🔷 Learn How to Swim Pace Like a PRO!
The Skill That Defines Open Water Success
Hey Swimmers,
Last week, we looked at how to train across a range of distances without compromising speed or stamina. This week, we shift focus to a skill that’s often overlooked—but can make or break your open water race: pacing.
Whether you're preparing for a 1500m swim or a marathon event, understanding how fast to swim—and sticking to that pace—is what separates a strong finish from a tough fade. Elite swimmers don't just swim fast; they swim intelligently. And that starts in training.
Today we’re going to look at how you can find your ideal pace, train it, and fine-tune your internal pacing compass so it’s race-ready—no matter the conditions.
But First…Let’s Tangibly Improve Your Catch Like Rod!
Take a quick watch of this 45 second view clip below that I put out on Instagram last week whilst taking an Easter Break with my family up at the wonderful Shark Bay, Western Australia:
I’ve had a lot of people directly tell me this week it’s really helped them with their catch and pull through. Great! Whilst we’d love to see this by way of LIKES and COMMENTS on the actual posts (hint, hint 😉) – sorry, I know that sounds like I’m begging, but it really does help us reach more swimmers who need this guidance, grow our community, and keep creating content that makes a difference. If you’ve been following us for many years, you’ll know that we never had to ask for this sort of thing, but then social media came along and yadda, yadda - you know the rest!
So if something resonates, let us know – we love hearing from you! 💬💙
But “so what?” you might be thinking, there’s a plethora of videos out there in cyberspace aiming to help you improve your swim. True, but this one’s actually giving real, tangible, objective improvements, like what Rod states below:
Rod’s referring to his objective swim results on the Swim Smooth GURU, which he gets feedback from every swim using the watch he already owns:
He’s pretty pumped to see that from watching just a single 45 second video he was suddenly able to improve his catch and pull through. Of course it’s always nice to subjectively feel better after a technique tweak, but Rod was able to objectively know he’d improved from the before/after monitoring of his Stroke Insights℗ and his speed/efficiency improvement. What’s more, he was able to monitor this in the open water as well as the pool. Pretty cool, hey?
If you haven’t yet checked out the GURU, you can get a FREE 7-day trial using the link below, where we’ll also be able to direct you towards your local Swim Smooth Coach who’ll be able to assist you further via their Squads and 1-to-1 Video Analysis Sessions if you need some additional help:
So, back to today’s topic - pacing.
Why Pacing Matters More Than You Think
Start too fast and you’ll blow up. Start too slow and you’ll leave performance on the table. The key is learning to judge your effort level precisely—and that’s harder than it sounds, especially in open water where currents, waves, and drafting distort your feel for speed.
Another recent video I created highlights this perfectly.
That’s why Swim Smooth uses Critical Swim Speed (CSS) as a guide to help swimmers pace themselves more accurately. It gives you a training benchmark based on your aerobic threshold that can be tested regularly and adjusted as your fitness improves.
Set Your Fitness Baseline
Before you can pace well, you need to know your current fitness. That’s where CSS testing comes in. By performing two time trials (400m and 200m), you can calculate your personal CSS pace.
Testing every 4–6 weeks lets you adjust your training zones as you improve. Alternatively, you can use our cool CSS Tweaker to ensure you’re making continual improvements that reflect your training response. This is especially helpful if you’ve had a break from the water or are unsure where your fitness currently stands.
Regular testing:
Prevents over- or under-training
Sets realistic session targets
Tracks measurable progress over time
Train Your Inner Pace Clock
Once you've established your CSS, use it as the centrepoint of your training week. We base all of our key sessions here at Swim Smooth off your CSS pace. For example you could try a challenging endurance main set where the distances get shorter but the speed - relative to your CSS pace - gets quicker:
1000m at CSS +8 sec per 100m
800m at CSS +6 sec
600m at CSS +4 sec
400m at CSS +2 sec
200m at CSS
This reverse ‘ladder’ structure develops endurance and pace feel. If you were really feeling bold, you could try it the other way round, so that as the distances get longer, so too does the pace get faster! This is often the premise of our infamous Red Mist Endurance Sessions.
Using a timing tool like the Finis Tempo Trainer can help you stay right on pace—especially when training in a short-course pool. It gives you a beep every 25m, allowing you to lock into rhythm and avoid going too hard, too soon.
For example, say your CSS +6s/100m should be 1:41/100m (based off a CSS of 1:35/100m), there’s very little chance you could pace this from the pool clock alone or even your watch (as both are retrospective from a feedback point of view), but having an audible been every 25.25 seconds (yes, it’s accurate to 1/100th second!), can really help you nail this aspect of your swimming.
You can get 30% off a Finis Tempo Trainer using the code swimsmooth30:
Perceived Effort vs. Actual Pace
Open water adds variables that GPS data alone can’t account for. That’s why developing your perceived exertion—your internal sense of effort—is so valuable.
Elite swimmers learn to feel what 80% or 90% effort actually feels like. They can hit 100m splits within half a second of each other without a clock. Most amateur swimmers vary by several seconds and fade as the session progresses.
By repeating CSS-based sessions and tuning in to how each pace feels, you begin to “calibrate” your pacing instincts. That’s what allows you to race smart—even when your watch can’t help you.
Long Distance Targets (Guideline Only)
Here’s a general guide for how pace typically slows relative to CSS as distances increase:
1500m – CSS
5km – CSS +2 to 4 sec per 100m
10km – CSS +6 to 10 sec
20km – CSS +10 to 20 sec (including feed stops)
English Channel – CSS +20 to 30 sec
These are ballpark figures, of course. Your individual ability to maintain pace depends on fitness, fuelling, mental resilience, and stroke efficiency.
By using the CSS Calculator, we can give you an indication of what paces and overall times you might be capable of based purely off your CSS pace - have a go, it’s scarily accurate!
🏁 Conclusion: Master Your Pace to Race Like a Pro
The ability to pace yourself precisely is what turns good swimmers into great racers. While others go out too hard or fade early, you’ll be steady, controlled, and effective—no matter what the water throws at you.
Personally, I find I also have a bit of an “emotional threshold” that helps guide me these days - if I’m ‘hating’ the ‘burn’ after the first 300 to 400 meters, chances are I’ve gone out way too hard. Pulling it back such that I’m aware that I’m in control (physically and mentally), is a big part of my internal racing compass.
Start now by testing your CSS, training at specific paces, and tuning your sense of perceived effort. It won’t be perfect right away—but with consistent practice, it will become second nature.
Next week, we’ll explore how to put this pacing into action and finish in the top 5% of your age group, using strategies to execute race-day performance with precision.
Thanks for reading / listening - your Coach, Paul.
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