KraneXL

That was intended as an encouragement. My knees are shot as well, but like my parents before me I refuse to just give up and lie down without a fight.

As you wish.

livedarklions

You were responding to a person who was explaining why they needed to switch to other forms of fitness training. She rides brevets. "No excuses" is not an encouragement, it's an admonition, and I have no idea why you would think that was appropriate..

I'm going to use myself as an example--as I said, I won't run because it's racked me up too badly before. I don't consider that to be "giving up and lying down" because I have used alternatives that give me some pretty damn good results. Trying to run might actually mess those up.

I lost 50 pounds and built up a huge amount of endurance putting in hours of time "running" with maximum resistance on elliptical machines. I went back to bicycling about 13 months ago after setting it aside for many years, and I intended only to take 15-20 mile rides as a supplement to gym workouts. Within a few weeks, I found myself riding solo centuries on a somewhat regular basis. This year, biking season started for me at the end of March, and I have ridden just about 3950 miles so far. I'm 57, and probably in the best shape of my life. So how is it "giving up" if I don't try to find a rubber track?

KraneXL

Correction: You took it as an admonition. Even after I already said it was an encouragement and gave you my personal story as to why. If my style of encouragement was too direct and came off as admonition then accept my apology. I already understood that from your initial response which is why I will let it go and move on.

GadgetGirlIL

@KraneXL - I didn't take it as an admonition but I also know my body and know what I've pushed myself through in the past which often ended up making matters worse. There are no magic shoes nor running surfaces that will fix the "knee derangement" that I have (term used by the radiologist who read my x-ray). After suffering for over 2 months with sleep disturbances from the knee pain I've been having, I'm not willing to go back to running even though I'm getting through most nights these days without pain.

Biking was my first love as a kid. At this stage of my life I now have more time and motivation to pursue long distance cycling. I'm making new friends and just did a weekend cycling event where one of my randonneuring friends and I did 105+ mile very hilly bike rides both on Saturday and Sunday. It earned us some cool bling as well as a personal best for me in terms of miles ridden in a weekend. It was way more fun than any running event ever was. The body part that is bothering me the most today is the back of my hand were the stupid flies bit me through my cycling glove on 6 separate occasions.

My goal for 2019 is to complete a 300K event.

ButchA

Here's an update to theme I originally started about "Running vs Bicycle riding"...

About two weekends ago, my wife and I were discussing exercising and getting back into shape, since we're both in our mid/late 50's, etc.. She walks, I run, and I ride my classic '85 Fuji. That's about it. One thing led to another, and I decided to check out the local Craigslist here in town, and stumbled on such a steal, I couldn't believe it...

"Lightly used Horizon T500 treadmill --- Still in excellent condition. Wife wants it gone and out of the den. $100 takes it."

I also saw that the ad was just posted earlier that morning, so I quickly jumped on it and contacted the guy. I asked right away, "What's wrong with it?" The guy was straight up and honest, and said that they bought it a number of years ago (2008 model), and then it just sat around and (as he joked) it was turning into a coat rack... Anyway, I got his name, cell phone, and address, and told my wife about it. She agreed with my gut feeling and basically said, "Let's grab this before someone else does!". But very quickly, we double checked eBay, other Craigslist ads, and googled the Horizon model of that treadmill. $100 was an absolute steal from what we saw! So we quickly cleaned out the back of the SUV, popped down the rear seats, etc... and drove down to the guy and his wife's house. They both showed us some of the features, let us each try it out, etc... and long story short - we bought it right then and there. Man, treadmills are HEAVY, not to mention bulky! It took me, the guy, and my wife, to carry out the (now folded up) treadmill, and miraculously, wedge it into the back of our SUV.

I had to get my nextdoor neighbor to come over and help me carry the thing into my house, and we set it up into the spare bedroom for now. We downloaded the .pdf file owners manual, registered the treadmill with Horizon (as 2nd owners), etc... and got it all cleaned up, wiped off, and all setup for ourselves. My wife walks on it, and I do a combination of a walk/run/incline type of preset program that's featured on it. Very cool... All we need to do is buy one of those heavy duty rubber floor mats to go underneath it. On a bare wooden floor, if you crank up the treadmill and go balls to the wall, running on it, it will start to shimmy backwards on you. Oops...

These things are handy in the wintertime and/or if it's nasty and raining outside! Anyone else have a treadmill? (Edit: Sorry for the photo quality - my phone took a grainy picture for some reason...)

wphamilton

I read it that way at first, but looking at it now I think he's saying that the 100 miles was easier than a marathon, and to be equal to a marathon would take a 12 hour ride - which would be something more than 100 miles.

starkmojo

Biking- what I do for fun.
Running- how I get away from bears chasing me.

