ready to work on speed in the pool

My goals are triathlon swimming [...] 

1. Conditioning trumps drills. Technique matters, but the way most athletes try to improve technique doesn't work. Get fitter, and your ability to hold good technique improves. It takes a lot of work to develop aerobic conditioning in your upper body. If you think you are already swimming a lot but are not improving, swim more and keep at it. There are no shortcuts.

2. Traditional drills don't work. The type of drills and the way that most triathletes do them don't actually have any material effect on swimming technique. 

3. Swim more often. Frequency is the best way to improve your swimming. Also see rule #4

4. Do longer main sets. You can't expect to swim fast and be fresh on the bike if you rarely do main sets with the same or higher volume and pace than you expect in the race. For short course these should be at least 2km, for IM 4km, or more. And that looks like 20-50x100, not many short broken sets adding up to 2-5km.

5. Don't over think it. Don't under think it. Be engaged with what you are doing in the water, and use tools to help get a better feel for the water. But don't over think every stroke, and suffer from paralysis by analysis. Swimming fast is about rhythm and flow, when good technique becomes automatic.

6. Increased swim fitness translates to the bike and run. Being able to swim harder, starting the bike both fresher and with faster riders is how that works.

7. Deep swim fitness allows you to swim on the rivet. See rule #6. Most triathletes don't know how to really swim hard for the duration.

8. Include some quality in every swim. If you are swimming less than 5x per week, having easy swims is a waste of time. Always include quality, from band, to paddles, to sprints, in every swim.

9. Don't count strokes. See rule #2. The objective is to get faster, not take fewer strokes.

10. Learn now to use your kick but don't spend a lot of time with kick sets. Kicking is about stroke control and body position, not propulsion for triathlon. Kick fitness doesn't matter.

11. Use a band frequently. The best swimming drill there is. Do short reps with lots of rest at first. Both propulsion and body position will improve.

12. Use paddles with awareness of engaging lats. Paddles are primarily a technical tool to take more strokes with better mechanics, the result of which is learning how to use your prime swimming movers: your lats.

13. Keep head low on breathing and in open water. Head down, feet up. It's a common body position error.

14. Do many short repetitions for stroke quality. It takes fitness to swim with good technique for long durations. Start shorter, and swim faster. 50x50 works wonders. Don't have time to do a 2500m main set? Drop the warm up and warm down.

15. Learn to swim with a higher stroke rate. This takes conditioning. It will pay off on race day, and particularly anytime swimming in a group and in rough conditions. 

16. If you need to write your swim session down on the white board or paper, it's too complicated. Keep it simple.

17. Find a good masters programme. Long main sets is a good sign. Swim with others to challenge yourself. Good programmes are the exception rather than the norm, unfortunately.

18. Don't use swim tools as a crutch. Paddles and bull buoys are tools with specific uses. Don't reach for them out of simple laziness, because the set is hard.

19. Do use swim tools when you are very fatigued, and will otherwise swim with poor quality. See Rule #18.

20. Dry land and gym can help swimming for some via improved neuromuscular recruitment. Use body weight and tubing not machines.

Bonus:  Love swimming if you want to get faster. Embrace the process of getting faster in the water. Chlorine sweat is a good thing.

Follow the rules above to swim faster, and ultimately to be a faster triathlete. Enjoy.

EDIT:

#21 Repetition is your friend. Variety is for the weak minded, and interferes with the learning process. Repetition, Repetition, Repetition.

There are a lot more qualified people on here than me to answer this question but I can tell what's been working for me lately.

I was in a race late last year where I was getting passed because people were stroking faster than I was. I think I have pretty good form, but I guess I had a slow stroke rate. I finally picked up a tempo trainer because I was curious to see if I was really stroking that slowly. Turns out I that was exactly my problem. I put that thing on 1.03 and felt like I put propellers on my arms. It seems like I was just too relaxed in the water despite going 1:45 per 100y in the pool. I'm slowly trying to increase my stroke rate and I can feel that it's helping not only my speed but my overall fitness.

I have 3 days available to swim.  I would like to go long (2000 yards) on one day per week.  One other day, I'd like to also get 1650 yards for a main set.  The third day however, I'd like to devote to speed.  How should I structure my weeks workouts such that I can improve my times now that I have a bit of an endurance base?

Not to highjack the thread but I always wanted to ask this question but didn't feel that it deserved its own thread. 

When measuring stroke count in the pool are you counting a push off from the wall and if so how much of a push off should one take?

but mix in some 50's and 100's at top speed.  I mean really push.  Your lungs will burn like crazy, but take a :30 rest afterwards and jump back into your set and your more comfortable pace.  Eventually some of that speed will leak into your "normal" pace.

There's a ceiling to this approach, as like I said in order to get your speed way up you have to have impeccable form...but it's definitely something.

I would like to go long (2000 yards) on one day per week.  

This is generally a waste of one of your swim days.  Do those only sparingly (like as you approach race day).

This sounds like good advice.  Being so new, I don't want something overly complicated that I have to write down and leave at the edge of the pool.  I'll take one day a week and alternate sprint 50's with normal 100's and see how that goes.  Over time I'll increase the number/length of the sprint intervals in this workout.  Very easy to understand and implement.  Thanks!

count how many strokes it takes you to swim 25 yards...that's a telling figure as well. I'm not trying ot be mean...I really want to help. I just think its funny you decided to use the advice of the guy who posted that he's no expert...and this method limits your improvement, etc.

I've been trying to find someone for a few triathlon-specific swim lessons.  I don't want a traditional swim coach that'll have me doing lots of kick work.  Haven't found anyone yet, but hopefully I will soon.  The video thing, I guess I can try that.  As far as the number of strokes, I do have that info.  The link below is to my most recent swim workout (captured by Garmin 910xt).

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/166984500

I don't know how the 910xt calculates strokes.  Is the average strokes/length in that swim for one arm or both?  ie. 15.5 left arm strokes/length but 31 total or 15.5 combined?

I don't know how the 910xt calculates strokes.  Is the average strokes/length in that swim for one arm or both?  ie. 15.5 left arm strokes/length but 31 total or 15.5 combined?

It counts only one arm.  

I've been trying to find someone for a few triathlon-specific swim lessons.  I don't want a traditional swim coach that'll have me doing lots of kick work.  Haven't found anyone yet, but hopefully I will soon.