Why is this so difficult?

Mike L said:

How come I can run 15 miles nonstop but 100m in the pool has me gasping??

You are using a different set of muscles. If you are a good runner, though, your swimming endurance
will improve quickly if you swim three or four times a week.

martin

--
Martin Smith email: [email hidden] Vollsveien 9 tel. : +47 6783 1188
P.O. Box 482 mob. : +47 932 48 303 1327 Lysaker, Norway

What type of stroke are you using and are you doing it correctly? Swimming is a lot about technique.
"Mike L" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

How come I can run 15 miles nonstop but 100m in the pool has me gasping??

"Mike L" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

How come I can run 15 miles nonstop but 100m in the pool has me gasping??

Because you're a big wuss?

Seriously, if you're a runner, you've probably neglected your upper body; keep swimming and it'll
get easier.

Oh, and when you run, you can breath all the time; not so when you swim.

How many stokes to breath ratio do you do? Start at 1:2 then progress further.

Rob "Mike L" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

How come I can run 15 miles nonstop but 100m in the pool has me gasping??

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden]

(Mike L) said:

How come I can run 15 miles nonstop but 100m in the pool has me gasping??

aha... that's what *I* went through at one time. not long ago, too.

swim more often. slow down. reduce your kick to a light, rhythmic one which is not constant
thrashing. learn and practise good technique. learn to breathe efficiently and to pace yourself for
the distance. stretch out the body to streamline yourself more.

these things and more i have learned from experience. i come from a running background... 5K up to
marathon... and couldn't believe how hard it was to swim even a measly LAP at one time. 100m is nice
and easy after you've addressed the above-mentioned items and put in some practice time.

believe me, it DOES get easier.

Cam

In Mike L said:

How come I can run 15 miles nonstop but 100m in the pool has me gasping??

Probably for the same reason that I can swim for 2 or 3 miles daily, but can't run more than a
couple blocks. The two sports use entirely different muscle groups and coordination patterns.
Proficiency in one is not related to proficiency in the other, other than the common benefits of
increased heart capacity.

Ross

"Mike L" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

How come I can run 15 miles nonstop but 100m in the pool has me gasping??

How come I swam 5.8K on Monday, but can only run 2.5K on a good day, that's what I want to know?!?
You'll train the right muscles given time and you'll be fine ; yes, it takes a lot of energy, but
you don't get the impact pain like you do with running.

Jeez, running 15 miles must hurt!

Front crawl. I had a lifeguard look at my technique. I am keeping my knees straight now when I kick,
I am turning well onto my side when I breathe, reaching far on each stroke. I am also trying to
"press the T" or whatever that is where you push your chest down to try and bring your back end up
and streamline. I think my technique is borderline OK....

In article <[email hidden]>, "Rob"

Quoted message said:

What type of stroke are you using and are you doing it correctly? Swimming is a lot about
technique. "Mike L" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

How come I can run 15 miles nonstop but 100m in the pool has me gasping??

I'm trying a 1:4 ratio but can only manage that for a few laps. Actually, I was wrong, it was
after 200m I ran out of gas. Would it help to practise holding my breath longer during the day do
you think??

In article <[email hidden]>, "Rob"

Quoted message said:

How many stokes to breath ratio do you do? Start at 1:2 then progress further.

Rob "Mike L" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

How come I can run 15 miles nonstop but 100m in the pool has me gasping??

Hi Cam. I saw you did your tri with good results. Congrats. I'm looking at a July 14 tri, but it is
a 1000m swim. I thought it would be a cinch to build to that distance, but now I'm not so sure...

In article <[email hidden]>, Cam Wilson

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] (Mike

L) said:

How come I can run 15 miles nonstop but 100m in the pool has me gasping??

aha... that's what *I* went through at one time. not long ago, too.

swim more often. slow down. reduce your kick to a light, rhythmic one which is not constant
thrashing. learn and practise good technique. learn to breathe efficiently and to pace yourself for
the distance. stretch out the body to streamline yourself more.

these things and more i have learned from experience. i come from a running background... 5K up to
marathon... and couldn't believe how hard it was to swim even a measly LAP at one time. 100m is
nice and easy after you've addressed the above-mentioned items and put in some practice time.

believe me, it DOES get easier.

Cam

Actually I have a butchered knee and running has strenghened it immeasurably. As long as you invest
in really good shoes, running is pretty "body-friendly" 8?) I guess I was just expecting more of a
cross-over benefit. Figured it was mostly cardio plus I have loads of upper-body strength.

In article said:

How come I swam 5.8K on Monday, but can only run 2.5K on a good day, that's what I want to know?!?
You'll train the right muscles given time and you'll be fine ; yes, it takes a lot of energy, but
you don't get the impact pain like you do with running.

Jeez, running 15 miles must hurt!

Mike L said:

I'm trying a 1:4 ratio but can only manage that for a few laps. Actually, I was wrong, it was
after 200m I ran out of gas. Would it help to practise holding my breath longer during the day do
you think??

No. It will only help to swim. Swim farther. Swim faster. Swim more often.

martin

--
Martin Smith email: [email hidden] Vollsveien 9 tel. : +47 6783 1188
P.O. Box 482 mob. : +47 932 48 303 1327 Lysaker, Norway

Mike L said:

Actually I have a butchered knee and running has strenghened it immeasurably. As long as you
invest in really good shoes, running is pretty "body-friendly" 8?) I guess I was just expecting
more of a cross-over benefit. Figured it was mostly cardio plus I have loads of upper-body
strength.

