How hard is a 1 mile swim?

Howdy swimmers of Reddit.

I'm a current enlisted Marine and I'm considering pursuing my dreams of becoming a pilot for the Corps. However, the only thing, and I mean the ONLY THING that makes me hesitant is the swim requirements. I have to be able to swim for one mile straight.

I run 5Ks multiple times a week and can do well over 20 pull ups without any problem, so I'd like to think my fitness isn't the problem. However, I am only able to swim like 2 laps before being gassed and swallowing plenty of yummy public pool water in the process.

ALSO - without going into details, I have a good 2-3 years left I'll be able to train before having to decide on going to flight school.

I really don't want swimming to stop me from chasing my dreams as a pilot.

If you all have any recommendations and or plans for me, I would appreciate it.

Thank you!

Edit: Marine don't gramer

• 10 years ago 09/28/2012 8:05pm EDT

  I'm new to swimming and really suck at it. I'm still working up to swimming 50m without stopping for a quick break before I starting back up again. I know my technique is bad but I'm still just learning the basics. Is doing a mile everyday without breaks between laps the equivalent of say being able to do an easy 10 miler like it was nothing? Or is it counterproductive to do a straight one miler everyday and instead to break it up into different sets. If I swim everyday for 1-2 hours, how long do you think it would take for me to be able to swim non-stop for a mile?

• 10 years ago 09/28/2012 8:13pm EDT

  Swimming at a recreational level for 1 mile is much easier than running 10 miles.

• 10 years ago 09/28/2012 8:33pm EDT

  Is this non-stop? What's the equivalent of a 10 miler at 6:30-7:00 pace? I don't know anything about swimming but most serious runners have a fairly good idea what their pace is. It has been said that 7min/mi. is the difference between running and jogging. So do swimmers check their pace like runners? Do they use the clock on the wall or what?

• 10 years ago 09/28/2012 8:38pm EDT

  Recreational swimming is a lot easier than running at 6:30 pace. I'd say a 10-miler at that pace would be maybe 2.5 miles at recreational pace.

• 10 years ago 09/28/2012 8:41pm EDT

  I just started trying to add some swimming into my week. Today was my 2nd swim ever with 1680 meters in 46 min. I wouldn't say it is hard, just takes a lot of time and sucks not having a breathing rhythm yet. I honestly dont think you can compare swimming to running. I would just consider it a good no impact cross training workout

• 10 years ago 09/28/2012 8:42pm EDT

  A mile of swimming is about the same as three miles of running.

• 10 years ago 09/28/2012 8:45pm EDT

  Once you learn basic mechanics, I'd say it's equivalent for running 5 miles at a casual or recovery pace

• 10 years ago 09/28/2012 9:17pm EDT

  NP1112 wrote:

  I just started trying to add some swimming into my week. Today was my 2nd swim ever with 1680 meters in 46 min. I wouldn't say it is hard, just takes a lot of time and sucks not having a breathing rhythm yet. I honestly dont think you can compare swimming to running. I would just consider it a good no impact cross training workout

  That's pretty good for just your 2nd swim. Are you stopping for breaks or is this a continuous swim? Are you doing it with your entire head submerged only turning it for inhaling? I'm using a buoy and am having a hard time being able to find that rythmn and stay relaxed. I'm trying to alternate breathing on both sides but it's a whole lot easier for me to get the rotation towards one side than the other. I think I consume too much energy doing the breathing because I can't imagining being able to do 64 lengths of the pool without stoppig to rest up. I just started this week so I'm still new at it.

• 10 years ago 09/28/2012 9:57pm EDT

  About as hard as running 3 miles a day.

• 10 years ago 09/28/2012 10:08pm EDT

  1500m pool swim times for elite pro triathletes are around 16-17m. The same athletes can usually run 5k in 14.20-14.40 so maybe 6k in 17.30.

  So 1 mile per day swimming could be compared to maybe 4 mile of running.

  Swimming technique is very, very important so work on tidying that up.

  Fitness can't beat technique with swimming.

• 10 years ago 09/28/2012 10:09pm EDT

  Swimming is a 1:4 ratio to running.

  1 mile of freestyle / front crawl = 4 miles of equivalent effort in running (based on HR)

• 10 years ago 09/28/2012 10:54pm EDT

  My son has been doing swim team for 4 summer seasons now. He is 10, but has been putting in well over a mile in workouts for a couple of years now. He did 5000 yards at his swim a thon a couple of months ago.[quote]421 wrote:

• 10 years ago 09/28/2012 11:01pm EDT

  I started swimming in March. I first started off with a half mile 3-4x a week, but had to stop after every 25m for breathing. I realized I was trying too hard. I can now swim a mile non-stop in about 40 minutes at a fairly semi-hard pace and haven't tried to push it. My biggest problem at first was letting out air with my head was in the water. Once I got comfortable with that, it got easier. It is also important to keep your body streamlined, and I still struggle with this when I start to get tired. My legs like to drop and it makes it a lot harder.

