Master Your Race Pace: How to Find (and Train) Your Ideal Swimming Speed
/Over my 20+ years coaching swimmers, I’ve seen one skill separate consistent performers from those who fade halfway through a race: pace awareness. Knowing your race pace - and how to train it - is what allows you to swim fast, stay efficient, and finish strong. Whether you’re a pool racer or open water athlete, mastering pace control transforms how you train and compete.
1. What Is Race Pace in Swimming?
Race pace is the speed you can sustain during a specific event distance - for example, your 100m pace in a 400m race. It’s distinct from tempo pace, which focuses on rhythm and stroke rate. Both matter, but race pace is your ultimate performance target.
Swimmers often confuse going “all out” with swimming at race pace. True race pace means maintaining the same speed per 100m throughout your race without burning out. It’s the balance between speed and sustainability.
When I build programs, I focus on developing the aerobic base first, then sharpening pace consistency through threshold work.
Aerobic training sets for swimmers.
2. How to Calculate Your Ideal Swimming Pace
Before training your race pace, you need to calculate it accurately.
Here’s a simple way:
Pace = Total Time ÷ Distance
If you swim 400m in 6:00, your pace is 1:30 per 100m. To simplify your tracking, use a swim pace calculator or reference chart like this:
| Distance | Time | Pace per 100m |
|---|---|---|
| 50m | 0:45 | 1:30/100m |
| 100m | 1:30 | 1:30/100m |
| 200m | 3:00 | 1:30/100m |
Your average pace gives you a clear target for training sets and helps identify when you’re swimming above or below your threshold.
3. Training Your Race Pace in the Pool
Once you know your pace, it’s time to train it. This is where most swimmers miss the mark—they either go too hard too soon or don’t sustain the right effort long enough.
A proven approach is threshold pacing—training right below your redline to build endurance and efficiency.
Try this:
Set Example: 10×50 @ 200 race pace + :10 rest
Focus on holding consistent 50m splits
Count strokes and compare to your target pace
Adjust effort, not form
Race Pacing for Open Water Swimming
4. Open Water Pace Strategy
In open water, pacing becomes a whole new challenge. Waves, currents, and sighting all affect rhythm and effort. Without a wall or pace clock, you have to rely on your feel for speed and efficiency.
When I coach open water swimmers, I teach them to match perceived effort with data. The goal is to stay steady, efficient, and in control regardless of conditions.
How to Train for a 5K Open Water Swim
In this video, I share insights from my own 5K open water build. I adjusted training volume and intensity for each distance - focusing on high-aerobic threshold work (Zone 4) to improve lactate tolerance and aerobic power. I combined these sessions with low-aerobic drills and technique-focused recovery swims to maintain efficiency under fatigue.
As race week approached, I tapered the volume but kept intensity high—allowing recovery while preserving that sharp, race-ready pace. The improved speed trend at threshold reflected both physical readiness and pacing precision.
Your pool pace gives you the baseline, but open water training develops the adaptability and confidence to sustain that pace outside the lane lines. The key isn’t to swim harder - it’s to swim smarter, reading conditions, conserving energy, and responding efficiently to every variable.
Track your splits and stroke rate with a waterproof lap counter or smart tracker to better gauge pacing during long swims.
Explore the Best Swim Lap Counter Devices for Swimmers ->
5. How Stroke Tempo Affects Race Pace
Race pace isn’t just about how hard you push—it’s about how efficiently you move through the water. Two key variables define that efficiency:
Stroke tempo – how fast you move your arms (strokes per minute)
Distance per stroke – how much water you move each cycle
Finding the balance between these two is what separates smooth, fast swimmers from those who waste energy fighting the water.
In training, I often talk about stroke bandwidth - the ability to maintain solid technique across a range of tempos. Expanding this bandwidth helps you adapt to different race efforts and open water conditions without losing form or speed.
Swimming stroke tempo training with tempo trainer.
In this video, I demonstrate what 50 to 100 strokes per minute actually looks like using the @zygogram Tempo Trainer feature. The streamlined bone-conduction headset and Bluetooth app allow me to adjust tempo seamlessly—from controlled aerobic work to faster sprint turnover—all synced to an audible beep. Alternatively, use a Finis Tempo Trainer. Get 25% Off with code DALY25
Many swimmers get stuck in pacing ruts—cruising comfortably at 60 SPM when their event demands a higher turnover. As a general guide:
Most swimmers warm up and cruise around 50-60 SPM
Fast triathletes often race between 70–90 SPM
Elite sprinters can reach 100-120 SPM
Tools like the Zygo Tempo Trainer and FINIS Tempo Trainer Pro help you lock in your target stroke rate. When paired with pace data, they give you complete control over your tempo pace vs race pace, ensuring your stroke rhythm matches your race goals.
If you’re struggling to hold higher tempos or maintain efficiency at speed, start small - add 2–3 strokes per minute each week and focus on staying smooth and connected through the water. You’ll feel your rhythm sharpen and your race pace naturally improve.
6. Sample Race Pace Swim Workouts
Here are a few workouts to build your speed endurance and pacing control:
| Goal | Example Set | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Endurance | 8×100 @ goal pace | Aerobic Threshold |
| Speed | 12×50 build to a sprint | Stroke tempo |
| Open Water | 3×400 continuous | Pacing consistency |
Use your pace per 100m as the target. Track how much you drift as fatigue builds—that data tells you when you’re truly ready to race.
7. Tools to Track and Improve Pace
Technology can make a good swimmer great—if used wisely.
I rely on tools like:
FINIS Tempo Trainer Pro – to lock in stroke rate.
Zygo Tempo Trainer – to combine audio cues with real-time coaching feedback.
Swim Watches - track distance, pace, heart rate, and splits..
Log each session’s data and compare tempo pace vs race pace weekly. Small improvements: 1–2 seconds per 100m - add up quickly over long distances.
Read Also: Open Water Headphones Comparison
8. Sample Race Pace Swim Workouts
| Goal | Example Set | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Aerobic Endurance | 8×100 @ race pace + :15–20 rest | Lactate Tolerance |
| Speed Endurance | 16×50 @ goal pace + :20–90 rest | Sustained Speed |
| Sprint Specific | 12×25 @ max effort + 1–3 min rest | Power and acceleration |
| Open Water Simulation | 3×1K continuous | Pacing awareness under fatigue |
Include warm-up (400–600m technique + drills) and cooldown (200 easy swim) for best adaptation.
9. Mental Calibration and Race Execution
The best swimmers don’t just know their pace—they feel it. They develop that sense through practice and awareness. For example, swimming “silent 100s” without looking at the clock trains you to internalize your rhythm and effort, while breath-control sets refine your ability to stay calm and connected under stress.
Before race day, mental rehearsal plays a crucial role - visualizing each phase of your swim, from a smooth opening 50 to a controlled finish, helps you execute with precision. Confidence in pacing under pressure comes from this steady combination of repetition, awareness, and mindful preparation.
Race pace mastery doesn’t come from guessing - it comes from awareness, repetition, and data-driven feedback. When you understand how pace, stroke rate, and effort connect, you unlock consistency under fatigue - the hallmark of great racing.
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