I am currently in the middle of the build phase of a masters Gran Fondo plan. The plan have me working out four days per week (Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat) with the hard days Monday and Friday. After I started using the Swift integration I add in recovery rides on Tuesday and Thursday. I feel I can handle the load just fine. I have been using TR since April 2024.
A typical week look like this, I have added the recovery rides manually:
Mon: Vo2
Tue: Recovery Ride
Wed: Z2
Thu: Recovery Ride
Fri: Threshold
Sat: Z2
Sun: Nothing
I want to start running. I have passed 50 and some load bearing exercise is really starting to be required now, and running is much easier to do when away. I have no experience with running and I’m thinking of starting a “Couch to 5K” plan on Runna. (2 days per week, Walk-Run, the cycling is still the focus)
Now for the question: Can I replace the recovery rides with runs? Should I add runs to two of my cycling workout days instead? Run just once a week? Or should I simply just wait until the plan and events I’m targeting has finished and then start the running?
oh, that’s a very good topic. I am also planning to start the C25k plan alongside my current Climbing Plan in TR. Per Plan there are 4 rides per week and the C25k plan requires 3 runs per week. Will be interesting to merge both and avoid overtraining and or injury.
I have done quite allot of running and bike racing in the past, but my focus is now on enjoying being fit and having a good time, doing both sports non-competitively into my 50’s for very similar reasons as Odd-Arne_Johansen. I have started a masters plan with intensity days twice a week and am experimenting with endurance pace runs on the days after each intensity day, essentially swapping the Z2 rides; so far all seems ok. I use the TR running TSS estimate to try and keep consistent, and this seems to be the key.
I’d be interested to hear other people’s experiences of trying to mix cycling and running for reasons other than being a triathlete or duathlete.
I’m also adding running into my TR training plan. I’m 69 and was a county level athlete years ago but stopped racing after too many silly injuries and knee surgeries.
Occasionally in the last 15 years I’ve gone out for a run and realised how much I enjoy it, and how important it is for bone health.
I’m planning to do a bit of low key racing, xc and the masters track league, but I’m so much slower than I used to be.
I think it’s possible to integrate running into a cycling training schedule.
But there is a danger in becoming fatigued or injured if you try and keep the volume and intensity of the cycling the same. My problems came when I started adding a z5 track session each week, which left me too tired to do anything more than a recovery ride the day after.
Some of this is due to age. But for Odd-Arne he seems to be coping at present.
The thing that concerns me for a new runner is that they have not built the resilience for running ,so ideally they should be fresh (not fatigued) when they do their runs. The C25k plan ramps up quite quickly, maybe too quickly if you are also training on the bike.
Adding in some strength training will help avoid injury.
Good luck with your training and enjoy the running.
I will be interested to hear how it goes
The injury part is what worries me. I have recently heard cyclists described as having big engines but weak chassis.
As I have no ego connected to running my current thinking is to do the C25K plan runs the same day as my endurance cycling days, but do every run twice. I will use twice as long to progress through the plan, but give myself time to adapt to running.
I don’t know can handle the fatigue/training stress yet, but will make adjustments as needed. Maybe I even start with running once a week for a few weeks first and see how it goes.
For someone in build phase of a cycling plan, the cardio demands of C25K run/walk are pretty low - the real challenge is the time it takes for the legs to adjust to the impact of running.
My suggestion would be to sub the C25K in for the recovery rides - just make sure you keep the running pace LOW to keep the fatigue levels down.
Hear hear! It took me literally YEARS of injuries to finally accept this and stop thinking that just because I ride a lot, I’m ready to dive headfirst into something new. Take it slow. Better to underperform but be able to continue to train than to end up injured and unable to run or ride at all. Your body will thank you in both the short and long term.
So I’ve started adding some running into my bike training recently since I have some future aspiration to do some Triathlons. I’m currently training for bike racing only though. so what I’ve done is just 1-2 times a week when it makes sense in my training (so not before a hard ride/race) I just go out and do 20-35 minutes of run walk. Super easy.
Like I ran a 5k the other year with basically zero training at about a 7min/mile pace and for the run part of these I’m trying to keep my pace above 9:30. Now that I’ve been doing it for a couple months I don’t sweat about getting closer to 9min/mi but still keeping it easy.
At the beginning I was doing 3 minutes running and 1-2 minutes walking. Now I’m doing like 5-6 minutes running and 1 minute walking.
Since I don’t have a specific race goal or something that I need to do a specific distance by a specific date I haven’t been progressing much at all. But it sounds like you’re in a similar situation you can probably ramp up super super slow just to be safe.
I’ve personally gone down the running path as a long-time cyclist, and it didn’t come without a few hiccups (most notably my first run as an adult where I ran nearly 5 miles and couldn’t keep my HR down below 170 bpm. I could barely walk for a week afterward. )
I do think that running is a fantastic form of exercise and is so pure that once you’re able to do it consistently, it’s really rewarding and enjoyable.
Looking back I’d say:
It’s really important to do less than you think you should for the first few months. You’ll rarely run into pain or issues until it’s too late.
Don’t run multiple days in a row – always give at least one rest day between runs.
When you feel something that doesn’t feel 100% right, do some research as to how to stretch/strengthen that area properly.
Strength training in general can make a massive difference in your durability as a runner.
Regarding adding running to a cycling plan, I started by running on my hard days instead of easy ones because even though aerobically those runs weren’t super hard, they were really hard on my musculoskeletal system.
I’d recommend running in place of hard workouts for the first few weeks and then either starting to add a bit of cycling after your runs on the same day or moving your runs to easy days if you feel that you can recover in time and handle the extra stress.
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