My wife being a runner asked yesterday after I completed a 2.3ish mile swim what is the equivalent swimming-wise to a marathon. Because she had always assumed that a 2.4 mile swim would be like running a marathon since it's part of the Ironman Tri.
I didn't really feel like completing that swim that I would compare it to a marathon. While I was pooped and sore, it was not like having my muscles ripped to shreds and hurting to move several days.
Any thoughts?
Also the other discussion we had was the fact that in a running or biking race, you really are running/biking that distance, but in a swim you are doing some n amount more than the straight distance. For swimming your fighting the waves and your own ability to swim straight that you do some amount more. I've thought "how great would it be if I could place a gps tracker around my ankle that I could plot my swim and see how much I really did."
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Everyone is correct! Conditions, personal ability, etc., all play a role in this issue. I guess you could also look at the other events available. Most recreational runners might easily enter and train for a 10K race and marathons are 4 times longer. The open water swims within the easy reach of most swimmers are in the 1-3 mile range so anywhere from 5-10 miles would be a good ballpark for the "marathon" swim.
Last summer I did the 10 mile Lanai-Maui swim in 5:15, though I had been shooting for 4 hours. People who had done it the year before were off their times by about that much due to the conditions. I think my training was comparable to what a good runner might have put in for a marathon if they were almost to that level already. On the other hand, I probably also could have done it again the next day. As someone said earlier in the thread, swimming is just that much more easy on you if you have a good stroke.
I also just did the Alcatraz Challenge last week as part of a relay. It was only 1.5 miles but was an absolute butt-whipping due to the wind and waves on the 1st half of the course. Many people who were planning on doing the run bailed out after the swim, and one lady died. I could not have made 10 miles in those conditions.
However, there are hot marathons and windy marathons and hilly marathons, and you still have to go the whole way for it to count.
My Vote: 10 miles. But there is probably no right answer.
Everyone is correct! Conditions, personal ability, etc., all play a role in this issue. I guess you could also look at the other events available. Most recreational runners might easily enter and train for a 10K race and marathons are 4 times longer. The open water swims within the easy reach of most swimmers are in the 1-3 mile range so anywhere from 5-10 miles would be a good ballpark for the "marathon" swim.
Last summer I did the 10 mile Lanai-Maui swim in 5:15, though I had been shooting for 4 hours. People who had done it the year before were off their times by about that much due to the conditions. I think my training was comparable to what a good runner might have put in for a marathon if they were almost to that level already. On the other hand, I probably also could have done it again the next day. As someone said earlier in the thread, swimming is just that much more easy on you if you have a good stroke.
I also just did the Alcatraz Challenge last week as part of a relay. It was only 1.5 miles but was an absolute butt-whipping due to the wind and waves on the 1st half of the course. Many people who were planning on doing the run bailed out after the swim, and one lady died. I could not have made 10 miles in those conditions.
However, there are hot marathons and windy marathons and hilly marathons, and you still have to go the whole way for it to count.
My Vote: 10 miles. But there is probably no right answer.
