POOL RUNNING 101
By Mark Lorenzoni
MARK'S POOL RUNNING VIDEOS
Part 1 - Part 2
Way back in the winter of 1984 my wife Cynthia strained her groin muscle while out running on a heavily snow covered road. We didn’t think much about it at the time but a few weeks later her running was still being hampered by what had become a very stubborn and painful injury. No matter what we tried the injury tenaciously hung on and every time she pushed off the ground, especially when picking up the pace, she was in a great deal of pain. Cynthia, who had qualified for the first ever women’s Olympic Marathon Trials, which was to be run in May of 1984, grew increasingly more frustrated and I, her coach, felt more helpless with each passing week. She was coming off two consecutive victories at the Marine Corps Marathon and a 2:38 effort at the 1983 Houston Marathon but the lower her mileage went and the longer she went without quality training, the dimmer her prospects grew for even making it to the start of the marathon trials, let alone a respectable finish at this historic event.
That low point was just about the time Dr. Dan Kulund, our local running doc of the eighties, approached Cynthia about a new idea he had for a substitute training regimen to running. He had read an article a few years earlier that demonstrated how injured thoroughbred race horses could continue to effectively train, without weight bearing, while recovering. They were able to accomplish this seemingly impossible task, by running circles, while being led in a harness by a trainer, around a cement island in a deep water pool. Their legs never touched the ground yet they were able to simulate their normal dirt surface training routine, by galloping to their hearts content around this deep water “track”! So, they were able to maintain fitness at the same time they were going through a post injury healing process. Simply amazing!
Kulund found this so fascinating that he asked himself, “if it works for race horses why can’t this also work for injured human runners?” And so he found a ground level office to rent, installed two small deep water pools with jets for resistance simulation and called the best known injured runner in town to see if she would be willing to be his first test case.
So, as desperate as we were to have Cynthia get training hard again, we jumped at this unique opportunity. But I must admit that we were both a bit skeptical about the effectiveness of what seemed like a bit of a crazy concept.
Kulund knew that simply mimicking the mechanics of running in water over your head just wasn’t going to be enough of a workout to simulate the normal heart rate a runner attains while weight bearing running. So, he asked me, as Cynthia’s coach, to write up a variety of workouts that she could use in the pool to help get her heart rate to a level that simulated her road efforts. We initially had Cynthia run 90 minutes/day for 6-7 days/week in the pool but as the injury began to heal, we gradually re-introduced road running to her regimen and ultimately settled on three days/week in the pool and 4 days on the road. Cynthia had been averaging 80-90 miles/week, so her pool time, even when it was reduced to 3 days/week, was significant.
Several weeks later, when we went back to running on the road, we were amazed at how fit Cynthia’s cardio engine was. The pool running had accomplished exactly what it had set out to do: to maintain her fitness while allowing her injury to heal. Cynthia trained in the pool like this for close to four months, leading right up to the week of the marathon trials and she ended up running close to her targeted time for this important race, finishing in 2:42, her second fastest marathon effort ever. All of this was thanks to one man’s “crazy idea”. Way back in 1984, Cynthia was the first human runner to pool train for a race but today it is the most widely accepted and commonly recommended form of training for injured athletes wanting to train at a high cardio level while healing.
Workouts for those unable to run any miles on the road
The following pool training regimen is for those of you with a stress fracture or an injury that prevents you from doing any weight bearing activity. The number of minutes you spend in the pool equates pretty close to the number of minutes you would run on land. So, a 45 minute workout in the pool is roughly equivalent to 45 minutes on the road. The trick to having it closely simulate the actual intensity of your road mileage is to get your heart rate way up! And the only way to do this is to work harder than you would on the road. The neat thing about pool training is you can go “hard” 5-6 days/week whereas most land trainers can only afford to go hard 2 days/week without the risk of injury or burnout fatigue setting in. So, you’ll be running a “workout” in the pool even on the days that would have normally been a slow and easy “recovery” day on the road.
