Stop guessing: exactly how to train for a summer swim event

Stop guessing: your 4-phase plan to train for a summer swim event

If you’ve signed up for a summer 2026 swim event - whether that’s 750m, 15km, or anything in between - it’s time to stop winging it. Because swimming lengths, hoping for the best & guessing what will help you improve isn’t a strategy. You need a simple roadmap that builds your fitness, improves your technique & gets you comfortable in open water - step by step. Rebecca Wetten, Co-Founder & Head Coach at Catch explains how to do it.

Why most swimmers feel unsure

When your event is months away, it’s easy to avoid starting the kind of training that will actually make a difference.

You might:

Swim the same session every week
Avoid technique work because you’re not sure what to focus on
Panic slightly when someone mentions open water training

It’s completely normal.

The difference between feeling unsure & feeling confident usually comes down to having a training plan.

Your 4-phase training roadmap

This works whether you’re training for 750m, 15km, or anything in between.

Phase 1 – Build the habit

Before worrying about distance, focus on consistency.

Aim for:

2-4 swims per week
30-60 minutes per session
Keep the pace easy

This builds your base aerobic fitness – the engine you need to be fit enough to complete the distance on race day.

& just as importantly, it builds confidence.

Simply showing up is step one. Once you start, everything feels more manageable. Getting going really is the hardest part.

Phase 2 – Improve your technique

If you want your swimming to feel easier, go further, or get faster, improving your technique is the fastest way to change things.

The pool is the best place to refine your front crawl because:

You can keep the quality high with short repetitions
You can easily grab your kit from poolside
Conditions are controlled & consistent

Four pieces of equipment that are especially helpful:

Kickboard
Pull buoy
Flippers
Hand paddles

They allow you to isolate parts of your swimming & really focus.

Work on:

Breathing – smooth & relaxed
Head position – not lifted too high, eyes down
Body position – hips & legs high
Kick – small & efficient
Sighting practice – lifting your eyes forward briefly to see where you’re going in open water. This is much easier to learn first in the pool.

Better technique means:

Less energy wasted
More speed for the same effort

Phase 3 – Build the distance

Now you gradually increase endurance.

Aim to reach around 60-75% of your event distance before race day.

Break longer swims into manageable chunks. Sets of 200m, 400m or 500m work brilliantly.

This phase is about:

Sustainable pacing – go out hilariously slow, slower than you think you need. Keep energy in the tank for the end.
Building confidence over longer distances
Getting used to the pace you’d like to hold in the race

The goal isn’t to smash yourself. It’s to finish sessions knowing you paced it well.

Phase 4 – Get outside

Open water swimming feels different. The more you practise it, the better.

When conditions allow, start swimming outdoors regularly.

Focus on:

Wetsuit comfort & how it changes your body position – if you’re wearing one
Sighting regularly
Staying calm in chop or colder water

Outdoor sessions don’t need to replace all pool work. In fact, it often works well to:

Keep technique sessions indoors
Do faster efforts in the pool
Move longer, steady swims outdoors

The more time you spend outside, the more natural it feels. It’s a different rhythm & sensory experience – & the only way to get comfortable is to do it.

Common mistakes to avoid

Swimming the same session every week
Ignoring technique
Not doing any open water practice before your event

Lower intensity swimming is good. Easy swimming builds your base. But it needs to be mixed with technique work & pushing your faster paces at times to actually move you forward.

How to make training sustainable

Summer events are built on steady months of work.

What helps:

Have a training plan – structure removes guesswork
Keep flexibility – life happens
Add variety – use kit, play with your pace, include easy longer swims
Celebrate small wins – smoother breathing, feeling less exhausted after sessions, swimming further than you used to

Progress doesn’t usually feel dramatic. It gradually builds. Be patient.