Are you ready to swim a mile with a 1,000 of your closest friends?
Every summer, triathletes show up at my pool in full-blown panic. They’ve started triathlon swim training and signed up for their first race months ago, but as race day gets closer, they realize: “I don’t think I can finish the swim.”
My heart goes out to them. I’ll do everything I can to help them get through the race — but just surviving the swim isn’t the goal. Making yourself miserable for half an hour, gasping for breath, and praying for the exit isn’t why you signed up for a triathlon.
The good news? With the right approach, the swim can become a strength instead of a liability. Over the past 25 years of coaching, I’ve learned some truths about triathlon swim training that can save you time, stress, and frustration. And I’ve distilled them into a five-step process that can turn the swim from something you dread into something you look forward to.
Three Hard Truths About Triathlon Swim Training
- Your run and bike fitness don’t translate.
You may be able to bike 40k or run 10k, but swimming 1.5k is a completely different sport. Water is far more resistant than air. The breathing pattern is unnatural. The muscle groups you rely on for running and cycling don’t carry over. You have to respect swimming as its own discipline. - Efficiency comes before endurance.
If your stroke is inefficient, the water will punish you. Fighting for another lap just makes you better at struggling. The only way forward is to invest in technique first. Once you’re moving smoothly, then endurance training pays off. - Open water is not the pool.
Pool fitness doesn’t automatically prepare you for open water. No lane lines, no walls, cold water, currents, waves, sun glare — and hundreds of other athletes crashing into you. To succeed, you need specific open-water skills on top of your pool training.
The Five Steps to Becoming Triathlon-Ready
Step 1: Master a Freestyle Drill System
Swimming is a technique-limited sport. Unless you raced at the collegiate level, you have room to get faster by swimming smarter. A proven drill system should develop:
- Balance and streamline
- Arm timing with body rotation
- Relaxed arm recovery
- Breathing mechanics and rhythm
- Propulsion from arms, legs, and hips
Don’t rush this phase. Drills aren’t “warm-ups” — they are the building blocks of your stroke. Master them patiently and you’ll see exponential returns.
If you are swimming in the Chicago Blue Dolphins programs, our Freestyle 1 and Freestyle 2 classes will give you this full set of stroke drills.
Step 2: Repeat Efficient Freestyle in the Pool
Once drills click, start blending them into full-stroke swimming. Measure efficiency with stroke count — how many strokes it takes to cross the pool. Your target is your “Green Zone,” the efficient range for your height.
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