Zero-impact cross training is a great option when injured or adding mileage but, as Leo Spall finds out, it doesn't always endear you to swimmers.
If you type pool or aqua running into Google you will get plenty of advice and sample workouts for upright exercise in the deep end. There’s a good chance you’re here after doing just that.
But what most of them don’t talk about is the thick skin needed to pull it off on a regular basis – and it’s not for buoyancy!
I’ve used deep-water running periodically when injured and I can remember few times when I haven’t been either asked what I’m doing – in a good-natured way, thankfully - or received strange looks, or both. I’ve even been sniggered at a few times by younger public pool-goers.
It could be that the overly-determined look of concentration on my face as I try to maintain normal running posture, a fast cadence and good arm drive is what prompts the attention.
"Navigating your way around the deep end while swimmers are completing lengths can be like playing chicken in the rush hour."
You need something akin to a devil-may-care attitude, then, when you may not be at your strongest mentally (I don’t know about you, but injuries seldom leave me at my most resilient or happiest).
The reasons are not limited to self-image either; navigating your way around the deep end while swimmers are completing lengths can be like playing chicken in the rush hour.
And no matter how hard I drive my arms and legs, I really haven’t got an overdrive that can get me out of trouble spots.
I don’t work out in the lanes that most pools have but ‘running’ around the area deep enough for my 6ft-2in frame early in the morning appears to provoke mild doses of pool rage among some fellow users.
Maybe I just look funny or infuriating. When I finally saw myself on video after years of pool running I admit to being more than a little amused at seeing a head and shoulders moving slowly around the pool; I don’t always sink that low, but it might be time to replace the buoyancy aid.
However, I prefer the conclusion that there aren’t that many people who know what pool running is – not in the heavily populated locations I’ve worked out at, at least.
If you’re thinking of giving it a go for the first time in a public pool add some self-confidence to the flotation belt, trunks or swimsuit and towel on the list of things to have with you.
Don’t let what I’ve said put you off; pool running is a really useful no-impact workout weapon to have in your armoury (in case you hadn’t worked it out already: your feet should not touch the floor), and the sniggering has only been occasional - honest.
Research has shown this ‘running lite’ can maintain aerobic fitness for up to six weeks in trained athletes and improve upper body strength.
There is also evidence it can help alleviate muscle soreness, and there have been anecdotal claims it burns more calories than conventional running because your body has to generate extra heat to stay warm as it works out against the resistance of the water.
The real beauty of deep-water running is how close it mimics the real thing. Coaches in the U.S. get their college athletes to use the exercise as a way of safely increasing mileage; it is also often employed as a recovery tool.
The self-styled Marathon Junkie, Chuck Engle, followed that approach when he was coaching at that level and now uses it around once a week in his ‘regular’ schedule.
He has run and won hundreds of marathons, including one in all 50 American states, finishing each in under three hours, and thinks little of racing two 26.2 mile-events in a weekend, at the same fast speed.
“I’m in the pool if I think I need a recovery day,” he told runnersconnect.net. “I try to get into it on a Saturday or Sunday for a long run because it’s good for me: it’s good for knee lift, flexibility, and it’s really good to help massage the muscles.”
General advice on getting the most out of deep-water running includes: ensuring you perform hard efforts in your sessions - fartleks, intervals, tempos and so on, with short recoveries – keep a straight back, pull your toes and feet up towards your shins (usually something done without thinking on land) and keep a high cadence.
I’m lucky to be able to work out in a large outdoor pool in the summer but winter bouts of it in a much smaller arena have sometimes been painfully dull; if you don’t have a training partner to workout with, maybe invest in a waterproof MP3 player.
And anything else that puts a smile on your face and adds a little resilience to your outlook.