trekkie820

I have a race coming up, a singlespeed mountain bike race. I have a problem. I do not have a bike to ride roads, and the closest trails are 90 miles away. So, I have been running about 3 miles a day to compensate. Will this be enough to ride the race?

Az B

See the nearby thread about gym training. Same thing applies.

Az

trekkie820

Edit: That is talking about weight lifting, an anaerobic activity. I am talking about running, an areobic activity.

Az B

Same principle. Running is not riding. While running will help your cardio, it won't make you much faster on a bike, if at all. (Depends on your current cardio ability)

A little cross training is a great thing for a balanced athletic body. But if you want to train for riding, you need to ride.

Az

kuan

I would just use the bike on roads real hard. Do sprints and intervals for as long as the duration of the race. You afraid of wearing down your tires? Do the three mile runs for your recovery really slow, not more than 65% HR or around shuffle pace if you're not a runner... somewhere around 11-12 minute miles.

rmwun54

Different muscles when running, than cycling, so best off riding around the blocks 50 times doing intervals. On a bike leg muscles are pushing and pulling in a dynamic fashion, that which running does not do in terms of muscular performance.

trekkie820

Hell with it. I don't have the time to rack up serious saddle miles. I am just going to work on endurance running (3 miles+) in hopes of maintaining my current shape.

jrennie

how long is the race? 3 miles is not endurance running, more of a sprint(20-25 min.) I dont think that would prepair you for a long mtn. bike race, also it is very different muscle groups used.

trekkie820

Ah well. The race is informal, and it is over 17.5 miles. I can do the course hungover in just under 2 hours. I just want to race for fun, there are no prizes.

watchman

Run helps biking more than biking helps running I have found. That said, only running 3 miles at a time isn't going to help much. I have found that running very steep hills is good training for cycling since it uses mainly your quadracepts and to a small degree replicates cycling motions, but that is only on very steep terrain. If you can find some moderate hills, you may want to look into doing some long interval repeats, at the very least it will help your body increase its ability to deal with lactic acid buildup, I'm guessing a single speed race would produce alot of lactic acid.

fastequalsfun

Hey trekkie820.

My advice to you (from someone who races both running and cycling) is to build up to more than 3 miles per day. Running is great for cardio, because unlike being on the bike, there's no way to rest. Even on downhills, there's no way to "coast" while you run. So for maximum cardio benefit, try running a little bit longer each week to build up that high-intensity cardio, over a longer period of time.

Also, running tends to have a slower leg cadence with a lower range of motion than cycling. To compensate, try throwing in a little interval training. It doesn't take much, maybe one day a week of sprinting for 100 yards, then jogging for 300 yards, 4 or 5 times. Concentrate on developing fast leg turnover.

Also, to keep your "biking" leg muscles strong, add a day a week of hilly terrain. This forces you to use more quads, less hamstrings, thereby strengthening more of the muscles you'd use for riding.

There's no substitute for saddle time, but if you plan your running workouts, you'll be fine.

psurrena

Hindu squats and hindu pushups are great!

DRLski

I heard the more running done the slower you are on the bike, read this from a triathlon book or something.

DannoXYZ 

This is because running only uses about 1/3rd of the muscles used during biking. And you do stress the muscles that are used more than you would during biking. So some biking muscles gets stronger while others get no training. So with running, you may be training the cardiovascular system, but you're sacrificing development of the muscular system. Depending upon the distance of his MTB race, he may need to do endurance workout as well, and it's really difficult to burn off 3000 calories by running...

I actually think running sprints is great training for biking-sprints. But it's in addition to the 1 day/week of bike-sprints, not a substitute for it.

operator

I'd run anwyays.
There have been stuides that show that cylists lose more bone mass than couch potatoes. High impact exercise is good for you.
Now whether or not these studies are actually ture is another thing but, running is aerobic exercise so it's good.

popluhv

At what point will running cause me to lose muscle tissue?

jjsinglespeed

Well you have to throw a lot of advise out the window when it comes to single speed riding.
Back in my racing days I would often park my bike on the trail and run sprints up steep hills.Look at how much standing you do on a S/S.. I highly reccomend trail running,intervals and high rep deadlifts
Good Luck--JJ

Phatman

running is better than nothing, but not better than cycling to improve cycling performance.

SandySwimmer

Running is one of the most efficient ways to lose weight in a short time. If you happen to have extra storage, lsoing it through running and diet will make you faster on the bike . . . at least on the uphills. But it seems the only way to train for a sport is to do the actual sport.

StanSeven

As others have said, running doesn't provide the same type of training. But if you can't ride, I would find hills and do hillwork. Running on trails is the best. Mix it up doing things like 100-200 yard up-hill sprints and jog back down. If you have a long hill, try starting out slow and gradually pick up your pace.

I would also try some fast downhill running. It takes practice but go fast, don't try and "brake" by leaning back and let your heels hit first but lean forward so your back is perpendicular to the ground and "throw" yourself down the hill.

What you should try to do is simulate as much as you can on the bike ride.

popluhv

Aerobics is my weak point. I am just wondering if running will be counter productive, there are some posts about muscle tissue being used up for energy in longer races. i know I could go to a gym and spin, but i'd prefer to be lifting during my time at the gym. Spining is just so boring, and still not quite as aerobic as running. I will use the advise to run up hills though.

Doctor Who

I've been running to keep myself sane and fit while the days are shorter and the weather crappier. Certainly, I could get on the turbo, but it's so mind-numbing, that I find myself avoiding it like the plague. I have noticed that with an intensive running regimen, I am at a lower weight than I was during the height of the cycling racing season.

Funny.

I got out and did hill repeats on the bike a few days ago because the temperature finally decided to get out of the 20s. I definitely felt like I had lost a little cycling fitness since I stopped riding/training for the CX season. I was riding my Redline with the CX tires on, on the road, so I think that had something to do with my perceived slowness, but it could also be due to the fact that I'm down to 5 hours a week on the bike, as opposed to the 15-20 I was doing when the weather was nicer.

But to get to the point of this post - you're gonna have to ride your bike to maintain cycling fitness and see improvement ON the bike. Run if need be to stay in shape, but ride if you want to be a better rider.

Mo'Phat

Doing ANYTHING for an extended period of time can only help. If nothing more than to stretch your muscles and loosen the joints. A 3 mile run is just fine, but if you're doing it in 45 minutes, you might as well just walk. Get yourself down to a 24-26 minute pace (8 - 8:30 min miles) and you are actually getting a fairly strong (if short) cardio and anerobic workout. If your runs have to be short due to lack of time, make sure you run hills, mix in some sprints, and focus on form. I'd really try to push for a solid hour of running (7-8 miles). Really work on your breathing/lung capacity and use the opportunity to push your body to recognize your limits.

akarius

I found that jogging has helped me on my bike immensely. Running taught me to breathe properly and made it so I can push harder and longer while on the bike.