[Closed] Mixing cycling and running

Yes. I came from mountain biking and joined a running club 20 odd years ago. I still do both. Switching from one to the other depending on injuries! Seems to work ok. Singlespeeding complements fell running well, fwiw.

I've done short distances - Several times I've done two 5 mile commutes with a 4 mile run at lunch time, and my best time for a 5K was after riding 7.5 miles to a park run. Can quite easily mix easier rides with runs on the same day. I find easier rides beneficial for recovery. Still finding my way with running, having started less than two years ago. Bikes are more my thing!

Definitely feel it after doing a run and getting on the bike though.

I find it hard to mix both, got to admit. I don’t find they complement each other so tend to run more in the colder, darker months and ride more in better weather. Perhaps I don’t get enough cycling in when I’m running (I dont have the option of using a bike for a commute as need my car during the day), also a bit time limited by family stuff.

I’m the same, when I focus on one the other goes downhill fast. There’s a basic level of background fitness of course but I’m never close to my best at both at the same time.

Local club do a duathlon twice a year. I enjoy entering. I find it very challenging considering I do both hobbies individually throughout the year. Going from there bike to a run is very strange for your legs.

I find running fitness helps a lot with cycling, but not the other way round, simply because running is a lot more intensive.

As for the same say, yes, if your sensible. If you go for a good length tempo run, you're gonna struggle on the bike later.

When I’ve been actively training, I’ve always just done an easy half hour jog on the days I should be doing a recovery ride. I found it a good mental break rather than just being on the bike all the time. However I guess that won’t ever really improve your running.

I’ve done both for a few years and I really enjoy both. Don’t usually do both on the same day unless I’m doing a bit of practice for a duathlon.

I do find it hard to get the balance right between both though and whilst I enjoy being alright at both I do feel that they don’t necessarily work together if you’re trying to get good at one sport specifically.

I've mixed running and cycling for a long time. I think that doing both competitively would be very hard but I found that when I was doing a lot of running I could transfer the fitness to the bike very well. I also found that cycling helped with injury prevention when running a lot.

Quite a lot of very good fell runners also do a lot of cycling and it seems to work for them.

When I’m fit and continue to do both regularly, they work well together with running helping my core fitness far more than cycling ever would. I tend to do about 4 days cycling (7-8hours) and 3 days running (3hours) and the balance between them works well. But, if I exclusively cycle for a while, my cardio fitness stays good, but my muscle and bone stamina for running are MUCH weaker, meaning I can still easily run my 10k in a good time, but I get injured quickly, which screws everything up. Running takes a decent time to build up technique, physique and stamina and you have to maintain it. Cycling much less so.

I’ve mixed cycling and running for a long time, but tend to use one to help conditioning for the other rather than compete at both. Cycling certainly helps with CV fitness otherwise it’s very easy to suffer over-use injuries from lots of running. Running can help with core fitness for cycling and well as improving flexibility - many cyclist suffer from tight hamstrings and lower back problems as a consequence. I also find running far better at helping burn off a few pounds in winter than trying to do it on a bike

I do both and sometimes on the same day, I don't compete though.

I use running to augment my cycling fitness but not the other way round. I'm trying for an even split which is difficult with a 7 day week.

My target last year was an arbitrary 26 cycling 100 milers and 26 running half Marathon's. I finished with 33 100 milers including a couple of 200's and 27 halves. Obviously plus all the training to support this which resulted in 10.5k miles cycling and 1.5k miles running though I had 2.5 months off running in the summer as I injured my achilles.

My aim is to increase mileage for both this year, do the centuries/halves again and mebbies a couple of full Marathon's mainly by avoiding injury (which I'll need to fully recover from first).

To do this, I need to watch the intensity. I tend not to go for intervals or HIIT training preferring to do steady state and tempo miles instead. I know this isn't flavour of the month often being dismissed as junk miles but I prefer actually riding and running to turning myself inside out and I'm not competing so that last 5% of performance isn't important to me.

TL:DR Yes you can do both, for me one improves the other but can compromise ultimate performance.

I do both, not in the same day though generally! I really enjoy both, I find running definitely helps my bike fitness as it just builds that base level cardio. I’m not interested in doing either competitively though. Although I kind of have arbitrary goals like some distance targets etc.
I only ride mountain bikes as I find the idea of road riding worse than pulling teeth! If cycling was a fitness thing for that would change my running/riding relationship

. I know this isn’t flavour of the month often being dismissed as junk miles

Its only really the old skoolers that come out with that, there's lots of folks going for the long n low approach now, but then that wouldn't be easy to incorporate cycling into as well, as you end up being out for a while longer.

Those of you that said running helped with cycling fitness, what kind of distance are you running? At the moment my goal is to do 2 to 3 runs a week and slowly increase the distance.

Aiming to do 3 runs a week (2 short, 1 long) and 2 or 3 rides depending on time.

I'm currently reading The Mid Life Cyclist by Phil Cavell. His conclusion (or my approximation of it) is that as cyclist we should run, as cycling removes the impact and resulting bone / tissue growth needed to maintain our skeletal strength. This is more important after age 30 and again after age 50 as natural age-based degeneration takes hold.

