Swimming Hurts

For those who keep up with the international triathlon blogisphere this title is nicked from an article written by Brett Sutton (the team TBB coach) some time ago. In the last 10 days I've swum 35k. As someone who usually swim an absolute maximum of 14k to cover more than twice this with a few double sessions and functional strength has left me sore but I'm hoping when I recover (which will be when I can run/bike again, paradoxically) I'll be moving a little bit quicker.

AG triathletes, for the most part, cannot swim. We come to the sport late and whilst we can plug away on the bike and run the swim often eludes us. Many triathletes spend hundreds of pounds on different swim courses to improve form and aerodynamics under the premise that swimming quickly is all about technique. Sutton suggests that whilst technique has its place, swimming bloody hurts, just like running fast hurts and biking fast hurts. You've got to put in the hard yards (often with paddles to work the correct muscles and keep the elbows high) to make you fast, only when your arms, back and shoulders are burning, like your legs would on a hard bike or run, are you learning to swim faster.

As another blogger who I regularly read is so fond of saying... "there is no easy way."