Backstroke has always been pretty easy for me, I can go fast and I don't understand why a lot of swimmers hate it. For one thing, YOU CAN BREATHE when you do it, haha. No matter how hard I train, I cannot get my breathing down in freestyle to where I can sustain a long swim. I don't know if it's my extra weight or what, but I need more air than I'm getting. Backstroke solves this.
So I went to gym today and tried out the intermediate training scheduled but with backstroke (I had been on beginning freestyle due to my troubles) and I did it with NO problem. In fact, I now look forward to the swim. I'm not going to get there any slower than if I do freestyle, and I'll be a LOT less tired. The triathlon just became doable, AGAIN.
I checked with triathlon officials and they confirmed that backstroke is allowed. So now I look forward to my swim workouts again!