Struggling with the Triathlon Swim

i am training for a sprint triathlon the swin is .25 im 46 yo and never swam i just started 2 months ago , i was breathing wrong and was corrected nowi breath correctly and my stroke is improving  i have a muscular upper body my problem is , is that i can't last more than laps without taking a break and then continue doing breaststroke for about 7 more laps after a minute break how can i last longer its depressing seeing everyone doing laps and i keep stoping its june and the tri is mid august  please help   

Gary from Rhode Island

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Hi Gary,
Thank you for contacting TriathNewbie.com!

Having been a swim coach for many years, the best advice I can give you is to ask a local swim coach to watch you swim and give you advice. Identifying stroke problems over email is like a doctor trying to figure out why you are sick over email. It's very hard to diagnose the cause without seeing you in person.

That said, I can give you a few tips that will hopefully point you in the right direction:

• Make sure your toes are pointed, your legs are straight/about 6 inches apart and you are getting full extension and glide in your stroke. If you are taking many more strokes than the people you are watching, you need to take less and glide more.
• Relax – A tense body does not float well.
• My guess is that you are all upper-body and you're not balancing the stroke so that your legs and core muscles are chipping in. If you find that your legs are sinking try this: Pretend your body is a see-saw and the middle of the see-saw is your groin. Try to balance your body so that you have the sensation of swimming slightly downhill.
• Personally, one thing that REALLY made a difference in my stroke was this book and the DVD that goes with it: Triathlon Swimming Made Easy: The Total Immersion Way for Anyone to Master Open-Water Swimming. Terry Laughlin does a fantastic job at teaching a relaxed stroke that can keep you going for miles.

We hope that these tips are helpful and look forward to hearing back from you after your race.

Be well,
Niki

Niki Jamieson
TriathaNewbie.com