe. I guess I just need to find an open water swimming partner for the start at least and take it from there.

All the best.

Oryx

MickeyTake wrote: »

Thanks folks-lots of great advice there.

The reason I'm asking is that I find swimming in a pool mind-numbingly boring. I find after a few hundred metres I've run out of motivation because it's just the same thing over and over. It's just not for me, basically.

The idea of swimming in the sea I find more motivating. A bit more of a challenge maybe. I guess I just need to find an open water swimming partner for the start at least and take it from there.

All the best.

You need to start using the pool clock. Break your swim into sets, timed 100s, pyramids that kind of thing. Practice drills. Never get in the pool without a plan and a reason for what you're doing. You won't get bored.

Ow swimming is grand but unless you join an ow club and seriously get into it, it hss a limited season.

Green&Red

Once you're able to do 750m in a pool you'll have no bother doing hte sea swim.
Remember its your first so if you have to stop every 150m, do the breast stroke, sight, what harm? You'll have stopped a maximum of four times and it'll cost you maybe 30 seconds. Once you have one out of the way it'll give you more confidence for the next and you'll build from there

robfahy

I completed my first sprint triathlon a few weeks ago which included a 750m swim in quite cold water. I started training for it 2 months before in a local pool. I was a beginner swimmer and it took me about 6 weeks swimming 3 times a week to get the breathing nailed. The max I had done in one pool session was 600m. I was a smoker at the time and had to take a breather every 4 lengths (25m pool).
A week before the event I did a beginner session in the open water where I did about 400m. Then a few days before the event I joined in with a local club on a training swim to gain confidence and do a dry run of the course. They were training for the olympic distance, so I did 1500m. I was wrecked after it and a bit dizzy coming out of the water, not sure if some of that was down to the cold water on my head.
I found it easier to do the 750m in the sea than in the pool. I took it handy and with the buoyancy of the wetsuit was able to take a couple of breaks, although very short ones, as the current would push me back a bit.
If you are fit and can do 750m in the pool I don't think you will have any problems in the sea. Also, as it was my first triathlon with lots of arms flapping around me so I swam a lot of the distance with with head forward out of the water, which did slow me down a lot. It took me 22 minutes to complete the 750m, which is quite slow.

mossym

robfahy wrote: »

If you are fit and can do 750m in the pool I don't think you will have any problems in the sea. .

with the distance. throw in any sort of swell or current and that becomes a completely different thing

tunney

mossym wrote: »

with the distance. throw in any sort of swell or current and that becomes a completely different thing

plus if you sight badly (and most if not all newbies will) then 750m is more like 950m

Kurt Godel

mossym wrote: »

with the distance. throw in any sort of swell or current and that becomes a completely different thing

+1. A 750m swim is incredibly easy. But any distance OW swim can be incredibly hard depending on conditions, the sea and lakes need to be respected. Throw in being in the middle of a race, with bodies climbing over each other, limbs everywhere, whiteout from splashing, and you're in a different environment altogether. (I've swam 6k+ swims in the sea, but had a panic attack and couldn't breath during a 750m race a few days back- not nice).

To the OP; find others to swim with in the sea and gain experience from this, before you enter a race (there's a thread here for OW swim meet-ups). Tinahely Tri meet most Thursdays at 7:30pm at Wicklow Harbour, all different abilities, you're welcome to join us for the practice (you need to be a TI member for insurance reasons).

robfahy

The waters were slightly choppy and there was currents. Part of the course, maybe 350m was unsheltered. I did sight badly and a misplaced buoy added to the distance as well. I just felt it easier than the pool. Maybe because it was less boring than the pool and I had more adrenaline pumping with it being my first triathlon.

woody1

Kurt Godel wrote: »

had a panic attack and couldn't breath during a 750m race a few days back- not nice)..

jeez kurt .. if your freaking out what hope is there for the rest of us.. ! just when i was starting to get a bit more ( mentaly ) comfortable with the idea of being in the sea..

Kurt Godel

woody1 wrote: »

jeez kurt .. if your freaking out what hope is there for the rest of us.. ! just when i was starting to get a bit more ( mentaly ) comfortable with the idea of being in the sea..

I put myself into a position to see how I would cope (tight around the first bouy with lots of other swimmers) and the answer was not very well. Hopefully I've learned a thing or two so I'll cope better next time in that position.

The point is, you can't do enough preparation for a 750m OW race, and every minute the OP spends practicing in the sea will be useful to him. There's no use in saying that swimming 750m in the pool has any bearing on swimming 750m OW. Anyone looking to do OW tri's, of any distance, should get as much OW practice beforehand as possible, preferable mimicking race conditions if they can (swim tight in a group, practice mass start, draughting, sighting, etc).

Frere Jacques

First timer here too.
My plan for Monkstown sprint tomorrow is
4 mins in the water to acclimatise before race. Face down is most important.
first leg; 200m over arm, breathing every second stroke, so always on the right so I can see the shore and keep straight.
Turn at first bouy and 200m breast stroke. Going to try to keep the head as low to the water for the breathing.
Turn at second bouy and 200m overarm breathing on my left going paralell to the marina.
Turn at next bouy and 50m breast to rest shoulders and then just go for it for the rest of the swim in.

I know it's not the fastest and I'm bringing a lot more resistence on myself from the extra breaths but the muscles will be glad of the oxygen over the swim and I think I'd just wreck myself if I tried the whole thing over arm. This way I know I have no problem with the distance and I'll get grand and comfortable. Even if the arms get tired on one stroke I can say to myself that I'll be changing stroke soon and so keep it up till the next bouy.

That's the plan anyway.:)