| jerk swimmer |
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so this jerk swimmer thinks that swimming is harder than running, he argues that swimming is harder because you hold your brweath and therefore go into more oxygen debt! please people on letsrun, help me prove him wrong!!!!! |
| ronner |
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For me, as a runner, running is way easier. I can run for 2-3 hours without really killing myself. I swim one lap and I feel like I'm about to drown. Now, to be competitive, I'd say either one is just as difficult. Both sports require pushing your body to its limits to be the best you can be. The only thing you could say about running being more difficult than swimming is that the impact from running is more stressful on the body than being in the water. |
| asdffds |
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Swimming. By far (for the reasons your friend mentioned). |
| ummm wrong |
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Swimming also has no impact and water currents propel you forward without you actually doing any work. Running has no such luck. |
| Kevin Waterworld |
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Races: running is way harder Training: swimming is way harder, you have to be crazy to swim 3-4 hours a day. Mentally extremly hard to spent half of you life in a pool. The races seem to be a lot easier on your body than running.Otherwise the pros couldn't race that much in the olympics, world championships ... |
| asdfsda |
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The Deca Ironman requires a 24-mile swim in a 50-meter pool. No thanks! |
| NoFatty |
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This seems like a really reasonable analysis. |
| sdfgadffgadsf |
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Swimming. I have competed in both sports both in hs and college and swimming is, without a doubt, significantly harder. |
| 4runner |
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World class swimmers swim 5-6 hours a day. World class runners run 2-3 hours a day. If swimming is "harder," why are people able to do more of it? |
| asdfsdfa |
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We have to distinguish between "just swimming" and being "competitive." There is a difference...just like there is a difference between yogging and running. Swimming is much, much harder. It's just the way it is. I understand everyone getting defensive about it, however. This is letsrun and not letsswim, after all! |
| Flipper |
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I ran D1, my roommate swam D1. This was at a school known for both sports in the 80's. Swimming is f***ing harder...no matter how you look at it. |
| Keith Stone |
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Really? So you think everyone swims downstream in a river? |
| Precious Roy |
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Swimming is in a completely controlled environment (excluding triathlons). No rain, wind, heat/cold, dogs, cars, potholes, spikes, hills, mud, and so on. DNFs for injury are just about unheard of in swimming. They happen regularly in running. Breathing in swimming is hard because of the water resistance to exhaling. Breathing during running is more intense because it is all out without any resistance (just imagine what swimming would be like with snorkels). Swimming is generally a competitive time trial. You can't usually see who is at the other end of the pool. You just go as fast as you can and look up at the end to see if you won. In distance running, every race is different and all kinds of tactics abound. You may be able to run a flat our 13:30 5k, but would have no chance doing the same time against an international field that goes out slow and runs 1:45 or faster for the last 800. All that swimming has is the training time. Swimmers can spend all day training and have no issues with recover. But, in a way that is just another example of how running is harder. One extra speed session can trash a runner. |
| coach |
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hill repeats are just as taxing as almost all the intervals you will do in a pool |
| 654 |
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Not. |
| In agreement |
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I ran D1, and my brother swam D1: Training-wise swimming is much harder. With running, because of the impact, athletes are limited to the amount of hard efforts they can participate in per week. In swimming, an athlete will do loads of anaerobic and aerobic work each and every day. |
| Jefe in the CO |
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I would say that the intensity of competitive running is greater than swimming whether training or racing. The prone position of swimming makes it easier to maintain blood flow and requires lower heart rates at high effort. So if by harder you mean more intense; then running is harder. What makes swimming hard is management of lactic acid levels because you have to come back time and again from hard racing efforts during the course of a swim meet. Now if by harder you mean a higher training to racing ratio; then swimming is harder. The commitment it takes to race well in swimming rivals any in sport. The reason the time commitment is so high is because they can get away with it. Swimming doesn’t tax the body the same way running does. Try to mimic the same ratio in running and your body would crumble. So in the final analysis: competitive running is harder than swimming. Another factor in determining "hardness" is aptitude. Both sports require very specific body type. I think the belly button analysis from a while back was pretty good at evaluating potential success in either sport. Short torso/long legs = running aptitude. Long torso/short legs = swimming aptitude. Therefore, for a short torso/long legged individual swimming would be a harder sport and vice versa. |
| athlete123 |
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Honestly, it depends on the race and type of runner or swimmer. (i.e distance or sprinting). The swimming current logic is completely irrelevant and does not account much of anything unless it is open water, in which case drafting is utilized, alike cycling. Does the wind not help or effect negatively a runner outdoors? Likewise, intensities can vary, and there is no way to determine which is more "intense", because it depends on the level of training, and work done throughout that training. Running has the marathon, yet swimming has the 25k, 10k, and 5k open water nationally, and internationally, so then again it depends on both the type of runner or swimmer. Running is easily done by more people, and one can not expect to just jump into the people and be able to swim a 400m. Training for swimming is much harder than running. Breathing in swimming is no way easier, and I have no idea where you got that idea from or what experiment proves that. In swimming, the more you breath, the slower the velocity, and breathing patterns need to be utilized in order to provide maximum efficiency and performance. Running is done in air, and not water, therefore, breathing is done when needed. Yes, runners are more prone to injury because of the impact on the joints, but this is not the argument here. It comes down to who is more mentally tough in training, and generally it is swimmers, who participate in grueling double sessions, weight sessions, even dryland that consists of running. Swimming burns more calories therefore it burns more energy in the body. Swimmers in my high school finish their morning practices at the time many of us are just getting up. Staring at the bottom of the pool, at a black line, is also very mentally challenging, while in running there is more of a "free aspect". Swimming is harder. |
| run swim |
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"I don't want to plead that it's the life of a monk, but I can't think of a sport - with the possible exception of swimming - where people train as hard." - Seb Coe I'd say it's about even, and obviously depends on the individual. I think we can all agree that both are hard than any ball sport |
| And a one and a two |
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Wait a minute, your name is "jerk swimmer" and you say, "so this jerk swimmer thinks..." Are you saying that you think...? I don't get it. Anyway, swimming is way harder. Any idiot can run. But only a buoyant idiot can swim. |