During the Course in which I participated last term I worked on both strength and endurance. One of the tests I used for checking my progress was a 12 min swim. I found this test by searching endurance swimming tests and found the following directions from the University of Michigan website: http://www.umich.edu/~exphysio/mvs.240/AdditonalLabs/SwimVOmax.test.3.2.pdf
This lab allows you to use whatever stroke you are comfortable with and compare your results to your age group. You can also use the results to keep track of your improvement by repeating the swim every 2-3 weeks.
