By Paul Hayes
Have you ever just had those times when your legs feel like complete junk walking around because of the heavy training and/or hard racing? Do your cool-downs, stretches, and ice baths just feel like they’re not enough keep you on your training plan? Then swimming might be the answer for you.
As I stated in the previous post, this is something I believe Sam Ritz uses to be able to race fast multiple times per week, even across the country. Ritz is a former swimmer for GA and has access to a pool in his high school, and he comes off in his interviews as a very smart runner who takes an informed approach to training. I can’t say for sure without talking to him, but I would bet money that he gets in the pool at least once a week to recover from his intense racing and training.
I can speak from personal experience that swimming is a very effective way of reducing the amount of soreness in one’s legs after hard races or workouts. During my high school running career I would get in the pool every Sunday for an easy swim just to workout with my dad, not knowing until late in senior year that it was what helped me feel better at practice Monday.
How exactly this works is a little bit over my head, but this study1 shows that well-trained triathletes performed an average of 14% better on a running workout when recovering with a swim workout versus a passive recovery (i.e. lying around on your off day). What’s important to note, however, is the details. (I wish I had access to the full report, but the abstract gives some very key points that I can hit on.) First off, the swim recovery session wasn’t exactly what one would call a “recovery” swim. They did a set of 20x100m @ 90% of 1km TT speed. In runner terms, this would be like doing 20x400 @ 90% 3200 pace. For experienced swimmers this isn’t a terribly painful set, but it certainly isn’t easy, and definitely not something you do for the strict purpose of recovery. (A quick example of a recovery swim is really just long and easy, about 30-45 minutes of smooth, easy swimming with a light but steady kick.) These triathletes basically put in a normal swim training session the evening after their run and then tested themselves again the next day against those who skipped out on the swim workout. Furthermore, the study tested the levels of inflammation in the athletes’ leg muscles by observing CRP, a protein-based indicator of inflammation, which, if you didn’t know, is the cause of post-race/workout soreness in the muscles. At the physical level, the swim helped “flush out” the soreness in their legs from the previous running workout, which is the main part of recovery.
So if you think you’re too sore to keep up with your demanding running training, use other forms of training. Hop in the pool and get some easy swimming in. It’s like a combination of active rest, an ice bath, and foam rolling, all spun together in an aerobic workout. I’d say it’s a pretty awesome sport too, but maybe that’s just me…
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