Please view our virtual instructional tour on how to effectively pool train, including a live demonstration of the proper techniques needed to help you become an efficient pool runner.
As much as you feel like you don’t need one, you MUST still always wear a belt (ie. Aqua Jogger) while running in the pool. This helps to constantly keep your form in check.
4 days of running/week
In this case we’re going to use a person that normally, when not injured, runs four days/week on the road and logs about 25-30 miles/week. Lets’ say that this person averages about 9-9:30/mile for a normal training run…add a few more minutes to each pool workout if you run slower and take away a few minutes/workout if you run faster. The key is to be in the deep end of the pool for about as many minutes you would be if you were out on the road.
PACE KEY:
AHR = Aerobic Heart Rate (normal everyday relaxed conversational pace)
MP = Marathon Pace (~1 minute/mile slower than 5K pace)
HMP = Half Marathon Pace (~ 15 seconds/mile slower than MP)
Make sure to hydrate with water during the workout on your shorter days and with some form of electrolyte replacement drink, again during the workout, on your longer days.
I would also highly recommend adding a yoga and a core class 2-3 days/week (see below) if your injury allows your body to do so.
Mon.- 45 minutes in the pool as follows: 10-15 minute warm-up at your AHR/ 40 seconds “hard” (5K pace) x 8 with a 40 second slow jog recovery in between each/30 seconds harder (2 mile pace) x 8 with a 40 second jog in between each/ 20 seconds harder (~1 mile pace) x 8 with a 40 second jog in between each/ cool down with 8-10 minutes at AHR
Tues.-core work (ball class or sit-up/pushup/chin up regimen)
Wed.- 1 hour total in the pool as follows: 12-15 minute warm up at AHR/ 4 minutes at 5K pace x 6 with a 2 minute jog in between each/ 10 minute cool down at AHR
Thurs.- 35-40 minutes in the pool as follows: 12-15 minutes at AHR/ 1 minute at MP-HMP x 10 with a 30 second jog in between each/8-10 minutes at AHR
Fri.- yoga
Sat.- 90 minutes in the pool as follows: 10 minute warm-up at AHR/ 10 minutes at MP x 4 with a1 minute easy recovery in between each/5 minutes at AHR/ 5 minutes at HMP x 4 with a 1 minute recovery in between each/8-10 minute cool down at AHR
Sun.- core work or yoga
Add one more pool day to this regimen if you’re running 5 days/week. If you do add a 5th day I’d suggest duplicating the 35-40 minute Thursday run on Friday or Sunday.
As your injury gets close to healing 100%, slowly reinitiate your body to weight bearing running by moving your pool runs into the shallow end of the pool. This will still keep you somewhat buoyant (~50%) but will also begin to get your body used to some form of weight bearingrunning. Once you’re injury-free you may then begin to run on the roads again BUT it is critical for the first 3-4 weeks to run on a flat surface that is softer (ie. gravel road or an outdoor track). Also, don’t cold turkey the pool running all-together. So, that 4 day/week runner should start with 1 day/week on the road while still maintaining 3 days in the pool for the first week...then go to 2 days/week on the road while still running 2 days in the pool…finally, after 3 weeks, you will end up with 3 days on the road but you should still keep running in the pool for that one day/week until you’re absolutely sure your injury is totally and completely gone!
Want a pool running program that is more finely tailored to simulating your current running regimen? Then please feel free to give me a call (Mark) at 293-3367 or stop by to see me in person.
Virtual instructional tour of proper pool running techniques
Part 1 - Part 2
LOCAL POOLS
POOL RUNNING LINKS
MARK'S POOL RUNNING VIDEOS
Part 1 - Part 2
Way back in the winter of 1984 my wife Cynthia strained her groin muscle while out running on a heavily snow covered road. We didn’t think much about it at the time but a few weeks later her running was still being hampered by what had become a very stubborn and painful injury. No matter what we tried the injury tenaciously hung on and every time she pushed off the ground, especially when picking up the pace, she was in a great deal of pain. Cynthia, who had qualified for the first ever women’s Olympic Marathon Trials, which was to be run in May of 1984, grew increasingly more frustrated and I, her coach, felt more helpless with each passing week. She was coming off two consecutive victories at the Marine Corps Marathon and a 2:38 effort at the 1983 Houston Marathon but the lower her mileage went and the longer she went without quality training, the dimmer her prospects grew for even making it to the start of the marathon trials, let alone a respectable finish at this historic event.
