Seeing everyone’s progress is always quite inspiring! I’ve only been swimming properly for about 8 months training for a 5km open water swim and this was my longest swim yet.
Nice job! Open water terrifies me, I’ll stick to the fish tank / pool.
Uma said:
Nice job! Open water terrifies me, I’ll stick to the fish tank / pool.
Haven’t done longer than 1km in open water yet and I wish I had stayed in the fish tank; it is terrifying hahaha!
Uma said:
Nice job! Open water terrifies me, I’ll stick to the fish tank / pool.
Fish tank 
next time I’m gonna use that too.
Incredible effort! Congrats OP, good luck for your open water event!
Quinlan said:
Incredible effort! Congrats OP, good luck for your open water event!
Thank you! 
Wow, swimming for less than a year and you’re completing 4km in well under 2hrs… amazing work! Have you taken many lessons along the way to improve your technique and efficiency?
Haze said:
Wow, swimming for less than a year and you’re completing 4km in well under 2hrs… amazing work! Have you taken many lessons along the way to improve your technique and efficiency?
No, but I’ve read a lot of people’s experiences on this subreddit and had chats with more experienced swimmers at the pool. I try to implement what I can. I’m also fairly young, 22, and was quite active in the gym before I started, so that probably helped.
Can’t even reach 500 m in 1.5-2 hours yet; awesome job!
Merit said:
Can’t even reach 500 m in 1.5-2 hours yet; awesome job!
KEEP GRINDING, KEEP HITTING IT HARD 
Be aware that open water is much more tiring. Your glide is hampered, it’s difficult to stay on course, and you have no wall to kick off.
Jody said:
Be aware that open water is much more tiring. Your glide is hampered, it’s difficult to stay on course, and you have no wall to kick off.
Can’t forget about the currents as well! I’ve done some open water swimming, and it does take it out of me, but I still have 4 months to work on that, so I have time.
No direct experience, but I’ve read in other comments in this sub that breaking long distances down into intervals swum at a faster pace can be a more effective way of training for a longer swim rather than just swimming that distance straight.
@Maddox
This was broken down into sections; I did 5x800m, and I don’t know if it’s psychological or physical, but it definitely helps.
Impressive. I’m jealous congratulations!
Great pace! Keep it up!
Absolutely astounding 
Epic!
Hey! Moving to Manchester soon and looking for a pool and group to train with! Any recommendations?
Ellery said:
Hey! Moving to Manchester soon and looking for a pool and group to train with! Any recommendations?
I swim at the aquatics centre which is right near the universities; they have a 50m pool and some other really good facilities. Would recommend!