Balancing Running & Swimming

Former Member
Former Member
I sure hate running. I've always felt that a grown man shouldn't run unless he's being chased by something frightening. But because of the weirdness of my work schedule and my inability to get into the pool every day, I've decided to incorporate running into my schedule to help reach some of my fitness goals. As I'm trying to get started, I have a question. First, the situation: I can only swim in the morning, because at night the pool I use is just too crowded (see my signature). I usually swim four days per week, or three if I bookend that week with two four day weeks to avoid taking more than 48 hours off. Basically, I try to alternate days, depending on which days I can't swim because I have to come to work early. I can only run in the evenings. For as long as I can remember, my flexibility in the mornings has been terrible, and I need the whole day for my legs to loosen up. If I try to run in the mornings, I get leg cramps and pains, and some old martial arts injuries to my knees give me problems. If I swim in the mornings on an alternating schedule, my dilemma becomes determining when I should run in relation to my swim workout. I do not want to run every day, especially considering how much I despise doing it. Maybe later I'll consider more, but for now, forget it. Therefore, would it be more productive to run on the same days I swim? Or would there be an advantage to running on the days I don't swim? If I run on the same day, I'll have ten or eleven hours of daytime activity in between. If I run on the off day, I'll still have ten or eleven hours, but it will include sleep, and my legs will be stiffer when I get to the pool (but happily, swimming seems to make them loosen up). Does anyone have any opinion on which would be more productive? Or does it even matter?
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