Running. Does it help your swimming or is it an interesting diversion? A lot of people here seem to cross train with running. (Some are obviously triathletes). USS teams now have their swimmers running. But does running really help swimming?
For me, I'm not so sure. I think it helps a bit on the cardio side and may build leg strength. I do it to tighten everything up, because I like being outside and it gives my shoulders a break. But I'm not sure I wouldn't be better off with more pool time if my body could take it.
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I wish I had a solid answer this question, but the periods in my life when I swam a lot and ran a lot are completely non-overlapping. The best 2 mile run I ever did was low 13 minutes at age 21 when I was not swimming at all. It would be nice to know what I could have swam a 1650 in at age 21, or what I could have swam a 1650 in at age 15 if I'd also been a runner at that age.
Currently I'm just running 2 miles once a week - hardly even worth mentioning compared to what most joggers do, and probably not enough to have an influence on my swimming.
I wish I had a solid answer this question, but the periods in my life when I swam a lot and ran a lot are completely non-overlapping. The best 2 mile run I ever did was low 13 minutes at age 21 when I was not swimming at all. It would be nice to know what I could have swam a 1650 in at age 21, or what I could have swam a 1650 in at age 15 if I'd also been a runner at that age.
Currently I'm just running 2 miles once a week - hardly even worth mentioning compared to what most joggers do, and probably not enough to have an influence on my swimming.
