Biking & Running

Interesting thread...

I can feel the benefits of swimming on biking and running, mostly in the way I breathe and pace my breathing, and that it's an all-body workout. Also great for recovery, mentally and physically.

I think running benefits my cycling by extending my aerobic fitness, but there's still a lot of muscle-specific stuff that requires cycling-specific training (hills, riding aero). Running is harder on my body, but it's the thing I have the hardest time with, so I have trouble shorting myself miles.

Cycling benefits running definitely as a recovery exercise, and it's sometimes easier to control my heart rate cycling than running so I can get specific zones of activity (especially lower zones - the gap between a light jog and walk you can hit easily on a bike, good for recovery; or high intensity but not maximum intensity zones).

Makes me tired just thinking about it. ;)

Very interesting discussion! I have been riding for several years now but only just started running again recently. I love to run but as many of you have said, it's hard on my body and I get injured easily. That said, I wanted to start running again to cross train. So, I started very slowly building up my mileage and only after almost 3 months am I up to 3 miles- and I only run 2x a week. However as I started running longer Ive noticed that, when I ride, I can maintain a higher heart rate (160ish) for a very long time but when I have my HR up around 160 when I'm running, I feel like I'm going to die - what's up with that???

I've noticed the same thing, Avocet. Though I feel a lot less like I'm going to die if I'm sustaining that heart-rate while running with other people. I know for me a lot of it is mental. I refuse to get off the bike and walk, so sustaining a harder effort seems easier. On the other hand, if I'm running and feel like I'm dying, it's like my body is begging me to walk for a second so my lungs and heart can catch up.

Are you breathing efficiently? Breathing while running is completely different from cycling.

I like to breathe in three steps/out two at a sustained hard pace like the early part of a race or mile repeats; in three/out three or slower at long run pace; in two/out two for sprints and steep hills. YMMV, but it was gratifying to read the recommendation for 3/2 in the Chi Running book.

Try inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth. There are a lot of reasons to do that, but one of them is that nasal passages release nitric oxide which, if you inhale it, helps bring more oxygen to your muscles. If you have narrow nasal passages and/or allergies, try a nasal strip - they really help me. It takes some practice if you're used to inhaling through your mouth, but it's another way to help breathe more efficiently.

wow oakleaf -I honestly don't know if I breath through my mouth or nose when I run- tomorrow I'm running so I'll pay attention to both when and how I breath. How is breathing different when cycling?
avocet