He does state that for a competitive mid life cyclist this should only be 2 x short 5km runs off road per week to remove the harsh impact of concrete and to promote growth of the knee and hip support structure by using unstable ground.

Long steady distance definitely isn't junk miles!

There's lots of ways to run and ride productively (in the sense of building and maintaining fitness) depending on what specific goals you have. Most of my running is long steady distance, I'm aiming at a marathon next spring. That's mostly about running as efficiently as possible at a fairly high aerobic level.

Those of you that said running helped with cycling fitness, what kind of distance are you running? At the moment my goal is to do 2 to 3 runs a week and slowly increase the distance.

Last year excluded, as I had bugger all to train for, usually 20-25 miles a week.

If I read your opening post correctly, we're not talking racing here, as Kryton is, we're talking fun biking?.

I don't generally go with the negative view of running on tarmac either tbh.

we’re not talking racing here, as Kryton is

I wasn't pointing out its specificity to racing, more that its been highlighted by professional research that running - mixed with cycling - is more than an aerobic advantage for anybody over 30 and certainly at 50 as it has other health benefits.

I do 'training' on the bike but do 2-3 runs each week as well. I do the running just to get moving for half an hour and don't think at all about the numbers while I'm doing it. I think balancing performance in both would be a challenge that I'm not really up for and am happy to keep running as a pastime rather than a sport.

Those of you that said running helped with cycling fitness, what kind of distance are you running?

Per run or weekly? Per run, I'm usually doing 8's,10's or halves aiming for 35 to 40 miles per week. Occasionally I'll do a 5 or 6 miler as a recovery run the day after a particularly tough cycle ride or if I'm doing both in the same day - so probly a ~70 mile cycle + ~6 mile run.

It also depends on intensity (obv). I usually plod about at 7:30 to 8:00 min/mile running and 15 - 18 mph cycling - all on the road. Much more (ie faster) than that and I lose activity days to rest days which seems a bit pointless.

some people manage cycling , running and balancing all on the same day.

I used to mix cycling and running all the time. Don’t ride any more but when I did there were never any problems. I used to struggle more running the day after a long ride than vice-versa, but that’s about it.

Although they’re somewhat complementary you might find that when it comes to muscle tightness and flexibility, you actually get the worst of both worlds and end up very inflexible.

I do run occasionally, I should do it more frequently, especially now during winter.
But I'm only a two to three 5k runs a week kind of runner.

And I've stopped tracking/timing them, solo, non-competitive, comfortable pace around quieter local loops, very seldom two days in a row.
I still feel those kind of runs in my legs (probably poor technique/pacing), my main desire is to work different muscle groups in a time efficient way, but definitely avoid injuries.

The other thing to maybe consider for mixing up CV and different muscle group work is swimming? You don't have to be training for a Tri'. Running, swimming and cycling can be quite complimentary activities...

Edit: I do cheat occasionally and do my 5k on a treadmill in the Garage.

Definitely complimentary for climbing (both ways)

But I’m only a two to three 5k runs a week kind of runner.

Don't say 'I'm only a...' 🙂 It's hard work to get to this stage and there's plenty* of people who don't even bother!

* I want to say for every person that does do this, there's a thousand that don't even start. No idea how accurate that is.

Interesting about treadmills being considered a 'cheat'. I use one sometimes and don't find it cheating just different. It's harder than outside in that you're at a constant pace without the micro rests that you might make by slightly varying pace. It's easier in there's no wind (parrrrp!) and you're not carrying your self weight in the same way.

I’m currently reading The Mid Life Cyclist by Phil Cavell. His conclusion (or my approximation of it) is that as cyclist we should run, as cycling removes the impact and resulting bone / tissue growth needed to maintain our skeletal strength. This is more important after age 30 and again after age 50 as natural age-based degeneration takes hold.

You can just lift weights instead of running, as long as you load your frame with compound exercises eg squat / deadlift, that will maintain bone density. Also helps maintain better overall muscle composition, cycling is very leg specific.

NB Got the same book for xmas but not started it yet.

boblo

Interesting about treadmills being considered a ‘cheat’. I use one sometimes and don’t find it cheating just different

I always used to run on a treadmill with at least a 1% gradient; normally perhaps set it at 2%. It feels a lot more like 'proper running' to me with the extra effort required.

I have tried to re-introduce a bit of running into my weekly routine, but have to keep the pace slow. I find my cardio will allow a faster pace than my legs cope with & I get very stiff muscles & injure quite easily.
I think it's just a question of building up to it quite gradually, but running at a pace that suits my legs better can get quite boring.

Interesting about treadmills being considered a ‘cheat’.

It's one of those things, I talk to proper runners and they're often quite down on treadmills, they seem to dislike the controlled pace and generally don't feel they can kick properly so their gait is all wrong, etc.

For me it's a lot like a turbo trainer, not as engaging and you just plod away at a set pace, but if the weather is gopping and you know you need to do some physical activity it's better than sitting on the sofa and doing nowt, I'll normally stick some headphone on and it's OK.