nerves

i'm freaked. my strokes suck. they're terrible. you'd think i didn't know how to swim at all. well, it's probably not that bad, but my lack of proper form worries me. when it comes to the tri, i have no issues with the bike or run. the swim is a whole different can of worms. since it's the first part, it'll be doubly hard and completely kick my ass before i even get to the comfortable parts. now, my goal is just to finish. i'm not trying to qualify for the Gatorade ironman or anything. but i do want to survive the swim and come out of the water alive and with enough energy to slog my way through the rest of the race.

part of the problem is that i have so many resources. that is a problem because i don't know who the best person to listen to is, what the best website is, what training calendar fits me best, and so on and so forth. i get such a variety of information that i'm overwhelmed and don't know which options to choose. so, consequently, i'm picking from here and there and making it up as i go. i'm keeping a journal of my workouts and everything, and i'm trying to plan ahead of time which days are best for swim/bike/run. i'm also attempting to organize the specific workout for the day (e.g., how many laps or minutes to swim, how many miles to bike/run). like i said, the bike and run=cake walk. no big deal. i also know that i'm in good shape for sports since i've lost weight, built my endurance base, significantly lowered my body fat%, and increased my fitness level substantially. but, not knowing what i'm doing otherwise freaks me out.

while i just said that i have too many sources of information about swimming, i would really appreciate any advice you'd have on mental relaxation/preparedness/toughness.

***HELP!!!***