Whether you’re diving into your first triathlon or gearing up for your longest open water swim yet, we’ve got you covered.

In this guide, we’ll walk through what really matters when it comes to training, tapering & fuelling, so you can show up on race day feeling calm, confident & ready to go. These are our tried & tested tips for the months, weeks & days leading up to your race - all built from our experience coaching swimmers through their biggest challenges.

Your training time is precious. So let’s break it down into four areas that’ll give you the biggest return:

Ask yourself:

• Why does this challenge matter to me?
• What makes me feel excited? What makes me feel nervous?

Naming your fears can take the power out of them. If they do show up on race day, you’ll be ready.

Think ahead: What will I do if things go wrong? Then, create a simple mantra you can lean on when the going gets tough. One of my favourites?  “This is hard - but I do hard things.”

If you want to transform your swimming quickly, technique is your biggest lever. It’s more impactful than strength or fitness alone.

• Start with the basics: head position, body alignment, breathing.
• Layer in the harder stuff later: propulsion, timing, rhythm.

If it feels weird, or even a bit slower at first, good! That’s the sign you’re making a change. And change is how progress happens.

At Catch, we believe swimming should bring joy - not burnout.

So we encourage swimmers to train consistently over a longer period (ideally 6 months before your event, not 3), while building life-long love for the sport.

Start with 3 swims a week. Build to 4 if you’ve got the space. If you’re doing a triathlon, 2 might be plenty.

Each week, aim for a varied training plan, like we give our members:

• Technique – Slow & focused. Improve your form. Top priority.
• Threshold – Tough but transformational. Boost endurance. Second priority.
• Aerobic – Long & steady. Great for open water sessions.
• Speed – Short, intense bursts. Build pace & finishing power.
• Challenge – Benchmark your progress with timed challenges.

Mixing these up will help you swim further, faster & more effortlessly.

Swimming in open water is a very different beast from the pool.  If your race is in the sea, train in the sea. If it’s in a lake, get lake time. If it’s in a river, get to a river.

Here are key open water skills to practise:

• Sighting –-Lift your eyes just enough to see where you’re going.
• Drafting - Swim close behind someone to save energy.
• Crowds - Get  prepared for  the bumps of racing in a group.
• Buoy turns - Learn how to take corners efficiently.
• Starts - Practise your race start (e.g. deep water starts) so it’s second nature on race day.

If you only do one thing outside the pool - get in open water.

You can’t train hard if you don’t rest smart.

Rest

Take your rest as seriously as your training:

• Prioritise sleep.
• Space out sessions with full rest days.
• Don’t feel guilty for recovering - it’s a sure way to improve your training.

Tapering

Taper 7–10 days before your race. That means reducing training volume & prioritising rest, sleep & nutrition.

Yes, you might feel twitchy or restless - but trust the process. You want to arrive at the start line feeling like a tightly coiled spring: energised, not exhausted.

Fuelling

During your swim:  If your race is over an hour or two, you’ll likely need carbs.

• A rough guide: ~40g of carbohydrates per hour for an average adult swimmer.
• Try energy drinks, gels, or carb-rich snacks.
• Practise this in training so you know what sits well with your body.

Around your swims:

• Fast carbs (white bread, rice cakes) straight after training = rapid recovery.
• Slow carbs (wholegrains, oats, lentils) = lasting energy throughout the day.
• Protein = essential for muscle repair & performance. Think Greek yoghurt, eggs, tofu, or protein shakes - especially at breakfast to start strong.

We’ve covered the months & weeks leading up to your swim - but race week comes with its own set of nerves, logistics & magic.

Not yet a Catch Gold member? Check out our Open Water Race Courses or Triathlon Swim Courses - personalised training plans & video courses that fits your ability, event & goals.