u/ZenithCrossing

I have been training for the Toronto triathlon since January. It will be my first triathlon.

I came into this as a very strong swimmer. I was a competitive swimmer growing up, and at 38 years old, I still maintain a CSS of about 1:25/100m. I expected the swim to be the easiest part of the tri for me.

Today was my first open water swim to prep for the triathlon in 3 weeks, and all I can say is WOW. It was by far the most brutal swim I have ever done. I could barely hold a 2:00/100m pace, and after 1500m I was completely smoked. With both the wetsuit and my trisuit, I felt like I could barely breathe, and I had to work way harder than expected to keep my stroke going.

To say it is completely different from pool swimming would be a massive understatement.

Needless to say, the last three weeks of swims in my training schedule have all been updated to open-water swims. I am hoping the extra time will help make things more comfortable.

Any advice from more seasoned open-water swimmers?

Does anyone have recommendations for swimming pools in the downtown core that offer regular fast-lane swims?

I have been using the new Y at Queen and Richmond, but they really only have a few days a week with fast lane swims that aren't first thing in the morning and late in the evening. It's gotten so busy there now, and they don't enforce lane etiquette so the slowest person sets the pace, that there really isn't much of a fast lane at all.

Looking for a pool with a good amount of fast lane swim times.

Been training since February for my first triathlon, and being Canadian, all my bike workouts have been on my trainer indoors.

The last couple of weeks, with the temps rising, I've been trying to get out for at least one outdoor ride a week.

Well the learning curve with clip ons has been a bit of a challenge. The first session outside I feel at slow speed trying to bike around traffic, and gave myself some good road rash. The second, and again on the third session, I fell over while stopped because I could not unclip when I became unstable. No road rash this time, just a bruised ego.

Today, FINALLY, I managed to complete my workout without a crash.

I'm still struggling to clip in when I unclip after a stop, but starting to feel more confident in unclipping at a moments notice.

Small wins.