That low point was just about the time Dr. Dan Kulund, our local running doc of the eighties, approached Cynthia about a new idea he had for a substitute training regimen to running. He had read an article a few years earlier that demonstrated how injured thoroughbred race horses could continue to effectively train, without weight bearing, while recovering. They were able to accomplish this seemingly impossible task, by running circles, while being led in a harness by a trainer, around a cement island in a deep water pool. Their legs never touched the ground yet they were able to simulate their normal dirt surface training routine, by galloping to their hearts content around this deep water “track”! So, they were able to maintain fitness at the same time they were going through a post injury healing process. Simply amazing!
Kulund found this so fascinating that he asked himself, “if it works for race horses why can’t this also work for injured human runners?” And so he found a ground level office to rent, installed two small deep water pools with jets for resistance simulation and called the best known injured runner in town to see if she would be willing to be his first test case.
So, as desperate as we were to have Cynthia get training hard again, we jumped at this unique opportunity. But I must admit that we were both a bit skeptical about the effectiveness of what seemed like a bit of a crazy concept.
Kulund knew that simply mimicking the mechanics of running in water over your head just wasn’t going to be enough of a workout to simulate the normal heart rate a runner attains while weight bearing running. So, he asked me, as Cynthia’s coach, to write up a variety of workouts that she could use in the pool to help get her heart rate to a level that simulated her road efforts. We initially had Cynthia run 90 minutes/day for 6-7 days/week in the pool but as the injury began to heal, we gradually re-introduced road running to her regimen and ultimately settled on three days/week in the pool and 4 days on the road. Cynthia had been averaging 80-90 miles/week, so her pool time, even when it was reduced to 3 days/week, was significant.
Several weeks later, when we went back to running on the road, we were amazed at how fit Cynthia’s cardio engine was. The pool running had accomplished exactly what it had set out to do: to maintain her fitness while allowing her injury to heal. Cynthia trained in the pool like this for close to four months, leading right up to the week of the marathon trials and she ended up running close to her targeted time for this important race, finishing in 2:42, her second fastest marathon effort ever. All of this was thanks to one man’s “crazy idea”. Way back in 1984, Cynthia was the first human runner to pool train for a race but today it is the most widely accepted and commonly recommended form of training for injured athletes wanting to train at a high cardio level while healing.
Workouts for those unable to run any miles on the road
The following pool training regimen is for those of you with a stress fracture or an injury that prevents you from doing any weight bearing activity. The number of minutes you spend in the pool equates pretty close to the number of minutes you would run on land. So, a 45 minute workout in the pool is roughly equivalent to 45 minutes on the road. The trick to having it closely simulate the actual intensity of your road mileage is to get your heart rate way up! And the only way to do this is to work harder than you would on the road. The neat thing about pool training is you can go “hard” 5-6 days/week whereas most land trainers can only afford to go hard 2 days/week without the risk of injury or burnout fatigue setting in. So, you’ll be running a “workout” in the pool even on the days that would have normally been a slow and easy “recovery” day on the road.
Please view our virtual instructional tour on how to effectively pool train, including a live demonstration of the proper techniques needed to help you become an efficient pool runner.
As much as you feel like you don’t need one, you MUST still always wear a belt (ie. Aqua Jogger) while running in the pool. This helps to constantly keep your form in check.
4 days of running/week
In this case we’re going to use a person that normally, when not injured, runs four days/week on the road and logs about 25-30 miles/week. Lets’ say that this person averages about 9-9:30/mile for a normal training run…add a few more minutes to each pool workout if you run slower and take away a few minutes/workout if you run faster. The key is to be in the deep end of the pool for about as many minutes you would be if you were out on the road.
