I’ve got 1wk (hopefully) left of recovery from a sfx in my right fibula. I can swim and bike but not running. So last week I swam 24,500 yds… up to 17000 so far this week… and as I was driving home from the pool this morning I thought “how many yards is a marathon?” (I’m training for my first marathon, well once the sfx heals) and could I SWIM that many yards in a week?
26.2mi * 1650 yds/mi = 43,230 yds
If we divide that over 5 days in the pool, I need to get in 8646 yds/day. We’ll round to 8650, which would take me about 3hrs a day. I could do it all at once, or split it morning / evening. Finding the time isn’t the issue (last few weeks of summer vacation before college!) it’s the fact that it’s A LOT of swimming.
I like challenges… any thoughts? I’m really honestly considering doing this, just for “kicks” and giggles!
The thing I’m worried with there is the recovery time. If I do 8000+ yds from 5am - 8am, I’ve got 21hrs to recovery from that before the next workout starts. The other option is half in the morning and the other half at night (5am - 6:30 am, then same time pm) but that’s only 10.5hrs between workouts. I’ve already got one injury, I’d prefer not to kill my shoulders and arms too…
No, 1500m is CALLED the mile in swimming. When done in yards, they swim 1650 YDS (and CALL it “the mile”). There is no swimming of 1650 meters in any race. And yes, they know it is less than 1 mile.
I am just thankful we’ve finally gotten to the point where you can hear an announcer call it anything. Swimming on TV is a rare treat that we never used to get…
SAC what is your opinion on doing a swim week like this (although maybe not as big) once during some kind of cycle like every 4-6 weeks during base training. Obviously the other two sports wouldn’t receive as much attention during that week but would the benefits outweigh those losses? I’m a terrible swimmer but find that idea appealing, I love doing doubles running it’s a great way to boost mileage.
tigerchik asked: Why are doubles better for recovery?
There is a post-exercise window of time where your body is in a “sweet spot” of recovery processes. You don’t get stronger/more fit while exercising…you get stronger/more fit when recovering. Therefore, if you can stimulate the recovery process more often, you can get better more quickly.
Instead of setting some goal like this, I’d instead opt for the highest quality (meaning no sloppy laps as far as form goes), most frequent workout sets that my body/mind can achieve…chasing some arbitrary yardage number could be counterproductive.
Aren’t marathons generally done as a single continuous effort? I’d love to spread them out over multiple days, too! Do we get to stop the clock in between? Even better!