  If you can run for an hour, you can easily swim for an hour if you get your breathing down and have any upper body strength at all. I think its counter productive to swim when you are so fatigued your form breaks down. Stick with it though. Swimming 3-4 miles a week has let me drop down to running 3-4x a week without losing the fitness and speed I had at 6 days a week with double the milege and the soreness I used to wake up with every morning is rare, and I can see a change in my upper body size as well.

• 10 years ago 09/28/2012 11:27pm EDT

  lts swim wrote:

  I'm new to swimming and really suck at it. I'm still working up to swimming 50m without stopping for a quick break before I starting back up again. I know my technique is bad but I'm still just learning the basics. Is doing a mile everyday without breaks between laps the equivalent of say being able to do an easy 10 miler like it was nothing? Or is it counterproductive to do a straight one miler everyday and instead to break it up into different sets. If I swim everyday for 1-2 hours, how long do you think it would take for me to be able to swim non-stop for a mile?

  Don't drown, it will ruin your day.

• 10 years ago 09/29/2012 12:08am EDT

  newbie-also wrote:

  . My biggest problem at first was letting out air with my head was in the water. Once I got comfortable with that, it got easier. It is also important to keep your body streamlined, and I still struggle with this when I start to get tired. My legs like to drop and it makes it a lot harder.

  I've been using a buoy so I can just focus on my arms and breathing at the moment. Do you exhale with your mouth or nose in the water? My problem is that brief moment when I inhale. Most of my energy and focus goes into that moment because if I don't inhale right I end up taking in water and that screws up my next few strokes. I'm probably doing something wrong cause I don't think it should be that hard.

• 10 years ago 09/29/2012 3:24am EDT

  getting to the point where i could swim a decent mile was much tougher than becoming a 5-mile runner.

• 10 years ago 09/29/2012 8:26am EDT

  I just got off injury a few weeks ago where I had been swimming 5-6 days a week for a little over 3 weeks. It's definitely tiring if you push yourself, I'd have days where I'd hop in the pool and just be so pooped and my arms would be so dead (front crawl the entire time).

  I usually did 1500-2500 each day when I would go. Only a few days did I swim it straight up the entire though, I'd usually do it in 500 or 1000 intervals. But definitely get technique down. It was pretty crazy to see how much faster I got at swimming over 3 weeks because I was getting used to the motions as opposed to actual fitness

• 10 years ago 09/29/2012 8:31am EDT

  If swimming to running ratio is only roughly 1:4 then why is the Iron Man run a marathon yet the swim is only 2.4miles??

• 10 years ago 09/29/2012 8:48am EDT

  It is somewhat continuous. The pool is small, only 20m at the local LA fitness. I cant do that fancy flip turn so i push off as quick as i can and go again. Face is in the water and i breathe every 2 strokes, can only breathe to the right for now too. I exhale through my nose while my face is in the water. Just go slow and focus on form and breathing. It takes me a good 10 minutes to get going.

• 10 years ago 09/29/2012 9:05am EDT

  I have been working on flip turns so as dumb as it sounds, I wear nose clips so I have to breathe through my mouth. Even when I let my air out during the turns without clips, I still got sinuses full of water.I have had swims with a lot of other people in the pool where the water was very choppy where getting a good breath wasn't always easy, but I do best if I make my head turn slower and this creates a trough where the water is lower than your jaw. You can also work on getting more body rotation, as this helps. My body rotation isn't as stong to the left so I do have a more difficult time breathing to the left side so I mostly stick with the right and don't bother.

  lts swim wrote:

  newbie-also wrote:

  . My biggest problem at first was letting out air with my head was in the water. Once I got comfortable with that, it got easier. It is also important to keep your body streamlined, and I still struggle with this when I start to get tired. My legs like to drop and it makes it a lot harder.

  I've been using a buoy so I can just focus on my arms and breathing at the moment. Do you exhale with your mouth or nose in the water? My problem is that brief moment when I inhale. Most of my energy and focus goes into that moment because if I don't inhale right I end up taking in water and that screws up my next few strokes. I'm probably doing something wrong cause I don't think it should be that hard.

What People Are Talking About On LetsRun

Of General Interest

1. Marathon last 6 miles

2. Galen Rupp Ends His Career with a Marathon Best SLOWER Than the top Master

3. Kenenisa Bekele gets another WR. 2:05:53 masters WR in London.

4. Need To Eat Before Morning Run?

5. Katelyn Tuohy shatters Joe Piane Invitational Course Record!!!! Beats Mercy Chelangat by 12+ seconds.

6. Paul Short Run, Emphasis on the SHORT

7. I don't think most people are aware WW3 is on the horizon

8. So did this kid cheat too? 16-yr-old boy beats Magnus Carlsen in 39 moves

9. Sage changed so much after going Pro

10. RIP DyeStat Founder John Dye - February 13th, 1936 - September 30th, 2022

How long should it take to swim 1 mile?

What is a good time for a 1 mile open water swim?

Is 1 mile of swimming good?

Is it harder to swim a mile or run a mile?