Yeah, not all year, but I swam 18-20k/wk for most weeks since Jan, and have done similar blocks last year and the year before. Ya know, because I have to try everything before I just 'give up since some people around here keep wanting to tag me as the 'giving up guy' LOL.

I actually am nearly certain now that I've done it that I'd get very similar results in the swim portion of the triathlon just by swimming 7k/wk, hard. But not only have I come to enjoy swimming, but I'm leaning into relying on it to boost hi-end aerobic fitness and overall aerobic fitness (a la Purplepatch's Matt Dixon on his podcasts) since it's an injury free way to get that intensity and cardio, which at my middle age, is really important to avoid injuries. (Which I seem to be getting in increasing frequency after going really hard on race day in the run.)

I also honestly believe that even if my swim split itself doesn't get a lot better with all that swimming, it's leaving me with a stronger bike and run with that deeper swim background. At least for sure, my USAT scores are way better swimming north of 12k/wk than when I was doing it on 7k/wk even if my swim splits are only like 1-2 mins faster in Olys (really closer to 1min).