Is the swim really that important?

Once a week really isn't going to cut it for an IM swim. In addition to that, if he's spending 80% of his time on the bike, how's his run going to pan out??

I hear this all the time, "The swim is less than 10% of my Ironman race so I am not going to spend any more than 10% of my training time training for the swim."

The problem with that line of thinking is that if an athlete becomes anaerobic during an Ironman swim, which I guarantee you they will if they're swim training is along the lines of what your friend is doing, they will have sabotaged their entire day. First, they would be burning up critical glycogen stores while in the water - you can't replace glycogen stores during the event and they are going to be needed later in the day.  Your friend can talk to Julie Moss about what happens when the tank runs dry - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbWsQMabczM.  Next, heart rate is going to be elevated coming out of the water anaerobically.  Instead of high Z2, low Z3, HR will be into Z5.  It won't fully recover in transition so when the athlete starts the bike, they will be starting with a much higher HR than they are normally riding with - and it's going to stay high - meaning they will be using more glycogen than they would otherwise be using; further depleting their glycogen stores.  All of that combined is a recipe for a painful "run," more likely a death march during the marathon.

To avoid that and stay aerobic during the swim, an athlete should be swimming 1.5-2.0 times the race swim distance 3-4 time per week minimum.  For an Ironman, that means 6,300-8,400 yards, three to four times per week.  That works out to 18,900-33,600 yards per week.  Of course, they don't have too, and they can contemplate that mistake during their "run."

I think it's very individual. If he is normally out the water in the top 200 but struggles to finish in the top 1000 on the bike, then he is probably doing what is best for him.

Every one need to take their own journey, we are all different 

Last year I did something on the same lines- I only averaged 1 swim every 2 weeks - but spent the exrta time on the bike. It cost me 5mins or so on the swim - but I was almost an hour faster on the bike

I haven't swam since IM Florida last year, I have Eagleman on Sunday... I'll let you know.

Yep.  The average AGer's goal regarding the swim leg in an IM should be to come out of the water feeling like they just did a warm up, and they're ready to take on the world.

For the OP, your friend doesn't know what they're talking about.  Ignore them, and keep training smart.

I wish I could set a reminder or recording so I don't miss the recap on this.  Awesome !

Good luck.

Overall, agree with sentiments above.

BUT - if your friend is a lucky genetically-swim-gifted individual who responds very well to minimum training, they may be lucky enough to swim fine with 1x (or less) per week. The vast majority of us mortals cannot do this, but there are definitely a few who can.

Someone not too long ago posted a 'swim analysis' video on Slowtwitch - he was a new swimmer (1 year experience), swam about a total of 5k/week in 2 sessions, and had a video-form that looked not too far off from someone who just recently learned to 'swim for real' (meaning plenty of stroke errors, but overall flat in the water body position.)

His IM swim times (which he had completed recently) were 1:00. And despite his beginnerish form, his turnover and cadence was fast enough that it did look like he was of this ability. 

So there are folks who definitely can pull this off, but odds are we/you aren't one of them, or you'd know it already!

Originally posted by nc452010

Originally posted by Sous

I haven't swam since IM Florida last year, I have Eagleman on Sunday... I'll let you know.

You are my hero. I'd love to be able to mimic this

Not a recommended training philosophy but it seems to be "par for the course" for me.  I'm not a very good swimmer and I know I need/should get better but I never do!  If you read most of race reports I always comment on needing to swim more.