AquaJogging 101
Ok, can we call it “Pool Running”?
You are at the pool. You are looking to do your laps and there is some dorky looking idiot boobing up and down in the deep end. What is going on?
Chances are that he (or she) is a injured marathoner with weeks to go in a training plan that is trying desperately to retain running fitness while dealing with an injury that is keeping them off the road.
That is what drove me to the ridiculousness of pool-running. I was 6 weeks out from Boston and tore something in my calf. I could not run, but needed to stay in some sort of shape.
Biking, swimming and weights are all great aerobic activities but they do not simulate the running motion or engage the same running muscles. What you really need is an activity that simulates running but does not put any weight-bearing stress on your lower extremities.
Hence, pool-running. Pool-running is a way to keep those same running muscles and nerves firing in the same way while you recover. It is not a true replacement for running but it is a good simulation that will allow you to keep some muscle memory and mental focus during a brief recovery period.
How do you do it?
- You need a pool or some other deep body of water that allows you to float vertically without touching the bottom. This is one of the first misconceptions about pool-running; you DO NOT touch the bottom. I have seen videos of people running in the pool in the shallow end where they bounce up and down on their legs. No, no and NO! The whole point is not to put stress on your legs! That sort of moon-running is not a normal motion anyhow.
- You need a flotation belt. You really need one. You can’t cheap out by wrapping a handful of the kid’s pool-noodles around your waist. You need to be balanced in the water and you need to have your head above the water. You need to have you hands and arms unencumbered by floaty things. You need to be able to maintain good running form while you are floating.
Check your pool or your running friends. They make a standard piece of equipment that is a floatation belt. It is a wide contoured wing of foam that you wear around your waist like a belt. If you have to buy one it will run you $30-50.
- Get in the pool and start running. It will feel strange at first but after a while you will develop a form and pace that allow you to run with your normal form in the pool.
Do I go anywhere?
Yes, actually when you find your pace you will discover that the natural running motion propels your forward just a little bit. I clocked myself at somewhere around 30 second for 12.5 meters. At this pace you are twice as slow as the swimmers but you will still have to find a stretch o pool where you can run ‘laps’. I
Some people tether themselves to something so that they are stationary. I found that this wrecks my form and prefer not to do it.
I did take my pool-running freak show down to the local lake and ‘ran’ the triathlon course one morning. I found my wetsuit gave me just enough buoyancy, barely. But, like an open water swim the waves and wind made this effort a real struggle. It took me 1:14 to cover the 800M course.
Tips and tricks!
The biggest challenge of pool-running is the incredible, brain-solidifying boredom of it. The biggest trick I found was how to listen to my digital audio while pool-running. You take your pod or phone or whatever and run a cheap pair of ear-phones from it.
You put the phone on keyboard lock, adjust the volume where you want it and wrap it up in a plastic bag of some sort with the headphone cord coming out. (you can use another swim cap for this too). You stuff the whole works up under your swim cap and run the wires down to your ears.
Since, if you do it right, your head won’t be going under water, you can listen to your podcasts without damaging your device. You look a little dorky with a bump on top of your head, but hey, you’re already pool running, how much dorkier can you get?
Extra floatation is a good way to get your head up out of the water higher. I find that the higher I can float in the water the easier it is. Especially when I’m wearing headphones and there are unruly kids in the pool or some giant swimming laps so poorly in the next lane that he/she is creating tsunamis.
I will fold up one of those noodle things and stuff it into the belt line of the aqua-belt down the back. It keeps my head nice and high out of the water.
So, is it actually a running workout replacement?
In a word, ‘No’. It’s not a replacement for running. It is a simulation. When you remove gravity from the running process you lose much of what makes running hard. Pool-running does not have that ‘hardness’. You will notice this when you come back to weight-bearing running. Your muscles will be sore still after your first couple of runs. You need to ease back into it.
What it does do is allow you to simulate the running motion. It also allows you to simulate running workouts.
Once you get comfortable you can focus on your form – your actual running form – in the water. With gravity eliminated from the equation you can really focus on the mechanics of your leg motion and your form. It’s like putting your running form in a lab test tube so for inspection…or introspection as the case may be.
The other thing you can do is simulate your workouts. Whatever you were doing on the road, you can do in the pool. If you schedule calls for 4 X 800 at HR 4, you can simulate that. You know that a HR 4 800 is a 3:00 min 80% effort for you, (for example). Therefore you churn away in the simulated running way for 3:00 etc. This also helps with the boredom factor. You will find yourself making up games, racing the swimmers, and picking certain points to race to etc.
I invented a ladder workout to keep from going bonkers. No, not the pool ladder… I warm up for 5 – 10 minutes. Then run two ‘lengths’ ( a length for me is 12.5 Meters) at tempo. Then 2 lengths recover then 4 lengths tempo etc, up to 8 -12 lengths of temp in a row. Each length is around 25-30 seconds for me.
You do get some extra resistance that is good. You will notice the resistance on your leg lift that you normally would not get on the road. And there is a good amount of resistance on your arm swing as well that you have to figure out how to compensate for without putting torque forces on your form.
Is it a replacement for running? No, it is not but it is a good simulation and as part of a steady cross-training program will help you maintain fitness before your event. Joan Benoit used pool running before her LA Olympic marathon to stay off an injury and keep fitness. Dave Dunham, local mountains runner extraordinaire uses water-running all the time and he still competes around his injuries at a very high level.
Pool-running is just another one of those tools every runner should have in their bag.
I’ll see you at the pool!
Chris,