IRONMAN Taper Swim: 2000m Easy with Drills

Session Overview

This IRONMAN taper swim keeps your stroke mechanics sharp and your feel for the water strong in race week without adding any meaningful fatigue. The 2000m session at easy effort with interspersed technique drills is designed for advanced athletes in the final 5–7 days before an IRONMAN or 70.3 race. You should finish feeling refreshed rather than tired.

What You’ll Need

• 25m or 50m swimming pool
• Swim goggles and cap
• Pull buoy (optional)
• Fins (optional for drills)

Warm-Up (10 minutes)

Swim 400m easy freestyle at a relaxed, comfortable pace — RPE 4/10. No rush. Focus on feeling long in the water and maintaining a high elbow catch. Kick should be minimal (two-beat kick) to conserve leg energy for race day.

Main Set

Complete the following 1200m drill-focused set at easy effort. All drills should be performed at RPE 4–5, not as fast swimming.

• 4 x 100m catch-up drill (touch leading hand with recovering hand before pulling) — 15 sec rest
• 4 x 50m side-kick drill (on side, kick only, bottom arm extended) — 10 sec rest
• 4 x 100m easy freestyle with focus on bilateral breathing every 3 strokes — 15 sec rest

Cool-Down (10 minutes)

Swim 400m easy backstroke or mixed strokes (backstroke / breaststroke / easy freestyle), focusing purely on relaxation. Use this time to visualise your race swim — the start, sighting, drafting and the finish. Exit the water feeling calm and confident.

Coaching Notes

• Do not be tempted to add more distance — less is more in taper week; the fitness is already there
• If the pool is busy, skip the drills and swim 1200m continuous easy freestyle; the key is maintaining feel for the water
• This session works best on the Tuesday or Wednesday of race week, leaving at least 72 hours before your race start
• Mental rehearsal during cool-down is genuinely valuable — visualise a smooth, confident swim start