Whether you're looking to score a new PR at your next triathlon or want to reduce your chances of recovery on the bike. Getting faster in open water swimming is a goal of many triathletes. However, improving your swimming ability can be difficult.
With insights from professional triathletes and international elite-level coaches, top masters swimmer Helen Gorman shares training advice to improve your swim speed on race day. From pool training sets to increase your fitness and pace. You need to fine-tune your open water skills to ensure that all your hard training is put into practice once you're out in the open water.
Focus on combining endurance and pace
Triathlons and open water swimming races are endurance events. A sprint triathlon also involves swimming 750 meters, which takes most people more than 10 minutes to complete. You don't need to train your natural swimming power or speed, but training your energy system to outperform your current best time level will help you swim faster.
British coach Glenn Smith, who was the childhood coach of the 2008 Olympic 400m and 800m freestyle champion, says: “We aim to develop ‘pace’ rather than ‘speed.’” He is keen to point out that maintaining speed and maintaining a certain pace requires aerobic exercise. I am. “You have to gradually build up your engine. To swim 1500 meters, 1900 meters or 3800 meters, you need to be aerobically fit, especially if you want to swim at a certain pace.”
Once your aerobic fitness is in place, you should incorporate pacework into your swim schedule to start increasing your speed. Let's say your goal is to swim her 1500 meters in under 25 minutes. Must be able to maintain a pace of 1 minute 40 seconds per 100 meters. To train the energy system to reach that pace and maintain it for 1500 meters, Smith suggests incorporating his 50 meter interval sets, which are slightly above that pace, into your training. Masu. In this example, he aims for about 46-47 seconds for 50 meters (1:14/100 meters), and between each interval he takes a 10-15 second rest. 10 x 50m is a great pace to start with.
To match your set pace to your ability, first identify what time you want to achieve for your set distance. Calculate how much pace you need to maintain per 100 meters to achieve that time. He then aims to complete 50 meters repeatedly at a pace slightly above that pace.
maintain good technique
The most common mistake we all make when trying to swim faster is that our technique deteriorates. This means it's less efficient, uses more energy, and is slower. Therefore, it is important to focus on maintaining good technique when working at speed.
Pro Swim Set: India Lee's Race Pace Effort Training Session
PRO triathlete and Miami T100 champion India Lee does race-specific swim sets almost every week as part of her training. She says the set “mimics the intense start of a race and then having to settle down to race-pace intensity.” If you want to try training like a pro, check out her set below.
- 4 x 50m max effort with reduced rest: 60, 50, 40, 30 seconds
- 300m CSS pace (see below for CSS description)
- 200 Pulls + Paddles – Upper Cardio (Zone 3)
- Repeat x 4
But if you don't have a coach monitoring your form poolside, what's an easy way to check your technique while swimming? Paul Eaglestone, childhood coach of Olympic candidate Alex Yee , proposes to utilize the number of strokes. “Knowing your stroke count is important when swimming at a steady pace, so keep your stroke count in mind to help you swim 25 meters faster. It gives you a metric to use and a good indicator of when your technique breaks down.
“If your stroke count is significantly higher than usual, it's a good idea to rest and reset your mind and body.” Make sure to take plenty of breaks between speed repetitions and maintain good technique even when you increase your pace. Please concentrate.
CSS (Critical Swim Speed) is the theoretical fastest pace a swimmer can maintain continuously without becoming fatigued. This is your aerobic swimming threshold and can be calculated by swimming a 400m and 200m time trial and entering your times into an online calculator to calculate your 100m pace.
When to do speed work in open water events
Smith insists that you need to build your engine first before adding thresholds and pace sets for the main open water swimming events. However, incorporating short speed bursts and drills into your warm-up is possible year-round. Try using fins to feel even faster or using a paddle (if your shoulders are ready) for short power-based sets.
Ideally, you should start working on your threshold and pace at the beginning of the race season, and be able to complete 2-3 key sets per week during the competitive season.
Six weeks after the main race, Smith suggests doing 3 x 200m as hard as possible at a pace of around 300km. 3 to 4 minutes between each. He then recommends reducing your threshold training volume while maintaining your overall swimming volume with cardio and regular speed training as part of your warm-up.
Open water skills to swim faster
Develop and perfect your open water racing skills to swim the shortest distance. Swimming off course or going too far around the turn buoy can add up to extra meters.
Professional triathlete Jodie Stimpson has some very simple tips for staying the course. “You breathe more regularly in open water to make sure you're going in the right direction.” Each breath gives Jody an opportunity to “sight.” That is, to easily check if she is swimming towards the correct buoy or landmark.
