What Is A Good Triathlon Swim Time? 

How do you focus your training for faster swim times? 🏊

It’s all about enjoying the sport, the best time is a time that gets you out of the water happy and ready to take on the bike. 😅

Great video! Front of the pack swimmer here, 1:03 and 30m for full/half respectively (I’m 55-59 AG). The biggest impact on my swim has been the slower swimmers who seed themselves ahead of me. I have to climb over or go around them. Let’s just say my first two races I was really nice and have since lost patience. PLEASE seed yourself based on past performance, not on goals or another reason. Thanks!!

I did a data project recently analyzing triathlon data for a local race, and the interesting thing I found is the fastest swimmers did not dominate the podium. There were people who were VERY good swimmers but most of them turned out to be slow bikers or runners. The people who did win typically did not have the best swim times. Reminder that triathlon is about the total time from all three events, and even for us slow swimmers it is the shortest segment of the race.

I swim a 2 minute 100 in a pool. That’s about the best I can do. Open water I swim a bit faster. Water conditions play a big factor in open water.

Dont forget that the pace per minute is not the only factor that determines whether you do a fast swim in open water. A slower swimmer with great sighting and ability to swim in a straight line can make up plenty of time against a faster swimmer that zig zags through the course….simply by having to swim less distance 👍

lol, i almost don’t care about the swim time as long as i don’t drown because i absolutely will catch you on the bike.

cheers from Mexico you rock guys!!!

I always go last so its not as choppy, around 20 mins clear of the cut off. Gives me a much funner ride rounding all the swimmers up.

Don't suppose you can put a link in the blurb for the video on calculating target pace from CSS?

Chattanooga is awesome! I swim like a 1:17 at Lake Placid, I swam under an hour at Chattanooga. Lol

1:40 is a great goal to achieve for 1500 or longer swims. Coming out of the water in the top third allows for a good transition.

It might be worth asking what you are aiming to achieve, for some of us the swim is part of the warm up it can help you get a rhythm going for the whole triathlon. Each element of the triathlon is equally important, I say there’s 4 elements as transitioning can be difficult to get right. Most of us might not be so great at an element but either way practice and sensible planning it can improve. I would say that swimming in a swimming pool will be very different to swimming in a lake, there’s a lot of different things you need to consider. When practicing your swimming you would probably benefit from swimming in a similar environment so it will not be such a problem on the day of your triathlon. Will you wear a wetsuit or something else? If you can aim to wear what you will swim in on the day for your practices, that way it will feel relatively easy. Swimming in new stuff is one thing but I would suggest you wear it as soon as possible to avoid any discomfort. You don’t want to have an uncomfortable triathlon if you can help it. Do take time to look at each element and go through them methodically, if you need to change something it’s best to do it as soon as possible. Make sure you have clean things like socks and don’t be afraid of having a few extra pairs. Ensure you wash your kit normally and don’t start changing detergent to make a few savings. Uncomfortable gear will distract you and make it harder for you. Have a very good look at the clothes you are going to use and be sure they are comfortable, if you have 2 pairs of cycle shoes make sure you wear them both equally by alternating the pair you wear and the same with your running shoes. Leave nothing to chance. I spent ages checking my stuff and it was time well spent. Allow for the unexpected to happen, if something happens take a moment and stay focused on the matter in hand. If you become distracted it can be a problem. Try to learn the course and see what there is that might concern you, is the visibility in the water going to affect my ability to see my surroundings properly? In a lake the perspective is different to that of an Olympic pool which is deck level. The terrain for your cycle ride might have a few corners that seem odd to look at and the run at the end might be different to what you envisaged. Do some research and it will fit together. I would suggest one element at a time and see if one element is weaker than another, transition is not always easy especially as you have to limit your stuff and fit it in a small space. I was apprehensive when I decided to commit to a triathlon but I had the ability it was just putting it together, yes it’s different to do it on the day but having the confidence to go and do it is half the challenge. Be realistic about what you can sustain and what works for you, we are not all the same size and our age can be a factor too. I was 54 when I did my first Triathlon, I managed to sustain the same pace as when I did my first half marathon at 47. Allow yourself to have rest days and keep a training schedule that suits you. Take the plunge and good luck.

Another factor impacting time is that open water swim course distances are estimates and the actual distance is often hundreds of yards/meters off.

Really good over all view of swim times.

Great video. I would love to see coaches give tips on dealing with the crowding. Got kicked in the face and googles off this weekend. Then I hit someone who was livid with me. I end up adding a lot of distance becaise if my anxiety.

A good swim time for me is 1h10min for full and 35min for half, that’s what i can do without training and gets me usually in to the top 3 / top 5 in most races because i can spend more training time on the bike instead of in the pool :-)

Am I doomed to be disqualified? Currently I am swimming at 2:15 to 2:30 per hundred in the pool. I am 65 and do not think those times are going to improve dramatically. So far in my races I come out at the back of the pack but I can make up time on the bike and run. I have been swimming 2 times a week and I see dramatic improvement from last year (less anxiety in water). My goal is not to drown, finish the swim and try and have fun. Thanks for the info though.

Looking forward to Chattanooga in the next few weeks 🎉

I’m swimming 2.12 in the pool but open sea it drops to 2.30-2.45. Quite frustrating and im still trying to find out how to correct that

I really want to improve swimming in open water but it feels frustrating as improvements are very slow... considering I am at 2:30/100m, training twice a week and being 32 yo, how long could it take to ve at 2 minutes?

this is about the amount of anaerobic load and lactate amassing - that may destroy all the rest

Swissman 23 😂 targeting 1h15 finished in 2h thanks to the conditions

Last Sunday I did my first triathlon of the season, 1700 m at 1:23 min / 100 m. The catch? It was all along the current of the river 😂😂😂

I’m a terrible swimmer and I get out and most bikes gone - very demoralising !

Thought I was a very bad swimmer, turns out I'm average. Yay! Regarding openwater, saltwater (ocean) is more floaty than freshwater (lakes / rivers) - that can positively effect your times as well.

I swam a 1:20 and then literally shit my pants on the bike......

I find my open water is faster than the pool. The wetsuit and sitting on someone’s heels.

Without even watching this… a fast swim time is meaningless if you suck on the bike. Take it from experience 😂

Wouldn't that depend on the age group? I did :58 for the Ironman distance in Kona for 55+ age group.

You didn't mention age - surely that has as much effect as sex?

Be bald be toothless

Please don't use this music /back ground noise ruins this video!

Heather is so pretty. I have such a crush on her.