Originally Posted by
work4bike
Speaking of "cardio activity", I heard a famous running coach, David Roche (and avid cyclist, who is also the record holder in the Leadville 100) say of running -- running is a Power Sport. He's absolutely correct.
If you're familiar with the Stryd running sensor, it is used to estimate running power, very much like power meters on bikes. There's a reasonably loose connection between running speed and running power: the rule of thumb is that to run X meters/second on
firm flat ground takes about X watts/kg. There's obviously variation across individuals because some runners are more economical in their running than others but it's a useful rule of thumb to put things into rough aerobic equivalence.
To put that rule of thumb in context, it would say that a world-class marathoner needs to put out something just under 6 watts/kg for two full hours. People who both run and ride say that running a 10K in 42 minutes is roughly about as hard as doing a 40K TT in an hour: the rule of thumb says that a 42 minute 10K run would require around 4 watts/kg.
So that's the aerobic part. There are obviously other differences between the sports, but as a ballpark rule of thumb, X meters/sec = X watts/kg ain't bad. That Dan Lloyd is a better runner than the other GCN presenters shows that the rule of thumb is just a rule of thumb, not an exact equivalence.