I am a runner and using swimming (right now) mostly for crosstraining, please don't hurt me. :D I know what these different zones are for running, but I don't know how they would correspond to actually swimming (putting them in practice). For runners, at least in the basic plan I'm following (Lydiard), you are not supposed to do any anaerobic training in your base phase (which I'm in), or very very little. I want to make sure that I am not going into anything more intense than LT, or at least be knowledgeable of what it takes to go into each zone.
I must add - I love swimming, I am thinking of maybe doing a triathlon one day or perhaps joining a club.
Thanks for the help!
-x
Former Member
I would deem two 2,000 yd workouts using swimming as cross-training, no matter how easy it is. It's not running, and it is being used to help running, even as just a means of feeling good and recovering more quickly.
If you want to improve at running, the best thing to do is running. However, I think other activities certainly can be useful.
btw, I ran mile, 2mile, and XC (3mile) in HS (pretty much the farthest you can go in most meets), and now that I just graduated, I would guess I will be doing anywhere form 5K to 10K.
Eric, what you said earlier about doing "convoluted" workouts, that definitely sounds interesting. I don't know that much about Igloi but his methods are a rapid departure from most of the well-known, followed coaches nowadays. It makes you wonder how little/much we know.
Former Member
I'm not sure I'm with you on that idea. I follow Roy Benson's ideas on training for running and his last phase is speed - 95-100% efforts with lots of recovery between each effort. With both running and swimming, you want to start off easy and allow your body to adjust.
Mid-season running or swimming is rough either way you cut it. For me, I used to do 5ks and 10ks, so mid to late season, I was doing 12 x 400s on the track at 90 -95% effort with a 100M recovery. This would translate in swimming to doing 12 x 100 with a 20 -30 second rest. Last phase, on the hard days of both running or swimming, the focus should be on short speed with race pace efforts with lots of recovery. Of course the few days before a race, you don't want to be doing race-pace efforts.
I think one thing runners often wonder about is why there is such short rest (30 seconds) on the swims early on. Remember, instead of swimming a straight 400 at 75 -80%, you are breaking it into 8 x 50s build at the same effort level. The 400 is broken up so that you can maintain perfect stroke. I think of it like a run out at the track where you are striding the straights at 80% and jogging the curves for recovery. The only difference here is that you are stopping to get your recovery on the swim.
Check out The Runner's Coach by Roy Benson to see the phases I'm talking about. Correct me if I am wrong, but whether you are training to run an 800 or a marathon, don't you need more recovery time the closer you get to your race?
Yea, I am a distance runner also, despite my name :)
Great analogy about striding the straights and jogging the curves, that makes a lot of sense.
I also see what you are saying now about short intervals with full recovery - I was thinking you were referring to pretty much the last couple months of the season, not just the last several days, when you are tapering. When you are sharpening you do much shorter, quicker stuff to get you feeling fresh and your legs really moving.
Anyway, I am not too familiar on Benson, I am following Lydiard.
Thank you for the link knelson.
