Stop Training Your "Vanity" Pace. Start Training "Under Fire." Most triathletes are "Pool Fast." They can hold a great pace in a calm, 25m lane with a wall push every 15 seconds. But put them in a 70.3 washing machine—with heavy chop, spiked heart rates, and no walls—and that pace evaporates. 📉 Here is the Swim Metrics Matrix PDF Briefing from our poll 2 weeks ago. This is how we bridge the gap between being a "lane swimmer" and an "open water hunter." 🧠 The Shift: Vanity vs. Stealth We’re deleting the metrics that lie to you and focusing on the ones that matter when the "fire" is on: - ❌ DELETE: SWOLF. In open water, a low SWOLF often means you are "stalling" and over-gliding. If you glide in the chop, the water wins. - ❌ DELETE: Wrist HR. It’s too laggy. By the time your watch says you're redlining, you’ve already blown up. Use RPE (1-10) instead ⚡ The "Stealth" Metrics to Track: 1. The "Under Fire" Pace (CSS + 2): This is your pace when you’re fatigued or in heavy chop. We look for a variance of less than 2 seconds between your first and last rep. 2. The Stroke Rate "Floor": When you get tired, your stroke rate drops. If your pace slips, you need to find your "floor" and kick that rate up by 3-5 SPM to maintain momentum 3. Recovery Density: If you can hold pace on 20s rest, but it breaks at 10s, you’ve found your "Technical Ceiling" 🔥 YOUR CHALLENGE THIS WEEK: Check out the "Holding Pace Under Fire" Session on page 3 of the PDF. - Start with a 50m Sprint (110% effort) to simulate the beach start. - Immediately settle into a 400m at Goal Race Pace. - The Metric: If your pace drops more than 5 seconds, your Stroke Rhythm is the weakness, not your fitness. Download the PDF below, take it to the pool, and let's see those numbers. Post your swim set results from this specific set included in your briefing: 5 x 300m (Broken into 100s) 1. 100m: Paddles & Pull (Your benchmark). 2. 100m: FC @ 85% Pace Control (Stay within 3-5s of benchmark). 3. 100m: 2 x 50m (25m Fly / 25m FC Sprint)

Welcome to the Stealth group — great to have you in Take a moment to introduce yourself in the community: - Your background - What you’re training for - Any races you’ve got coming up This is a free online coaching space, but if you want to go deeper, you can step into our Stealth-coded training plans or 1:1 coaching — just like a number of athletes already in here. Jump in, get involved, and let’s build some momentum. Nick

Most of us were taught that a long, graceful stroke is the "gold standard" of swimming. We've spent years obsessing over lowering our stroke count and chasing that perfect SWOLF score. Here’s the truth: In a 70.3 open-water swim, "pretty" often equals "slow." When you focus on a long glide in a pool, you have a wall to push off and no waves to stop you. But the moment you hit open water with chop, current, and 500 other athletes: 1. The Stall: Every time you "pause" to glide, the water resistance hits you like a brick wall. You lose all your momentum. 2. The Restart: You then have to use massive amounts of energy just to get moving again. 3. The Sink: Long glides often lead to "dead spots" in your stroke where your hips and legs start to drop. The Stealth Fix: Stop trying to swim like an Olympic pool specialist. We want a resilient, punchy rhythm. A slightly higher stroke rate that acts like a 4x4 engine—cutting through the chop rather than being stopped by it. You want to have a robotic stroke that utilises front quadrant swimming and 3/4 catch up as the basis 3/4 Catch-Up – Rhythm Without Stalling Full catch-up can create dead spots. No timing & creates chaos. 3/4 catch-up builds smooth overlap without pausing. ✔ Better rhythm ✔ Cleaner timing ✔ Fewer rushed strokes Next Thursday (March 12th), I’m showing you the exact Stroke Rate targets you should be hitting to avoid the "Over-Glide" trap. 👇 Comment below: What’s your current "Strokes Per Length" in a 25m pool? (Be honest!)

Welcome to the Squad!! If you’re here, it’s because you’re done with "random acts of training." You’re ready to move away from the guesswork and toward a calculated, professional approach to your 70.3 finish line. To get the most out of this community, you need to know how we operate. We run on a 13-Week Rolling Mastery Cycle. Every week, we deep-dive into one specific pillar of performance. Whether you are 12 weeks out from a race or just starting your build, this cycle ensures no "energy leaks" are left in your game. 🗓 THE WEEKLY RHYTHM To keep you on track without overwhelming your schedule, we follow this exact beat every week: - MONDAY: The "Problem" Poll. We identify where the squad is struggling. - WEDNESDAY: The Mid-Week Check-in. Key insights to prep you for the briefing. - THURSDAY: THE STEALTH BRIEFING (Live). 20 minutes of pro-level strategy + Q&A. - FRIDAY: The Recap & Resource Drop. Replays and Cheat Sheets go live in the Classroom. 📍 WHERE TO START 1. Check the Calendar: Find the next Thursday Briefing and hit "Add to Calendar." Showing up live is where the breakthroughs happen. 2. Visit the Classroom: All past briefings and "Stealth Toolsets" are archived there. Start with Week 1: Swim Metrics. 3. Introduce Yourself: Post in the community! Tell us which race you’re targeting in 2026 and what your #1 goal is right now. The goal is simple: We stop training for fatigue, and we start training for the finish line. See you in the briefings. — Nick Speedy Swimming Stealth Squad

📊 Your Garmin/Coros says you’re "Productive"... but are you actually getting faster? Most triathletes / open water swimmers finish a swim set and look at a screen full of SWOLF, Heart Rate, and "Training Effect" scores. But if I asked you right now: "What was your stroke rate on your 3rd interval, and did your pace drop when your tempo changed?"... could you answer? Most can't. Because the watch is a distraction, not a coach. This Wednesday, we are killing the "noise." The Poll: What is the #1 metric you look at after a swim? SWOLF Score (The vanity metric) 📈 Pace per 100m (The honest truth) ⏱️ Heart Rate (Usually a guess in the water) ❤️ I just look at the total distance and hope for the best 🏊‍♂️ Vote below. I’ll be using these results to show you what to IGNORE on next Thursday, 12th March's Live Briefing.