Ideally, you should practice sighting while swimming in open water. But even if you do most of your training in the pool, you can still practice aiming by incorporating a quick look ahead at something at the end of your lane with each breath. This is a great set of drills to do as part of your warm-up to help you develop a breathing pattern that works for you.
Draft can also make a big difference in speed in open water. Swimming behind someone can save you a significant amount of energy, but you still need to make sure they are following the correct line and don't veer off course. In training, practice swimming directly behind other swimmers while looking at them every few strokes to make sure you're on course.
India Lee said, “Drafting is part of racing and I'm not afraid to touch the foot in front of me. I don't care if someone swims over or touches my foot. But if you want to drop it, try to change direction a little or wait until you get to the buoy and try to get some space around it.”
Swimming gear to optimize your speed
Fitness, strength, and skill are big parts of the equation when it comes to improving your pace in open water. But your choice of swimming gear can also have a big impact. Choose the wetsuit that best suits your swimming style or get swim skins for non-wetsuit events to help you swim faster. Also, making sure your goggles are suitable for open water swimming will make it easier to stay on course and prevent you from accidentally swimming extra distance and losing time.
Choose the best wetsuit
Choosing the right wetsuit is important to maximize your speed in open water. An ill-fitting wetsuit or a wetsuit that is too tight around the shoulders can increase drag in the water, limit your range of motion, and cause your shoulders to fatigue faster.
Make sure to choose a swimming-specific wetsuit rather than a surfing suit. It has a smooth coated neoprene surface to reduce friction, making it much faster. A full-cut wetsuit is also usually the quickest option. Neoprene is faster and more buoyant than skin, so the more coverage you have, the faster you can swim.
The premium wetsuit uses thin neoprene around the shoulders and upper back to aid thoracic mobility, allowing for superior stretch and reach with every stroke. No matter how much you spend, your suit needs to fit you perfectly and you should take the time to get it right. Most retailers and wetsuit brands will be happy to discuss sizing, and some will even give you the option to try on the suit before you buy.
Eaglestone recommends suiting up and training before the event. “You need to know how swimming in a wetsuit affects your technique. For most people, it's always a positive experience because of the increased buoyancy. Before your first open water experience , we recommend practicing open water in the pool or on the lido.
Swimskins help speed up triathlons without wetsuits
If you are lucky enough to race somewhere warm, you may not be allowed to wear a wetsuit. Triathletes have the option of wearing swimskins over their tri suits. For example, if you watch race footage from the Ironman World Championships in Kona or the recent Singapore T100, you'll notice that the pros are wearing Swim His skins over their tri suits. .
These suits are made from hydrophobic fabrics similar to those worn by elite pool athletes. It reaches up to the knee and can be sleeveless or with sleeves. While swimskins don't provide the added buoyancy of a wetsuit, the hydrophobic fabric streamlines more in the water, helping you swim faster.
For the average age group, this benefit isn't necessarily huge, but if you're looking to save crucial seconds, every little bit helps. Remember to take them off after swimming. This is the mistake Jan Rodeno almost made at his 2023 PTO US Open. Swimskins are not designed with breathability in mind and should never be left on during the bike leg of a triathlon.
Choose smoked or mirrored open water swimming goggles
Ultra-thin, small-frame goggles, like the ones you see pure pool swimmers wearing in races, are the fastest when it comes to hydrodynamics. In open water, it's more important to be able to see where you're going so you don't swim wildly off course.
Look for goggles that provide a good field of vision. Also, if you're likely to swim in bright light, choose goggles with a “smoke” or mirror finish to reduce sun glare. Most triathlons are held early in the morning when the sun is low in the sky, making it difficult to see when wearing clear goggles.
brief summary
To improve your open water swimming performance, train consistently, do race pace interval training prior to the event, check regularly where you're going to swim the shortest line, and develop your ability. is needed. A pacing strategy that works for you.
Prior to the event, repeat short intervals at a faster pace than your current best performance. For example, if she swims 1500 meters in 25 minutes, then for 50 meters she will have an average pace of 50 seconds. In training, she aims to swim 10 x 50 meters, maintaining a time of 47 seconds per 50 meters, with about 10 to 15 seconds of rest in between.
Good technique in the pool leads to good technique in open water. However, you may need to change your breathing patterns to be aware of your surroundings and see where you are going. This is especially true in unstable situations where seeing your destination can be more difficult and you need to aim more often.
Drafting is legal and is an important part of racing in open water swimming. You can save a lot of energy by swimming right behind someone, but make sure they stay on course and don't lead you in the wrong direction.
The fastest suit is open water/triathlon specific and has a smooth skin coating. They extend to the ankles and wrists, and tend to have thinner material around the shoulders and chest to aid reach and rotation. For more information on choosing the best wetsuit for your swimming style, check out our wetsuit buying guide.
