Saturday Swim Session: GTN’s Sub-Hour Ironman Swim Session #1

Completing the Ironman Swim in under 60 minutes is a significant achievement. Today at Ironman NZ plenty of people will be trying to achieve this milestone. Consistent pacing and sustained effort is the key to achieving this goal. This is a great session for triathletes and open water swimmers to do to build their sustained speed.

Each Saturday I will post a Swim Session, most weeks I will load three options up for you to do. Option A is for swimmers who are after a workout between 1,000 & 2,000 metres. Option B is for swimmers who are after a workout between 2,000 & 3,000m and Option C will be greater than 3,000m.

The inspiration for this session comes from the Global Triathlon Network (GTN) check out their video here:

Option A

• 200m WU;
• 2x 50m Pull;
• 2x 25m Target Pace;
• 2 Sets (1^st Swim/2^nd Pull):
  • 2x 100m on 2:00;
  • 6x 50m on 1:00;
  • 100m Easy;
• 2x 100m CD (1,750m)

Option B

• 200m WU;
• 4x 50m Pull;
• 4x 25m Target Pace;
• 2 Sets (1^st Swim/2^nd Pull):
  • 4x 100m on 2:00;
  • 8x 50m on 1:00;
  • 200m Easy;
• 3x 100m CD (2,600m)

Option C

• 200m WU;
• 4x 50m Pull;
• 4x 25m Target Pace;
• 2 Sets (1^st Swim/2^nd Pull):
  • 6x 100m on 2:00;
  • 12x 50m on 1:00;
  • 200m Easy;
• 3x 100m CD (3,400m)

Start the workout with a Warm Up (WU) covering 200m. During the warm-up feel free to stop and stretch as needed.  It doesn’t need to be a continuous swim.

This session is all about maintaining a pace of 1:34 per 100m or 1:26 per 100 yards within the session. This equates to 0:23 per 25m or 0:47 per 50m.

Start with a set of two (Option A) or four (Options B & C) reps of 50m using a pull buoy. Take as much rest as you require between reps.

Next up is a set of two (Option A) or four (Options B & C) reps over 25m swimming at Target Pace (23 seconds).

There are two main sets the first one swims and the second one is with a pull buoy.

Each set contains a set of two (Option A), four (Option B), or six (Option C), 100m reps starting each rep every two minutes. Then move straight into a set of six (Option A), eight (Option B), or twelve (Option C), 50m reps starting each rep on one minute. Then swim 100m (Option A) or 200m (Options B & C) easily before repeating with a pull buoy.

For the Cool Down (CD) swim two (Option A) or three (Options B & C) reps of 100m. Unlike the previous sets which have to be freestyle, the cooldown (like the warm-up) can be any stroke you wish to swim.  I encourage you to stop and stretch between each rep during the cool down.

If you would like further advice feel free to contact me.

I am the Head Coach & Director of Qwik Kiwi Coaching.

I specialise in assisting first-timers and recreational athletes to achieve their sporting goals. I can be contacted at coachray@coachray.nz and 021 348 729.

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If you enjoyed this workout, here is a similar session I published 12 months ago.

Saturday Swim Session: 100’s for Sustained Speed

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