General fitness vs Cycling fitness?

jezmo

Hello all,

I find myself in a tricky position.

Back in Nov/Dec I signed up to do the Etape Acte 2. It was miles off, plenty of time to get fit.

Since then, I changed jobs, meaning a shorter (bike) commute and we've had a 3rd little nipper, which, as you might imagine, takes up a lot of time. Needless to say, plans for the Etape went on the back burner a bit. The problem is, I've just received a severe "time to man up" chat from a friend and find myself having just forked out for flights and accomodation... so now I have to do it!

My question is, how far will general fitness take you in place of cycling fitness (i.e. miles ridden)? In terms of miles ridden, I know I'm short (Maybe 60 - 70 miles commute each week plus a 50 mile weekend ride - for the last few months). However, because I'm also signed up for the Windsor Triathlon, I've been doing 2x10km runs and 2x2000m swims per week also, mainly in my lunch break. If it makes any difference, I think I'm roughly where I should be in terms of weight (1.82m and 75kg)

With a view to the Etape, will this running and swimming I'm doing at lunch times be of any benefit.. or am I stuffed?

I've got a few longer Sportives (King of the Downs and Dragon Ride) booked as training events, but any suggestions on how to get Etape fit whilst working around SWMBO, kids bath/bedtime routines etc.. greatly appreciated!

woody1545

I had a similar problem finding time to train for the marathon, and felt guilty constantly abandoning the wife and kids. I found getting up at 5 am, going for a 22 mile run and being back in time for breakfast helped!

The etape isn't until July (?) maybe you could cycle the really long route to work or something to get your mileage up?

I'm doing the London Revolution this weekend, which is 180 miles over 2 days, but obviously not remotely mountainous. As a result of all the running I've done jacksh*t cycling this year (this weekend will probably double my total for the year ) but am probably the fittest I've ever been in terms of 'general' fitness.

I'll let you know how I get on with the whole general/cycling fitness debate.

jgsi

Personally, general fitness even if it is good, will only help so far with riding,
Ok, you'll be abe to cope at tourist pace, but pushing on a bit and a bit more will find you out.

meanredspider

My guess is that your cycling-specific muscles are at risk of fatigue. Certainly, since I started cycling lots, I found that the occasional game of hockey I played I could run round on the pitch endlessly. I would, however, find certain muscles would tire before others and would hurt a lot the next day.

wcrombie

if you are regularly doing 50 mile weekend rides and get through the sportives you have planned without completely dying, then you will be fine with the etape.... obviously the more training you do the easier you will find it, but you are probably doing enough already.

one tip though; if you can loose a kilo or two extra (without going to extreme) that will be your biggest bang for your effort and can be done any time of the day..

cougie

I've just checked the etape route and profile - 5 climbs and 200km ? Thats some challenge.

The tri is much easier - I'd focus my efforts on the etape if i were you. Im guessing thats costing more than the tri - you dont want to fail it.

I'd only swim once a week if i were you- you'll clearly get through that, and the run - well you can walk run if you get stuck.
200km through the pyrenees is a far greater challenge - especially with cut offs. I dont think you'll get any benefit from the swimming for cycling. Running will help you slightly - but it wont help much with endurance - thats the biggest issue here.

You need to get long rides in at the weekend and look for lunch time spin classes maybe ? 50 mile rides are not enough. Your mate is right - you do need to get your act together.

cougie

THIS thread may inspire (or frighten) you :

viewtopic.php?f=40007&t=12854709

jezmo

Eep. The comment about cost vs time spent, certainly rings true. Time to book some spin classes I think.

The whole thing is not helped by having to go away on business trips for 2 weeks during the time remaining... those Hotel exercise bikes won't know what's hit them!

jameses

meanredspider wrote:

My guess is that your cycling-specific muscles are at risk of fatigue.

+1 I've been training for my first marathon this year, so I haven't been clocking up the miles on my bike as I normally would have. I did a reasonably hilly 100 mile sportive on sunday, and despite being able to comfortably run 20+ miles, my legs were dying on the hills after about 70 miles

jonomc4

I can give you an example - When I were a young nipper, I used to be a schoolboy national sprinter - I ran a lot (both long and short distances depending on the time in the season) and was immensely fit (at rest heartbeat of 38) my all round fitness was at a very high level - I could swim 2 lengths of a full size pool under water and do 85 press-ups in a minute with little fatigue.

So when some school friends suggested a 20 mile reasonably flat bike ride for charity I agreed and thought nothing more of it (I never really rode a bike much). I was dead after about 2 miles - only vanity stopped me from not completing it. I never got on a bike again for 20 years! I was shocked at how different the muscle groups were.