Loads of upper body strength will work against you if it is anerobic muscle as opposed to aerobic
muscle. Note how most body builders huff and puff when they run any significan distance. If you have
spent a lot of time lifting weights while at the same time *not* using your upper body for aerobic
training, then you will hurt when you try to use that muscle for swimming. The more swimming you do,
the quicker this problem will correct itself, but it involves converting one kind of muscle fiber to
another, and I don't know more about it than that.

martin

--
Martin Smith email: [email hidden] Vollsveien 9 tel. : +47 6783 1188
P.O. Box 482 mob. : +47 932 48 303 1327 Lysaker, Norway

Martin W. Smith said:

Loads of upper body strength will work against you if it is anerobic muscle as opposed to aerobic
muscle. Note how most body builders huff and puff when they run any significan distance. If you
have spent a lot of time lifting weights while at the same time *not* using your upper body for
aerobic training, then you will hurt when you try to use that

They huff and puff because they don't run much, not because of the bulk. As for fast versus slow
twitch muscle fibers, I believe much of that is predetermined for each individual. With either kind,
it doesn't do much for your running, it just comes for the ride.

--
Jason O'Rourke www.jor.com

Jason O'Rourke said:

Martin W. Smith said:

Loads of upper body strength will work against you if it is anerobic muscle as opposed to aerobic
muscle. Note how most body builders huff and puff when they run any significan distance. If you
have spent a lot of time lifting weights while at the same time *not* using your upper body for
aerobic training, then you will hurt when you try to use that

They huff and puff because they don't run much, not because of the bulk. As for fast versus slow
twitch muscle fibers, I believe much of that is predetermined for each individual. With either
kind, it doesn't do much for your running, it just comes for the ride.

Yes, but when you use big upper body muscles for swimming instead of lifting, getting rid of lactic
acid becomes more important. I don't mean they huff and puff because of bulk. I mean they huff and
puff because they hurt. When I am in good swimming shape, it doesn't hurt when I swim hard, unless I
swim hard for a long time.

martin

--
Martin Smith email: [email hidden] Vollsveien 9 tel. : +47 6783 1188
P.O. Box 482 mob. : +47 932 48 303 1327 Lysaker, Norway

On Mon, 26 May 2003 12:23:44 GMT, [email hidden] (Mike

L) said:

How come I can run 15 miles nonstop but 100m in the pool has me gasping??

My two cents. One forget about working harder in the pool for now. Concentrate on perfecting
your technique. Read some books etc. What little gains you can make in the water in
conditioning in the next 6 weeks before your race will not have much of effect at all on
your race. On the other hand, cutting down drag, perfecting your anchor etc. will have
instant results. For example if you were just starting out running and you could only run a
mile today do you think you could be up to 10 miles in six weeks? Probably not under
healthly and normal circumstances. Do you expect to go from 100M to 1000M a race merely on
conditioning in 6-8 weeks? I would suggest getting very comfortable in the water over the
next 6 weeks. Spend every available minute figuring out how to breath, balance and anchor.
Forget about pushing yourself aerobicly or anerobically and just learn to swim. Right now
you haven't learned to walk in water why try running? If you can learn to walk in the water
at least you will know you can walk that 1000M swim.

~Matt

MJuric said:

On Mon, 26 May 2003 12:23:44 GMT, [email hidden] (Mike

L) said:

How come I can run 15 miles nonstop but 100m in the pool has me gasping??

My two cents. One forget about working harder in the pool for now. Concentrate on
perfecting your technique. Read some books etc. What little gains you can make in the
water in conditioning in the next 6 weeks before your race will not have much of effect at
all on your race.

Don't forget about working harder. Certainly make sure you have are no glaring stroke problems. Have
someone who knows swimming watch you swim. He or she will be able to tell quickly if there is
something very wrong. There usually isn't, but everybody can improve technique. But you can improve
your swimming conditioning quite a lot in six weeks, especially if you are already in good
cardio-vascular shape from running.

martin

--
Martin Smith email: [email hidden] Vollsveien 9 tel. : +47 6783 1188
P.O. Box 482 mob. : +47 932 48 303 1327 Lysaker, Norway

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden]

(Mike L) said:

Hi Cam. I saw you did your tri with good results. Congrats. I'm looking at a July 14 tri, but
it is a 1000m swim. I thought it would be a cinch to build to that distance, but now I'm not
so sure...

hey, thanks, Mike! be sure that you have chosen a goal that you can achieve in the given amount of
time. better to err on the side of caution. i almost signed up for a tri LAST spring, but was
nowhere near swimming the 100m at the time. so i held off, spent the rest of the year working on it,
and this time around it was a cinch. and very shortly, I'll aim for tris with longer swims, since
i'm up to 1000m now.

but best of luck with whatever you choose,

Cam

This is what I am hoping. I have 2 weeks under my belt and six more till T-day. I actually felt a
lot stronger today too. Thanks.

In article said:

But you can improve your swimming conditioning quite a lot in six weeks, especially if you are
already in good cardio-vascular shape from running.

martin