5 Top Tips To Perfectly Pace A Long Distance Swim

They say you can’t win an Ironman in the swim, but you can lose it… If you get your swim wrong, you are setting yourself up for a long hard day. So here are our 5 top tips to pace your swim so you don’t burn all your matches before your day even gets going. 🏊

0:00 - Intro
1:42 - Know your pace
2:45 - Know yourself
3:20 - Know the course
4:15 - Start smart
5:17 - Use your fellow swimmers
6:00 - Bonus tip - Patience

Useful Links

What’s your swim pacing technique? 🏊 Let us know in the comment section below! 💬

Watch more on GTN...

Photos: © Triathlon / Getty Images

🎵 Music - licensed by Epidemic Sound / Artlist 🎵
Luau in Honolulu - Sarah, the Illstrumentalist
Windy City Streets - Sarah, the Illstrumentalist
geodesis - dreem
Sugarcoat - Jobii

#gtn #triathlon #swimbikerun #swim #bike #run #openwaterswimming #toptip #5tips

The Global Triathlon Network (GTN) is the world's biggest triathlon YouTube channel, with new videos every day! GTN is for anyone who loves triathlon: from seasoned triathletes to first-timers – and everyone in between!

With the help of our former pro and Olympic medal-winning team, we’re here to inform, entertain and inspire you to become a better triathlete; including videos on:

- How to swim, bike, and run faster with expert knowledge
- Try our session ideas
- Investigations into wide-ranging topics
- The best triathlon bike tech and gear with pro-know-how
- In-depth, entertaining features from the heart of the sport
- Chat, opinion and interact with us across the channel and on social media!

Join us on YouTube’s best triathlon channel to get closer to the sport and to become a better, faster and fitter triathlete!

Welcome to the Global Triathlon Network.

Thanks to our sponsors:

Watch our sister channels:

[kennethknowles]

I benefit from all of your instructional videos. You helped me onto my first age group podium (3rd) last weekend. Thanks so much GTN!

[alisontriathlonlover]

Very helpful ahead of my first full Ironman in July in Switzerland Thun 🤩 thanks

[carlbaldwin]

1st event on the 25th of this month and your channel helps me so much.
Thankyou

[zericsigmonjr.]

Training for my first 70.3 this video is very helpful, thanks!

[Shevock]

Moving by feel is great advice. Not only for the swim. I always agreed with the idea that you train high tech and race low.

[mandagrath]

I’m terrible at pacing myself. I do everything too fast. I always find myself running out of juice too fast. I have spent all my training alone so I’m finding out what I’m capable of but have no idea how it compares. Thanks for all the great videos.

[patpaintsminis]

I'll try to remember for my first 70.3 this sunday in switzerland :O
Thank you GTN !

[trbeyond]

I have a swimming background and have the opposite problem. I almost never seem to push hard enough. I can’t ever remember a race whether it was long or short where I thought I had overcooked myself in the swim.

[tommylobotommy]

I always pace myself to a swimmer next to me if I feel comfortable. Also it's better to lose few minutes than to pay for this later. You can make it up on the bike.

[iggalan]

I set an alarm on my watch every 750 meters, it will vibrate each time I swim that distance and show in big numbers the time it took me, so I only have to look at it a few times. In the open water the watch screen is difficult to see and it breaks your stroke so it’s better to learn to pace yourself.

[amaclach]

If you're slow, don't try to start at the front - it's not going to be a fun experience getting run over by all the faster swimmers behind you.

[shanesmith]

Pacing is not that hard when you only have one swim pace. SLOW!