Same as D Smith. If I swim straight I'm 4,000 plus and bored as heck. On a typical swim (Ie warmup, some kicking, main set of 10-15 100's or 4 500's warm down) I will usually get 3,000 or so. Sometimes if I'm doing a lot of kicking sets or drills such as sculling or one arm drills I may only do 2,000 or so.

I can usually get in 2700 meters in an hour.

I am slow.

Last time I swam for a solid hour I went 3850 yds (if I counted right).

Between 2700 and 3200... depends on fatique level,what I'm swimming,...what not.

Usually in workout I get in around 4k an hour, depends on how much kicking my coach makes us do. In a straight hour swim I bet I could get in somewhere around 5400 if i really went after it. My numbers are inflated because im still swimming 20 hrs a week when I'm in season, which means nothing else for 6 months at a time.

Don't worry about your speeds oztrigal and cayman...3000meters in an hour,1000 meters in 20 minutes or 500 in 10 ,if your are consistant,gives an IM swim time of about 1:20 a mid-pack time which really is just fine. My IM swim times come in anywhere from 1:15 to 1:25 and I pass a bagillion people on the bike who got out of the water in 1:05. I don't see them the rest of the day.
Fast sets are fine, but I still contend that nothing beats long sets (8X500) in developing the ability to get out of the water with your heart rate in control.

I like your perspective on how much energy to invest on the swim leg. The returns in investment on the swim are pretty poor in my view. You have to really crank out the power and really fine tune the efficiency to get fairly small returns (in the totality of one's complete race time) - power which, for mid-pack athletes like myself, could be saved for a strong bike and run.

I have accepted that I am not a fast swimmer but I come out of the water with a steady heartrate, lungs that feel good, and a lot of energy left.

I enjoy the swim a lot however and as long as I'm not completely falling behind, I feel I can reel in a good number of people once on dry land. I definitely hold back a lot during the swim. I spend myself out on the bike and run though.

Oh good, I wanted to work towards about 4,000 yards an hour (not close yet), but I didn't know if it was a reasonable goal. I was worried I might be setting myself up for failure by setting impossible goals. :)

Generally about 3400-3600 meters in an hour, which makes me happy considering the IM swim is about 3825 meters...still trying to work up to hitting that mark for an hour swim.

The swims with my club are usually 90 minutes, and we do 3,500 meters in a long course pool (lucky us).

Rather than worrying about total yardage, focus on quality. Wallbanging back and forth will leave you certifiable, and doesn't necessarily give a good return on training effort.

I recommend four or five relatively equal elements in a swim workout:
1) Warm-up 200 to 400 yards, do alternate strokes like back and breast to get the blood flowing.
2) Kick set as 5-10 x 50 or 100 yards. Yes we hate them, and yes they are worth doing. Use a flutterboard, but also kick on our side, rotate, swim 3 strokes kick 8, etc. Mostly, try to be efficient.
3) Drill sets another 400 yards. Read Terry Laughlin and he's all about perfecting the stroke. I like to alternate one length drill, one swim.
4) Pre-set, another 400-500 yards. something like 5*100 tempo on 10 seconds rest. Not too aerobic; think about form.
5) Main set. This is where you do your aerobic intensity stuff
Finish up with some pull, then maybe a cool down.

So if you swim for an hour, divide it into these 4 or 5 pieces. The stronger you get, the more yards you cover. Some people might do 2,000 yards, and others 4,000 (lucky them!).

Also, balance your week with one really tough swim workout, and another that's more focused on form and recovery. If you can swim three times, let the third one be an endurance swim, again focused on form and efficiency. Don't watch the clock!

Don't let your swimming make up more than 30% of your training hours, unless that's your weakest area. You spend a lot more time on the bike in a race, and your bike split will suffer.

3000 in an hour, but an hour in the pool bores me to tears, so that's my limit. Most of my workouts are around 1750 yards, or a mile.