Just curious on what your opinion is on running during swim season. I had a coach one time tell me that it did more harm than good to run while training for swim because it reversed what you do in the water. Have found no evidence of this...
Former Member
Thank you to everybody that responded. I'm definately gonna take all this info and try and build a good routine out of it.
Interesting question. I think it differs depending on the person and how much running/swimming the person does.
I'm definitely not a sprinter and tend to gravitate towards distance events at meets, so my swim is not very kick-dependent. I don't think my swim is negatively affected by running. It's probably the opposite, actually. Running helps to keep me (relatively) lean and helps with overall endurance. And swimming helps to increase my cardiovascular capacity and therefore helps my running. I usually swim 6 days per week (~4000 yards) and run 4 (3-4 but no more than 6 miles), which is a balance that works for me. When I used to run longer distances, I was slower and was injured more. I'm faster swimming and running than I ever have been. And it's a lot of fun to run 5Ks and 10Ks in between swim meets.
I do believe it's important to add strength and flexibility training to balance everything out. Pilates and power yoga are great for that. I lift weights once a week as well. If you're going to run as cross training for swim (and are not a triathlete), it's probably best to run at least two but no more than four times per week and for short distances.
Earlier in this season I wasn't able to swim for one month and a half. During this period of time I decided that I would run in order to minimize the loss of fitness. Although I was a bit skeptical that this would work, when I came back in the water I felt GREAT and actually dropped time in the 100 breaststroke a couple of weeks later...
I guess I should say that I didn't just run for long periods of time... I also did a lot of HIIT and Tabata work.
