A Swimming Question for the experts

[watchman]

I have been training for my first Triathlon at Findlay lake.

When I train for the swim, whenever I try to go the 1/4 mile or 440 yards first . I get to a point that it seems impossible to get enough air. My chest burns and I have to stop for about 30 seconds halfway then I can finish. Here is the strange part and my question. After I swam the 1/4 mile, I did some interval training. I did about 8 of the 50 yards at a fast pace with 1 minute rest in between. After this I rested about 10 minutes then I swam the entire distance again, the 1/4 mile. It was far easier after already swimming for half an hour than at the beginning. I could go the entire distance without being even the slightest out of breath. I did not half to stop. It was smooth easy and faster then at the beginning. How is this possible? What is happening physically? Does this mean I have to swim for a half an hour before the race?
Anyone experience this?
The first 1/4 was so hard the second so easy after hard intervals. It does not make sense to me.
Any insight from the experts out there?

mike

[Aussie Rob]

Simple. You warmed up

Someone correct me if im wrong, but i understand it like this.

Blood pools in and around the internal organs most of the time, and only during periods of exercise does it really pump out to the extremities. It takes a little bit for your muscles to get engorged with the oxygen rich blood it needs, which is why at the beginning you feel puffed. The oxygen delivery system lags behind the immediate need your muscles demand.

That's why on the bike it takes me ATLEAST 10 miles before i feel like im at full capacity.

[watchman]

It is not in extremities I am strained but in the lungs. Breathing capacity.

You still may be right though.

It seems strange I may have to warm up longer than the actual swim.

I have noticed running I am much stronger after 2 or 3 miles .

mike

[alison]

I can't support Rob's scientific explanation, because I honestly have no idea what is going on inside the body, but I agree 100% that warm up (and cool down) are very important in racing and training. It is true for many people in many sports that warming up for a workout is the worst part, for the same reasons you just mentioned. A couple of years ago I saw a survey on the USA Swimming website asking swimmers their least favorite part of practice, and warm up won hands down.
Your approach of swimming 400 yards followed by intervals is actually a great way to warm up for a workout, so keep that up.

Lastly, as far as getting ready for a race, you don't necessarily have to swim your warm up. I never do. I prefer to hop on my bike or run a couple of miles to get my blood pumping, rather than getting wet. Just make sure you do something.

As a little side story, when I was younger and swimming on a club team, we didn't always have a warm up pool available during meets. Rather than just sitting around waiting for our event to start, my club coach would make us strip down early and do jumping jack behind the blocks. Same idea.

[watchman]

Well it looks like I may have just been learning the hard way about warming up. Basically I never do.
To save time.
and I thought it was use up to much energy.

If it helps this much I am sold on it.

mike

[Brandon]

Indeed, this is your body adapting, or warming up. The shorter the race, the longer I spend warming up. I like to spend at least some time in the water before the swim start. Rather than swim a certain distance, per se, I swim real easy being sure to slow my breathing (as you do whilst racing) and get my HR up a bit...sort of a warning for my heart and lungs of what's to come. My HR still skyrockets for a bit during the early part of the swim, probably within the first one hundred meters or so, but then settles back down. I'm quite new to swimming, and over the last 10 months the spike in my HR is becoming more and more manageable to swim through.

[watchman]

Something cool has happened in my swimming. Up to last week I could barely do the 1/4 mile without being wiped out. Well today something clicked and I could do a 1/2 mile and it was easy. I used to do 1 1/4 mile twice a week but that was months ago. I thought I would never improve now that I had a goal.

mike

[Brandon]

Breakthrough workouts are grand!!!!

2 or 3 swim sessions/week works for me to keep adapted to the oxygen deprivation. Be sure to hit the water regularly up until the event and you should rock the swim!

[watchman]

That is exactly what I am doing.

I am still undecided about using a wetsuit

mike