When I go where bears are, I carry. So no more running!

jrbz

A bear can outrun a race horse, you must have been a REALLY fast runner.

jrbz

"Stefan made it off the top and we debriefed.. he said he couldn’t get over everyone having ear to ear grins in the heat and after the punishing first half up Lyon..

phtomita

Someone here has the Elliptigo bike? Opinions if you have

starkmojo

Run down hill.

On the flip side most bears cannot outrun a .410 slug either.

KraneXL

A bear can out run, out climb, and out swim you. Stand your ground or have a secure place you can get to before he does.

SylvainG

Run with someone slower than you, problem solved

KraneXL

There's a video of this. A vicious dog got out of the yard after two boys. The boy with the fastest reflex ran away first and the dog went straight for the slower boy. The kid was mauled pretty bad.

mojojojo

I love trail running. Cycling and swimming keep me from running injuries.

ddub

Pretty much this ^^^ with the exception of trails running. I don't like to get dirty but I still love to run.

Tape2012

Trail running is awesome. I used to run 5k thru marathons. It was fun, but then tried running with a friend on a state park trail. We didn't push hard and just focused on enjoying the day and scenery and it was eye opening. It was still a workout because on rough trails you are always adjusting your stride, cadence and focusing on avoiding rocks, roots, etc. Definitely not mile after mile of the same thing.

I can do 50mi on a trail and feel much better at the end than a 1/2 marathon on concrete.

On the bike it's almost the same. I much more enjoy 100 mi on a nice scenic road than trying to get a KOM on Strava.

Tape2012

What exactly was the point of your lovely story?

NYCJohn170

Some real gold upthread. Bone density, shoe life expectancy, Treadmills, trail running etc.

I've been cycling since my paper route days but took up running just after I turned 60. Though I ran some when I got drafted into the Army. When I got out, I was glad I didn't have to run anymore. But at 60, I needed a changeup. It proved to be much more than I had in mind, I started racing and while I don't do very well, I really like it. So running became more than simply training for mountaineering and stuff, it became a whole new world of its own. I did the marathon here in nyc twice and that was about the best thing you can do in nyc. Nothing beats that.

I still cycle occasionally, but I've gotten my bikes out of storage and quickly found that running doesn't really train for long rides. There's the aerobic of course but after my first long ride in April (after about a year break) my shoulders hurt and I was pretty beat up. Got it back somewhat for my annual Euro bike trip.

Next year, I want to do MT Ventoux. Don't know if it's possible for me, but it will be like my two marathons with the training. The adventure is the journey not necessarily the destination.

Flip Flop Rider

​​​​​​​same, minus the Birkenstocks

BigWoolie

I dont run, my left knee and the two metal plates fusing my cervical spine always seem to get together and lodge a formal complaint when I try. But I do mix up the biking with hiking mountain trails at a hard pace. It's the impact of running that messes me up. I find that hiking the steep trails in a manner that is not in any way leisurely, especially going uphill, gives me some of the same benefits of a run, but doesn't put me in traction for the next 3 days.

canyoneagle

I've been running and cycling since the late 70's.
I stopped running at some point in my younger 40's due to concerns with wear and tear, spawned by knee/hip/lower back pain.
I was a classic "heel strike" runner and would always get the cushiest shoes (Nike Air Max, etc) in an attempt to offset impact.

Since then, I've resumed running, but minimalist style. I run in Vibram 5-finger shoes (would go completely barefoot on the right surface), primarily on hiking trails, and it has been a breath of fresh air. There is an adjustment period to allow the soft tissues to re-orient, but once that has passed it is a completely different experience from what I have seen.
Yes, the "born to run" book was the catalyst for my shift, as many may have guessed. It works for me.
With this style of running (mid-foot strike vs heel strike, different posture) the soft tissues take the impact vs bone structure, so the calves are the primary load taker, along with the associated tendons, etc, so the key is gradual transition to avoid injury. Guaranteed the first barefoot./minimalist run will leave one's calves very sore for a few days, but once the body adjusts I've found a renewed blissful experience with running. The principal is that we humans are biomechanically "designed" to run (subsistence hunting, etc) as we are (no shoes needed). Instead of "correcting" or eliminating the body's natural movements when running (pronation, arch contraction, etc), the body is allowed to do what occurs naturally. Many have found that injuries are less likely/common with this style of running than with the 1960's and later ubershoes that we have somehow convinced ourselves are superior to our natural biomechanics.
Just look at elite runners - they essentially run with a mid-foot strike, and wear very thin-soled shoes. Same idea.
Anyway, I've found that it works for me, and have enjoyed the new adventure in running more naturally.

I also ride a bicycle, which I quite enjoy. Road biking has its own set of stresses on the body (neck/shoulder strain, primarily), though more upright (think English/Dutch town bikes) riding is probably the easiest on the body.