Build Endurance for Triathlon Swimming

Find out about the different types of triathlon swimming endurance training and some examples of sessions.

Although in most triathlons the swim requires the least amount of time of the three disciplines (~15 – 20%), a good swim does set you up for the rest of the race. Good triathlon swimming endurance fitness, will mean you are less fatigued when you exit the water. And that means a better bike and run!

Steps

  1. To be successful with your triathlon swimming, you need to be comfortable with completing the distance of the swim, before spending time building the speed at which you are able to cover this distance.
  2. A triathlon swimming endurance session is different for everyone. The key is that it should enable you to swim further, or for longer at a given pace. In other words, it should improve your endurance.

3 Types of Endurance

  1. Extensive Endurance: Long swims that are well over race distance and at a steady, comfortable pace.
  2. Intermediate Endurance: Slightly shorter efforts, that are closer to your race intensity (especially for the Sprint Distance) and could be described as Uncomfortably Comfortable.
  3. Intensive Endurance: Hard endurance efforts. For stronger swimmers this is probably close to their sprint, or maybe even Olympic distance race pace.

Extensive Endurance Triathlon Swim Training

  1. This uses long repetitions. How long these are is up to you. You should swim at a pace, that means you can keep your breathing under control. You might find your arms getting tired, but this will adapt quite quickly.
  2. The idea is to use repetitions of a distance, that, at is of a pace you find challenging, but not really hard. In between the repetitions, you have short periods of rest, to allow you to repeat this. Don't try to do repetitions over too long a distance, otherwise your technique could fall apart as you tire.
  3. So for a triathlete competing in a Sprint race who finds the distance (750m) challenging, your Extensive Endurance Swim session might look like this:
    • 5 x 200m at a comfortable aerobic pace.
    • 1 minute recovery between the efforts.
    • The pace should be comfortable. Over time you would look to build up the number of repetitions and then the length of the repetitions.
  4. There are a variety of ways of making this session fit each individual. If you find the 200m quite long, use shorter efforts with less rest, until you build up the muscular endurance in your shoulders.
  5. Remember though, that you are trying to progress the endurance aspect, so the total distance of the main-set must extend beyond your race distance.
  6. Ideally you are aiming to include longer and longer repetitions with less and less recovery.
  7. When you are able to maintain that steady controlled breathing for 1.5 – 2 times your race distance on a regular basis, you have begun to develop a good endurance capacity for your speed. Now, all you need to do, is go faster!!

Intermediate Endurance Triathlon Swim Training

  1. This type of endurance is around the intensity at which beginner triathletes might swim their Sprint Distance Triathlon, or the intensity at which more experienced/stronger swimmers, might do an Olympic or even a Long Distance triathlon (although you would have to be exceptionally fit for this). It is quite hard, but not really flat out. It should feel uncomfortably comfortable!
  2. Breathing should still be under control, but now it’s a bit more of an effort.
  3. Developing greater endurance at this pace and intensity will help you to exit the water and transition on to the bike much better, and will help the latter stages of the swim.
  4. For a Sprint Distance moderate swimmer these sessions might start out something like this:
    • 10 x 75m at an intensity/pace around your target for the race, with about 10 seconds rest.
  5. As you become more proficient at this it could develop to as much as:
    • 20 x 100m at race pace with about 10-15 sec rest between each rep.
  6. It would require a significant amount of training to progress this far, but for more advanced swimmers, this is a reasonable progression.

Intensive Endurance Triathlon Swim Training

  1. This is not really an endurance training session, for less-than reasonably well-trained and experienced swimmers.
  2. The intensity is hard. It would correspond to an experienced, strong swimmer racing the Sprint distance.
  3. To improve the duration of the swim training, you can sustain above your race pace, you need to be able to swim at a faster pace, and have short rest intervals, to allow you to complete a greater total distance than you would otherwise be able to at this pace. So a session might look like this:
    • 8 - 10 x 100m at 1 – 2 seconds faster than race pace, with 20 seconds recovery.
    • This could develop into 2 sets of a similar session, initially starting with a slightly lower number of repetitions:
    • 2 sets of 7 x 100m @ race pace – 1 second, with 20 seconds recovery and 5 minutes between sets.
  4. This is a VERY HARD session that you need to be technically very competent, to get the most out of. Otherwise, you will find that, under fatigue, your stroke technique goes, and you will be working very hard, but missing the times by quite a margin.
  5. The early part of the session will feel OK, because you are swimming quite a short distance, and having with a good rest. By the time you get to midway, you should find that the 20 seconds recovery, is only just enough to get your breathing back under control. And by the end, you will be gasping for breath as you start the last few repetitions, and the recovery will be essential!



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