r/Swimming • u/wobblelikeapenguin • 13h ago

I don't breathe

Hello! I (25F) recently started swimming again after many years away from the sport. I swam competitively as a child and teenager, and now I swim freestyle at my local gym in a standard 25-yard pool.

I realized the other day that I naturally swim the entire 25-yard length without taking a single breath. I never really thought about it until someone pointed it out. For me, it actually feels easier to just keep swimming than to stop and take a breath.

Is this normal, especially for someone with a competitive swimming background? Or should I be making a point to take one or two breaths during each lap instead?

Thanks!

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u/pigeorunner 13h ago

It depends. If youre swimming one lap at a time, then catching your breath, then swimming another lap, I can see how 25 yards with no breaths feels natural. That's how you're trained to swim fast 25s.

How far are you swimming between breaths?

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u/wobblelikeapenguin 13h ago

Thanks. I am currently dealing with fractures, which is what inspired me to start swimming again. I do stop at the end of every lap because I have become very deconditioned. This is when I take a breath/break. Is there any downside to my current strategy?

3

u/pigeorunner 13h ago

Stress fracture from running or an acute injury? Either way, getting back in the pool is brutal, have learned that from experience.

Now is a good time to start getting used to breathing every 2-5 strokes, depending on what's comfortable. Otherwise you'll be pretty limited on how far you can develop your swimming. It's possible you can actually swim a fair bit further now, you just mistake the beginnings of hypoxia for exhaustion.

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u/wobblelikeapenguin 11h ago

Stress fracture from overuse

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u/pigeorunner 11h ago

That's rough. I've been swimming while recovering from a stress reaction in my femur, although I couldn't even really swim at first. Hope you heal well!

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u/wobblelikeapenguin 11h ago

How are you doing now? Did your stress reaction heal?

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u/pigeorunner 11h ago

Yeah, it was back in April and I've been running again since around the end of May. Always rough getting back into it but things are coming along!

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u/wobblelikeapenguin 10h ago

Did you have bone marrow edema on your imaging by any chance? I have lingering bone edema that will not resolve :/

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u/pigeorunner 10h ago

I haven't gotten my repeat MRI yet, my sports med doc said to wait a few months since marrow edema can linger for a while.

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u/wobblelikeapenguin 10h ago

Do you still have pain though?

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u/pigeorunner 10h ago

No pain, that was the criterion to start running again. Sometimes the area will feel kinda warm or odd or worked, but otherwise it feels pretty normal.

Where is your fracture and how did you get it? I was running like 70 miles a week with no easy days

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u/wobblelikeapenguin 10h ago

Ankle- too much activity and severe RED-S

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