Would you rather be a runner?

Which costs more medically??? Swimming! My ortho shudders when swimmers come in. It's always some shoulder issue, and the shoulder is the most complex joint. Knees are bad too. Everyone gets tendonitis. My poor swimming daughter has pain in all her joints -- elbows, knees, ankles, shoulders. Then you can factor in all the eye, ear and sinus problems caused or exacerbated by swimming. On the other hand, my husband has run 360 days a year for 30 years. One hamstring strain in a race. Big whoop.

NEVER I was a decent runner, Coach Paul Bergen had us run several times a week when I trained with him (1970 - 1981) we used to do 6 or 10 mile runs on Saturday mornings and 3 - 5 mile runs before practice during the week in the late 80's a friend of mine was training for decathlon I went with him to a track meet and for fun I ran 400 meters went 59 then I trained 2 weeks and went 57 then I quit in the early 90's I ran the cap 10,000 one year without training at all ran the first mile in 6 minutes crossed the line at 54 minutes ouch, was very sore for days afterwards, it was a stupid stunt I'll never repeat (unless I train) Now I sometimes run across the street while jay walking

Aquageek nailed it. Swimming is the more expensive sport simply because you need access to a pool*. If you look at the most basic of the required equipment (suit/cap/goggles vs. good running shoes), the cost of the equipment could probably go either way depending on your shoe requirements, how fast you go through suits, how cheap you find your suits, etc. *In most parts of the country. I guess if you lived somewhere warm within walking distance of a clean and safe body of water, you could argue swimming has the same accessibility as running. Sadly, very VERY few of us are in this locale. Darn, I was about to chip the ice off the top of the flood in my yard.

I think when someone dislikes running, it is because running is so much more difficult that swimmming. Now don't blast me for that yet, let me explain. Most people will begin running with no real plan. They enjoy it a little and then overdo it. All of the sudden they get shin splints or runners knee or achilles tendonitis. Then they usually say "running is too hard on my joints". Well, the truth is they didn't build up slowly, had the wrong type of shoes, ran too much on concrete, need orthotics, etc.. There is a lot to know about running and not getting injured. It's like swimming, if you don't do some research, learn from others already doing it, etc, then you won't be any good. And it's true, after 45 minutes or so you enter a zone, some call it the 'runner's high', that you will never experience swimming. Again, I love swimming, the great feeling after a swim, lots of things about it, but it cannot compare to running. Also, swimming doesn't have that signature event like running has in the MARATHON.:thhbbb: I like running, but it does not like me. I have tried the go slow, have orthotics, right shoes and everything. I have the cardiovascular system and the athletism to run far and to run fast(actually I love sprints, and am good at them), but I do end up with injuries everytime I try to start running. So I don't, and I am sad, because it is good cross training, easy to do, just start from home and go. I now do a lot of speed walking instead, which is good exercise as well, just not quite the same as running.

Best of both, I had a great deep water run today, water temp 77, air close to 80, no one else in the pool, no cars whizzing by, very nice for cross training-sometimes you just don't feel like a swim or a run.

Aquabike is being added to many USAT triathlons across the country. I don't really see the point but that's irrelevant. What is does show is that USAT is really aggressively marketing their organization and including all sorts of distances and events to keep their numbers swelling. Love em or hate em, USAT has their act together.

Allen, running is even more unnatural for the average Breaststroker with turned out feet... Many small, locally owned, running shops can do a video gait analysis on you and get you in the right shoe for this. I have the same issue and there are plenty of shoes that will help, if you are so inclined.

Swimming is vastly more expensive and that's before you buy a single item for the sport. The cost of a pool membership, team dues and coaching fees annually will buy all you need to run, well, maybe except for the ipod. Toss in a kid or two on a year round team and you have a car payment or more per month to swim.

in the early 90's I ran the cap 10,000 one year without training at all ran the first mile in 6 minutes crossed the line at 54 minutes oh my that's sad :thhbbb: I used to love to run, and it made me a better swimmer too. I don't wish I were a runner rather than a swimmer, but I sure do wish I were a runner rather than a non-runner.

George, that's a fascinating video. Thanks for posting. In slo-mo dialup, the orang seems to identify and look at the videographer, fleetingly. Nobody knows why humans got down off trees and began loping across savannas, but it seems the idea of loping - short, quick sprints - got built in skeletally and neurologically, and we are still there! Incidentally, physical anthropologists believe that human expansion out of Africa into Europe and Asia happened rather quickly, aided by two legs under us (rather than somewhat outside main frame) and curiosity. Our forebears were definitely on the road. Back on topic, I guess I wouldn't rather be a runner. I'd rather be an astronaut (land, water, sky). LOL. Regards, VB