Thanks for the ecouragement and advice guys, always appreciated

I am doing 500m in about 14 and half mins at the moment, I can do breaststroke in 11 lol. BUT I now know that I will get there if I persist.

Thanks again

Dave

As a Masters swim coach for over 25years, and competing tri and Masters swimming for even longer, difficulty with breathing is the most frequently heard plea from front crawl novices. The VITAL thing to understand is to blow out ALL the air when your face is in the water so the ONLY thing you need to do as you turn the head with the shoulders is to breathe in. If you try to breath out and in whilst the head is turned, there will not be enough time, panic sets in, water is swallowed and all grinds to a halt. Breathing out can be explosive or at a trickle, whichever works best for you. Play with breathing patterns, bi-lateral 3, 5 or 7 strokes, or mix 3 and 5. Learn to be in control of your breathing. Swim f/crawl for 25m without breathing at all, face down. (yes you can!). Remember, distance swimmers need constant supply of oxygen to avoid oxygen debt, so may even breathe every stroke, sprinters won't breathe any more than they have to. F/crawl 85-90% upper body, legs just balancing. Breast stroke is 50-50% arms legs - best avoided for triathlon. Good advice above - join a Masters swim club. Use ALL strokes in training not just f/crawl if you want REAL water fitness and avoid repetitive shoulder injuries. (btw wetsuits should be for novices only!)