Running & Cycling

stevep3156

Hi,

I'm sure there are wads of threads somewhere on here about running & cycling, but for the life of me I can't find them! So here's my question(s)...

I'm seriously considering taking up running, to complement my cycling. I'm 41, reasonably fit but carrying a little too much flab, & cycle 80-100 miles a week mainly commuting.

My goal is to be able to run the 5-6 mile direct route to/from work, maybe with pretences to run further in the long term.

I'm sure there are many others on here who run & cycle, so I was wondering what others' experiences are & what common mistakes to avoid?

Sorry it's a little vague, but i've never 'done' running before, & would really value some advice from fellow cyclists!

Many thanks

MountainMonster

I try running but often find my legs are built muscularly more towards cycling because I cycle so much. This normally leaves my legs feeling extremely dead after even short runs.

I do running though in the gym on the treadmill using HIIT (high intensity interval training), and from what my fitness buddies have told me it does work well for burning fat, but I have yet to see any results, but i'm struggling with other problems at the moment as well now.

I suggest giving HIITs a try sometime if you have a treadmill at hand. Basically just turn the speed to as fast as you spring would be, and sprint for 30 seconds, then 30 seconds resting period, then another 30 seconds of sprinting...... you see where this is going. About 15 minutes of that leaves me as tired as I am after running for an hour, and I do feel it's making me feel stronger, but losing the belly i'm not sure.

Give that a try as well and see if you like. It certainly is more fun for me than just running for an hour.

stevep3156

Cheers MountainMonster, i'll keep that in mind, I don't have a treadmill at home but I was considering joining the local gym, so this definitely sounds an option!

Many thanks!

MountainMonster

stevep3156 wrote:

Cheers MountainMonster, i'll keep that in mind, I don't have a treadmill at home but I was considering joining the local gym, so this definitely sounds an option!

Many thanks!

Yeah I would certainly recommend hitting the gym up. Lifting weights just helps to keep your whole body in proper shape, and you never know who you meet there. I'm a 20 year old American living in Austria now, and since joining the gym one of my best mates here now is a 47yr old bodybuilder who enjoys riding alot. Some really good people are to be met, and the weight lifting leaves you feeling strong and energetic when done properly and can help alot on the bike as well!

mea00csf

avoid the gym, it's soul destroying :? and running on a treadmill is soooo boring. The other thing to bear in mind is that it's easier to run on a treadmill than to run outside, because you're not propelling yourself along. If you do go down the treadmill route, put an incline of 1-2% on it to make it a bit harder and closer to running outside

I run and cycle, but go through phases of doing a lot more of one than another. Having completed my half marathon a few months ago i'm now in a cycling phase. Motivationally, you'll probably do better if you enter a race. Pick up a proper training plan which includes a range of sessions (recovery, tempo, sprint intervals, hill climbs, etc) to keep it interesting. There are loads of events to enter, look at runners world for a searchable database. Look at small local races as well as the big charity sponsered events. My personal preference is the small running club races, can't stand the crowds and pressure to fund raise of the big charity events

cougie

I'm not convinced that the High Intensity stuff is a good idea.

What I would do is go to a proper running shop and buy some proper shoes - to hopefully minimise risk of injury. And start easy. Your cardio system will be great - but your running muscles will be woefully underused. If you run too far on your first go - you'll be crippled for a week ! ;-)

Aim to run 3 times a week - start off slowly and dont be afraid to walk if you want to. Aim to run at a pace that would let you chat - even better if you can drag a mate out and really chat - helps with the motivation too.

Running to work sounds a great goal - leave kit in work as much as you can - you dont want to run with much weight on your back, and then you can cycle home ?

Grippa

My advice is to take care. Injury is a much bigger issue with running than it is with cycling (bar falls of course). Running uses very different muscles and is also a much higher impact activity. I recently have been doing some running after a break of many years and managed to injure myself to the degree that I couldn't walk properly for two weeks. This was despite taking it very easy (as I saw it at the time).

The key is build gently and bear in mind that you will have a good cardiovascular fitness but not the legs to match as far as running goes. It would be worth concentrating on just doing some short runs gently and build from there. The advice I had after my injury was that the runs could start again but it was suggested that they should be two minutes in the first instance!

Don't even think of doing high intensity stuff until you are confident that you have the legs for it. That is just mad.

stevep3156

Thanks all, I tried fast walking the 5 miles to work this morning, to see how my legs would take it, & it felt OK - only thing is, & as mentioned above, my shoes proved woefully inadequate. So much so that I thought I would take the plunge & buy some decent running shoes during my lunch-hour (New Balance 760's - feels like my feet are wrapped in cotton wool!!)

I like the gym idea (mainly because I can maybe combine it with some light upper body exercises, plus I don't have too far to walk home if I get too knackered!!), but I take on board what people have said, I guess it is better to get some 'running legs' first before going for anything more intense (same principle as cycling I guess, start gently & work up to the more intense stuff).

Thanks all for the advice, this is exactly what I was after, i'm just pleased no-one has said 'at your age avoid it!

Cheers!

MountainMonster

Grippa wrote:

My advice is to take care. Injury is a much bigger issue with running than it is with cycling (bar falls of course). Running uses very different muscles and is also a much higher impact activity. I recently have been doing some running after a break of many years and managed to injure myself to the degree that I couldn't walk properly for two weeks. This was despite taking it very easy (as I saw it at the time).

The key is build gently and bear in mind that you will have a good cardiovascular fitness but not the legs to match as far as running goes. It would be worth concentrating on just doing some short runs gently and build from there. The advice I had after my injury was that the runs could start again but it was suggested that they should be two minutes in the first instance!

Don't even think of doing high intensity stuff until you are confident that you have the legs for it. That is just mad.

The high intensity works just the same as first starting running. If 30-30 is too much, you can go 30-1min, and your allowed to go as long or short as you feel you can.

miss notax

Hiya

I both MTB and run (I am training for the 10 mile Great South Run in October) and in my opinion the two compliment each other quite well.... Agree that it's easier to do damage running, but it seems to be different muscle groups for each which is quite handy - when my legs ache so much from running that I can barely walk, I am ok to ride

The extra cardio training from running has also helped my riding no end, and I am now much faster than I was before and can blast up longer hills etc.

One thing though, running 5 miles is a long way! I have only just worked up to this and i'm certainly not unfit. Take it easy and don't try and run the whole lot in one go to start with. You'll probably do it, but will pull muscles and hobbling the next day

Good luck