Rest days
BMKN
Posts: 222
So been on the bike for commuting 5 days a week running some evenings been doing it 2 years with 1 day rest. I do both running races and sportives. I have been getting alot of pains recently sore back occasionally whe cycling, knee pain cycling. Calf pain and foot numbness when running. Im considering taking 5 days rest to let my body recover. When I get back to training what should I do in terms of getting back training?
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I doubt if anyone will be able to answer that, realistically. It's going to be entirely down to you, how you feel and whatever your training goals are.0
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Last time I checked, communting and sportives weren't training. But could be.I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles0
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maybe you need a bike fit?0
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The things you're describing aren't signs of fatigue, which you could simply shake off with some rest. Seems more like an injury, I'd suggest trying to target them differently.0
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+1 for the bike fit!
if your not in the correct position, the repetitive motion and strain will likely cause pain if your doing it often like you have been.
if you don't feel physically tired as such, then go and get a fit!
I recomend Adrian Timmis @ cadence sport (Barton-under-Needwood)I do science, sometimes.0 -
BMKN wrote:So been on the bike for commuting 5 days a week running some evenings been doing it 2 years with 1 day rest. I do both running races and sportives. I have been getting alot of pains recently sore back occasionally whe cycling, knee pain cycling. Calf pain and foot numbness when running. Im considering taking 5 days rest to let my body recover. When I get back to training what should I do in terms of getting back training?
Do you never take holidays ?0 -
It's a little unclear from your post whether that's one day off each week or 1 day off in 2 years.
I can't comment on whether your problems are due to overtraining - doesn't really sound like it from the symptoms but I'm no expert. However, I would think you should be taking regular rest weeks anyway. I think most advice on training regimes suggests that every 4th or 5th week should be a rest week. That doesn't mean you do nothing that week but you should back off the volume and intensity significantly to allow yourself a bit of recovery.
Do you do your commuting at high intensity, just cruise or a bit of a mix? If you're suffering a break sounds like a good idea to me but I'd go to a physio too and see if they can either spot a problem and/or give you some advice. I wouldn't be surprised if your back, knee, calf and foot problems were all linked. Back problems more often than not have a knock on effect on your entire lower body.
For example, a minor back injury years ago caused me to change my posture slightly over time. The result was a postural imbalance whereby my pelvis was rotated slightly out of whack, my lower back took extra stress causing nerve pain from pinching at the facet joints, my thighs rotated slightly due to the pelvis tilt so that my knees and feet didn't track straight causing my knees to get sore running or cycling and messing up my biomechanics for running. Something like this could probably cause calf and foot pain too. In my case it's almost completely reversible with lots of core strengthening and I've made a lot of progress since figuring out what the problem is. If it's a postural issue of some sort, neither rest nor training is going to fix it.
If you do have an issue then the earlier you see a good physio the better. Postural issues get worse not better without intervention.
The others may be right about getting a bike fit but if you're feeling uncomfortable running as well then there may be some damage done already and I'd think it's a good idea to look at how your body is doing off the bike as well as on it. Even if the bike fit is the problem it might be too late to fix the problem just by correcting the fit.
A physio is cheaper than a bike fit and potentially much more important but if you're not sure about your bike setup it might be best to do both.0 -
mentalalex wrote:+1 for the bike fit!
if your not in the correct position, the repetitive motion and strain will likely cause pain if your doing it often like you have been.
if you don't feel physically tired as such, then go and get a fit!
I recomend Adrian Timmis @ cadence sport (Barton-under-Needwood)
This sounds like it to me unless you have a existing condition. Sleep is very important for recovery and improvement.0 -
How long is your commute?English Cycles V3 | Cervelo P5 | Cervelo T4 | Trek Domane Koppenberg0
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SloppySchleckonds wrote:Last time I checked, communting and sportives weren't training. But could be.
When was the last time you checked?0 -
Recovery is very important, so is a healthy diet ( not saying you don't have this ).
When I was racing ( nothing spectacular, I got up to 2nd CAT, but racing E,1,2's) I would put in up to 20 hours a week of constructed training miles during the winter and taper down for the race season to around 15 hours - We worked on the recovery principle of one day off a week, one week off ( well, light non intensive and low miles ) a month and one month off a year, usually September or November, I just did what I liked, mostly wine and around 8 hours riding at light intensity
If I was injured I was not allowed to race and I needed to rest up.
If my knees and back are hurting I would, as suggested, look at your position and make sure you are not pushing too bigger gear. Also, make sure you warm up and cool down properly and you are not dehydrated, that will go a long way.
There have been occasions when I set up my bike for a good aero position, works great on the bike, but after 50 miles, I could not stand up straight for at least 30 sec to a minute after a ride, this was clearly a positioning set back which tightened my hamstrings.
I think a commute and sportive can be classified as training as long as there is a physical challenge, perhaps increase route mileage/intensity over a period of time, the body will adapt to physical stress quickly so you need to keep it guessing and challenged to avoid a plateau in performance.
I can't run, not even for a bus - it just feels weird ( my issue, I know ), so cannot comment on that bit.0
