IM Swim Training Question

For me it was a big deal.

First time I upped the distance and did xxx yards it was fatiguing on my body. I remember my first IM distance swim..my back was so sore..to much looking up to site and it really zapped me but as a slow swimmer it was so sweet...I knew I could do it.

The next week I did another IM distance swim and took 18' off my time.

I needed the mental knowledge I could do it and also let my body adapt to doing the time/distance. It may be a highly variable need depending on your situation.

Sort of begs the question, would you benefit from swimming 10K-12K a week vs. 7500-9K a week?  Yes.   Would you gain any benefit from going 2.4?  Probably not, if you are comfortable in the water.  But there is something additional besides having "done the distance."  The swim sets up your day.  Whatever you spend in the swim costs you later in the run.  IM is all about (IMO) getting  to the mary "ready" to run a mary.

Some coaches (including one who coached a friend to Kona) advocate getting your swim fitness to a point where you can easily do a 5K swim.

However, with 2 months left I am not sure there is much you can do to get faster over the 2.4

I followed the path you are taking for my first IM and I have to admit when I finished the swim I was more tired that I thought I would be...I swim at the same pace and was very surprised when I finished my swim time was 1:36 (thought I would swim 1:20 or so) - I really tired out the last half of the swim.  So this begs the question, should you swim more?

You have two months, take one swim a week and make it continuous, add 5 minutes each week till you get to 1:20.   The other two swims should be 2500-3000yds.  Better still if you can swim a few times in open water for over an hour...  The beauty of swimming is you don't need any real recovery like you would for a long run or super long bike.

I'm with ChrisM on this one.  I don't think getting the 2.4 done will be an issue for you, however the additional 1600 some odd yards may take more out of you than you are prepared for, setting up lot's of problems later in the day.  Personally, the fact you stated you feel great after 2500 - 3000 yds, means you can take some additional yardage.  I understand the limited time thing.  See if you can swim at a different time and try to even get a few swims of 3500 yds in.  Our bodies tend to "lock" us into certain times and distances.  My guess is during the IM you will feel amazing right up to the 3000 yd mark and will really start to feel the fatigue the next 1000 or so yds.  You have better than a month before taper, so plenty of time.  IMO you will be so pleased when you exit the water and aren't completely wiped out.  It is a VERY long day, every minute you can extend the exhaustion is a prized minute.

 Best of Luck!

When I started bike and run tapering at 3 weeks out I actually increased my swimming to 5x a week and did my two longest swims during my r/b taper. It worked well as swimming kept me busy doing stuff while volume decreased.

I will do the same way next IM.

I was happy when I came out of the water...felt great and not tired just ready to get on the bike.

X2 - You'll do fine in the IM swim with what you're doing. Keep it up!