Don't all of those factors go into overall fitness? And I'm not sure pain is relevant.
I cannot buy that the word sprint can be associated with the 400 free.
I would agree that pain is not relevant to fitness. I really meant to keep the two concepts separate in my last post.
I also meant to hint that if you look at all measures of fitness, can we be so sure that Dara would come out more fit than Janet? Sure Dara is in fabulous shape, but does she have the VO2 max or flexibility that Janet does? I doubt it, because if I recall correctly, it was Janet's VO2 max and flexibility that made her the freak of nature able to hold on to world records for an awfully long time.
What is impressive about the 400 as opposed to the 50 is that one has to have the ability to tolerate pain over a greater time period.
As to whether the 400 is a sprint or not, think about the one mile in running. Compared to a 5k (which is like the 1500 in swimming), doesn't the mile involve more sprinting ability?
Anybody over 30 that can make the cuts for Olympic Trials is super impressive. I do have to admit, however, I am a little bit more impressed with Janet's endeavor of making the 400 as opposed to somebody making it in the 50. The 400 just plain old hurts. There is no way around it. Anybody that can tolerate that kind of pain is awesome.
Don't all of those factors go into overall fitness? And I'm not sure pain is relevant.
I cannot buy that the word sprint can be associated with the 400 free.
I would agree that pain is not relevant to fitness. I really meant to keep the two concepts separate in my last post.
I also meant to hint that if you look at all measures of fitness, can we be so sure that Dara would come out more fit than Janet? Sure Dara is in fabulous shape, but does she have the VO2 max or flexibility that Janet does? I doubt it, because if I recall correctly, it was Janet's VO2 max and flexibility that made her the freak of nature able to hold on to world records for an awfully long time.
What is impressive about the 400 as opposed to the 50 is that one has to have the ability to tolerate pain over a greater time period.
As to whether the 400 is a sprint or not, think about the one mile in running. Compared to a 5k (which is like the 1500 in swimming), doesn't the mile involve more sprinting ability?
Anybody over 30 that can make the cuts for Olympic Trials is super impressive. I do have to admit, however, I am a little bit more impressed with Janet's endeavor of making the 400 as opposed to somebody making it in the 50. The 400 just plain old hurts. There is no way around it. Anybody that can tolerate that kind of pain is awesome.
