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

By Rebecca Wetten, Co-Founder & Head Coach at Catch

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.

Here’s 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. And 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.

By event day, you want this

You turn up feeling:

● Prepared

● Confident you can do the distance

● Familiar with open water

● Ready not to go out too fast

That’s what a solid training plan gives you.

Want support?

With Catch, there’s no stress and no guesswork. Just a clear plan and steady progress towards a swim you can feel proud of.

With Catch’s premium membership, Catch Gold, you get:

● A personalised training plan tailored to your event distance

● Weekly video lessons to improve your open water front crawl

● Structured pool & open water sessions

● Coach support

● A friendly community of swimmers training for events just like yours

GET STARTED WITH A 30-DAY FREE TRIAL

Use the code NOWCA26 to get an exclusive £25 off your Catch Gold membership.

CLICK HERE to learn more about Catch.

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