Swimming was the scariest part of getting into triathlons from a running background. Learning to breath correctly was so difficult for me the first two times to the pool that I wanted to quit right then. However, with some great encouragement from a friend who coaches swimming, I stuck with it and eventually it did start to get easier.

Continuing to swim on my own I was making very slow progress. Feeling comfortable at 25 yards, then 50 yards, and trying harder and harder to stretch that out. 100 yards was still difficult and getting out to 200 straight was down right exhausting.

It was about this time I met our local triathlon club. Pat the masters coach invited me to join up with the group swim session they had going on. Being so new, and very impressed with everyone else out there, who seemed to be just flying by, I was quite hesitant to jump in with them. However, I figured what have I got to lose? I’m in the pool already swimming, and if I can’t keep up, I’ll just shorten the set or skip a set to recover.

This proved to be quite the life changing decision. Finding this group of people to swim with was what I credit my still mediocre, but greatly improved swimming skills.

If you’re just starting out, do not be afraid to jump in with a group who is swimming together. Ask around at your local YMCA for groups who may already be swimming together there. I can speak from experience, triathletes are a very welcoming bunch.

Remember, everyone has to start somewhere, and we’ve all had our first day, week, month or year in the pool. Everyone is there to get better, join in and you’ll be amazing at how quickly you’ll develop.

A little over two years later and swimming has become something I look forward to. This is the one workout I can almost always do with a group, and they’ve helped to push me much farther than I would have gotten solo.

Amazing how much can change in two years.