Crawl Stroke Breathing

How to get the breathing working sooner, one asks.

Lately I have been working on pull technique by breathing to the left on every 4th stroke. Attempting to do multiple laps unsuccessfully.

I manage to do the first 2 laps of 30m in one go but bonk on the 3rd. Then I have to stop for a few seconds gasping for breath after the ensuing laps.
I try hard to do a puff out on the first 3 strokes and breathe in on the 4th. I know how important it is to exhale hard.

This stop-start continues for about 25x30 m laps but then suddenly it seems my breathing seems happier and I can do multiple laps! This is showing the importance of a decent warmup swim before trying to do a race.

So I wonder how to get the breathing working properly sooner in the session?

cottmiler wrote:
...I manage to do the first 2 laps of 30m in one go but bonk on the 3rd.  Then I have to stop for a few seconds gasping for breath ...

Um! Could it be that the years are just "piling up" - and we are regrettably no longer "young bucks"!!!

I've noticed with sadness, that gradually, we have to ease off (or even halt) some formerly enjoyable and "do-able" things!

I do like doing my couple of laps of "inhaling on every 4th FS arm stroke".  It enables us to concentrate on some points - in my case, "pressing the buoy" to bring the legs up nearer the surface, and now   , [b]"exploring" my latest, hopefully improved, flutter kick efforts! On the latter : It seems a grand idea to me, to flick the leg back/up more than hitherto, when doing the flutter kick upbeat.  I haven't heard a splosh or sensed a foot breaking the surface yet - but am sure it should lead to a more efficient kick downbeat, since the foot's instep will start momentarily from a more horizontal attitude.  I mustn't get carried away with the "relaxation" idea, forgetting that the flutter kick downbeat has to be a strong one!