PACE KEY:
AHR = Aerobic Heart Rate (normal everyday relaxed conversational pace)
MP = Marathon Pace (~1 minute/mile slower than 5K pace)
HMP = Half Marathon Pace (~ 15 seconds/mile slower than MP)
Make sure to hydrate with water during the workout on your shorter days and with some form of electrolyte replacement drink, again during the workout, on your longer days.
I would also highly recommend adding a yoga and a core class 2-3 days/week (see below) if your injury allows your body to do so.
Mon.- 45 minutes in the pool as follows: 10-15 minute warm-up at your AHR/ 40 seconds “hard” (5K pace) x 8 with a 40 second slow jog recovery in between each/30 seconds harder (2 mile pace) x 8 with a 40 second jog in between each/ 20 seconds harder (~1 mile pace) x 8 with a 40 second jog in between each/ cool down with 8-10 minutes at AHR
Tues.-core work (ball class or sit-up/pushup/chin up regimen)
Wed.- 1 hour total in the pool as follows: 12-15 minute warm up at AHR/ 4 minutes at 5K pace x 6 with a 2 minute jog in between each/ 10 minute cool down at AHR
Thurs.- 35-40 minutes in the pool as follows: 12-15 minutes at AHR/ 1 minute at MP-HMP x 10 with a 30 second jog in between each/8-10 minutes at AHR
Fri.- yoga
Sat.- 90 minutes in the pool as follows: 10 minute warm-up at AHR/ 10 minutes at MP x 4 with a1 minute easy recovery in between each/5 minutes at AHR/ 5 minutes at HMP x 4 with a 1 minute recovery in between each/8-10 minute cool down at AHR
Sun.- core work or yoga
Add one more pool day to this regimen if you’re running 5 days/week. If you do add a 5th day I’d suggest duplicating the 35-40 minute Thursday run on Friday or Sunday.
As your injury gets close to healing 100%, slowly reinitiate your body to weight bearing running by moving your pool runs into the shallow end of the pool. This will still keep you somewhat buoyant (~50%) but will also begin to get your body used to some form of weight bearingrunning. Once you’re injury-free you may then begin to run on the roads again BUT it is critical for the first 3-4 weeks to run on a flat surface that is softer (ie. gravel road or an outdoor track). Also, don’t cold turkey the pool running all-together. So, that 4 day/week runner should start with 1 day/week on the road while still maintaining 3 days in the pool for the first week...then go to 2 days/week on the road while still running 2 days in the pool…finally, after 3 weeks, you will end up with 3 days on the road but you should still keep running in the pool for that one day/week until you’re absolutely sure your injury is totally and completely gone!
Want a pool running program that is more finely tailored to simulating your current running regimen? Then please feel free to give me a call (Mark) at 293-3367 or stop by to see me in person.
Virtual instructional tour of proper pool running techniques
Part 1 - Part 2
LOCAL POOLS
- Smith Aquatic Center
- ACAC
- UVA Aquatic & Fitness Center
- Washington Park Pool
- Onesty Family Aquatic Center
POOL RUNNING LINKS
- Water Running Handbook
- 9-Week Water Running Plan to Stay in Shape While Injured
The Training Schedule - Different Strokes
- Head for the Pool
- Swim Workouts for Runners
- Swimming for Cross-Training
- Running and Swimming Benefit Each Other
- Man vs. Machine: A Guide to Indoor Aerobic Training
- "The Benefits of Cross Training," New York Times, June 2009.
- http://www.furman.edu/first/firstfeatures.htm
- WATER WORKOUTS
- A New Kind of Brick: Try Aquajogging to Boost Your Run A New Kind of Brick: Try Aquajogging to Boost Your Run
- Aqua Jogging
- Deep Water Running for Athletic Rehabilitation
- AquaJogger
- AQxsports
- On the Track with Alisa Harvey: Pool Running
