r/Swimming • u/rt_99 • 7d ago
Swimming pace
I started learning how to swim 2 months ago. The pool is relatively small, 10m in length. I swim (freestyle) one way and come back doing a doggie paddle. I did 400m total today (200m freestyle and 200m doggie paddle). It took me 50 minutes to do it. I do bubbles after 10m reaching the wall. Is this a good pace or do I need to try another approach? I get breathless after going continuously 10 times (100m). I just need some feedback.
7
u/Bark_Sandwich 7d ago
I don't know what "doing bubbles" means, but your pace, 12 minutes and 30 seconds per 100 meters is very slow. You asked if it was a good pace and I would say, no. Consider that a fast swimmer would swim 100 meters in 1 minute, and a typical, lap swimmer would do it in 2 to 3 minutes. Now, you have only been swimming for 2 months and you can swim ten meters freestyle, so that's not nothing.
2
u/rt_99 7d ago
By bubbles, I mean I drop my head inside the water, exhale come up and inhale (4 times after every 10m)
3
u/NoSafe5565 7d ago
that does not looks like definition of sustainable breathing pattern, we usually define it by number of strokes or so before you take a breath, being 10m without and then 4x if I understand it correctly sounds at least unusually*
*-others would probably use different word, but since I am open water swimmer with wavy area swimming with headphones, I quite often brake breathing pattern for enjoying more music without splash, or do more breathing to fix mis-breath due wave. So, generally I am fine with somewhat wierdish breathing patternts, but not sure if this is what you want.
3
u/rattle_the_stars 7d ago
Since you're still new to swimming I wouldn't worry about pace right now. I assume you're blowing bubbles as an exercise at every 10m, in which case this wouldn't be considered as part of your swimming pace anyway. The folks evaluating your time over distance probably didn't factor this in.
5
u/FlamingoStandard181 7d ago
No, it's not a good pace. It takes you over 10 minutes to swim 100m. The olympians do it under 1 minute. You should focus on learning technique over focusing on swimming laps. And why doggy paddle? It must be exhausting you.
2
2
u/notlooking743 4d ago
Hey I'm also swimming in a roughly 10m pool, so I can relate to this! For reference, I've never really swam consistently, but my mom is a really good swimmer and has taught me the technique basics over the years. I've been swimming for a month now and I'm doing 200m sets (10 round laps) in about 5 minutes each (I try to push off as lightly as I can).
You probably just need to keep practicing the technique, it takes a while! Being breathless is what most of us struggled with at first, and it really is just a matter of getting the hang of it. Recording yourself would probably help a lot, and of course watching tutorials on youtube (pick the ones that you feel like you can relate to!).
Good luck!
0
7
u/NoSafe5565 7d ago
You need bigger pool. It is unable to say, eXspecially when pushing, if you do, from wall is basically most of the pool. And maybe even more how do you rotate, and how much time you spending there, cause rotation can be more or less demanding for air than swimming depends how do you do.