yesterday I swam a 1500 to get a sign up time. it's been nearly 6 months since i have swam anything over 400m. I had no idea how I should swim it, or how it would feel during. took off way too fast 1:15, then 2:25 at the 200 and 5:20 at the 400. but then averaged about 1:25-1:26 for the rest and ended upw ith 21:10.
it got me thinking about a 5km run. I don't run, but it seems that almost every spring I decide it's time to start and i do run 3-5 times and I always use a 5km as a test/goal distance.
my goal for the 1500 in 3 weeks is to be under 20:00 so I have 3 weeks to learn how to hold a 1:20 pace, as well as to prepare mentally how it feels to swim that long. but I find it funny that my goal for the 5km has also been to run it under 20:00
anyone else have similar times for the 1500 and 5km? (1650yd vs 3 miles)
I can do the 1500 in probably about 18:00 or so. Comparing that to a 5K run...I'd say my swimming would win any day. That's because running is for runners...not swimmers. :bliss: Plus, my knee wouldn't handle the repeated impacts over that kind of distance.
Here's my 2 cents but keep in mind that I'm not a great distance swimmer. I do swim at about your pace though... perhaps a bit slower. You might get some good feedback posting on the "distance lane".
I haven't competed in the 1650 but we do them in practice frequently. However, we usually break them up into smaller intervals so that we can concentrate on different parts of the race. So, we might do 4 x 400 (yards) on 5:30 + a 50 sprint with the intent of descending each 400. You could do something similar with the 1500. Maybe 5 x 300m on 4:15. You could shoot for descending to 4:00 (your 1:20 pace).
I think a lot of what you do depends on your style. Do you like getting a lead and holding on? That works for some people. I tend to do better building into my distance sets. I go smooth and easy (but not slow) for the first 400 and try to click up a notch each 400. If I go too fast at first, I end up in a world of hurt later on. My better times are when I focus on my own pace and what I'm doing - not chasing the guy swimming next to me - especially for the first 800 yards. I'm always looking for that optimum balance where I'm tired at the end but still have enough to swim hard on the last 50.
As for running, I stay away from that stuff. My knees don't handle it well
I think it's mostly in your stroke technique! With = conditioning my 5K pr when i was a runner was 18:32. I've probably trained physically harder in swimming and the best I've done is 24:04.
This is something I've wondered as my swimming and running have developed together over the past few years. However, I've never competed in a running 5k (favoring longer distances) nor a swimming 1500 (prefer the 800). But maybe this year I'll finally make the plunge and do both.
To make it somewhat fair, I think the 5k would need to be done on a flat course, preferably a track. But that's a totally separate event (just like a 1.5km open water is).
Off the top of my head, I'd predict my 5k run to be 60-90 sec faster than a 1500m swim.
Former Member
My 1500 goal was 18:15, my 5K is 18:36. I made the connection too. I say that I am in "swim shape," or "run shape" based on which goal I am closer to.
Former Member
I do. Pretty close, actually.
My best time for the 1650 was 19:52 at SCY Nats in Atlanta, tapered and suited (B70). Untapered and without a tech suit this season I have been in the 20:45 range for both the 1500 SCM and 1650 SCY. My best 5K run time is 21:11, but I think I can go under 21 based on a 10K I ran this past weekend (42:51). Right now I'm very happy with how I'm running, but not as much with how I'm swimming.
I think a lot is dependent on swim form, gender, and age, and swim background. For me, it's a little easier to go faster in a 1500/1650 than it is a 5K run. I'm a 45 year old female, FWIW, not a triathlete (recovered triathlete, actually), knew how to swim as a kid but never competitively until 2007. I'm interested in reading feedback from this thread, as it's something I've thought about as well.
I think you'll find as you improve your pacing, you'll drop a lot of time in both the pool mile and the 5K.
I would be very slow in both events, probably 27 for the swim and 24 for the 5K
Former Member
World Records
Men's Swimming: 1500M LCM 14:34 / 14:10 SCM
WOmen's Swimming: 1500M LCM 15:42 / 15:28 SCM
Men's Track: 5000M 12:37
Women's Track: 14:11
Presumably you should be about 10% slower in the swim than the run.
The Men's 5000M record is absurd.
Good way of looking at it. Obviously it's harder to control conditions for a 5K road race (terrain, weather, etc.) than it is for a pool race, but comparing to a track 5000M is probably about as close as one can get.
I guess I have some work to do. :)
