For those of use with bad knees, ankles or anything else attached to our legs, cycling provides an incredible way to exercise that is low impact so we can actually walk (most times!) the next day after a long ride. Running for exercise…for many of us…equals great aerobic exercise, but comes at the expense of some extreme pain the following days. The fact is…running can improve your endurance and strengthen up muscle groups that we don’t typically use in cycling. Running is actually one of the better cross training techniques that can make us better mountain bikers and overall cyclists. How can we put running into our regiment but still be able to endure the days following?
To get an answer to this question, I hit up a friend of mine that owns the runtowin.com.
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My main reason for cycling as a way to stay in shape (outside of doing it because I love it) is because my knees have an incredibly hard time with running. Ideally, I would like to strengthen up for cycling by getting in some run time as well, but if I can’t walk the next day because of knee issues and shin splints…it doesn’t do much good. Any ideas on how to curb that?
Blaine Moore from Run To Win
There’s 2 suggestions I can make.
1. Go to a specialty running shop that can actually fit you into the right shoes.
2. Don’t be afraid to go slow and try throwing some short 10-30 second walk breaks in every few minutes at first and see how that feels.Having somebody fit you into the right shoes is probably the most important thing. I need to have fairly neutral and minimalistic shoes or my knees will ache; too much cushioning and I have trouble walking for a few days. Some of the folks I coach are just the opposite. Hope that’s helpful.
What Blaine explains about shoes makes perfect sense. After I read his response, I realized that if I took as much time picking out running shoes as I did frames and components, I would get rid of most of my running pain. In the past, when I go to pick up a pair of running shoes, I pick out a pair from a brand I like or a style that fits my needs…forgetting that fit is the most important factor in a pair of shoes that are going to be used for a specific activity. I take a lot of time picking out my mountain biking shoes…so it is time to take that same care and research into a correct pair of running shoes.
After that…I need to start with small runs and work my way up. I was talking to a friend about this yesterday and we came to a very real conclusion. As serious cyclists, we have built up an endurance that can handle several miles worth of running out of the gate. What we haven’t built up yet…is the strength in the correct muscle groups and bones to handle that kind of distance. We need to start at ground zero and work our way up…being patient as our running stamina catches up with our endurance.
My goal is to live a happier and healthier life by doing what I love. The more diversification I bring to my physical health, the healthier I will be in the long run and the result will be better riding on the road and trail.