Cycling and Cross Training

Didn’t own a pair of running shoes, had never run so much as a 5K and went out on my bike most Sundays.

Even managed to bag a couple of Alpine cols over the years! Then I caught the running bug and cycling definitely began to play second fiddle. Apart from anything else, running seemed much quicker and easier to fit into my working day. I could probably count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I went out on my road bike last year, to the point where my cycling-mad husband threatened to put it on Ebay! My cycling was reduced to popping into town on my mountain bike.

It was only when I began to train for the Manchester Marathon earlier this year that I began to realise how cycling could actually complement my running. The training plan I chose, the Women’s Running Beginner’s Plan, included some aerobic cross-training, so cycling fitted into it really well. Instead of a Monday recovery run after Sunday’s long run I’d go on a 30 minute bike ride; then mid-week there was a longer cycling session, into which I tried to work a few small hills.

It’s easy to think that when you’re training for a marathon that all you should do is just run as many miles as you possibly can. Obviously running is very important! But in fact your heart and lungs can’t tell the difference between running, cycling, swimming or any other aerobic activity, so it all builds extra fitness – and without the impact on your joints of pounding the pavements. What it won’t do, however, is get you used to being on your feet for a long time, so you can’t substitute all running with cross-training!

The training schedule I’ve chosen for the York Marathon is the Women’s Running Improver Plan. It includes some much cross-training, but I’ve also decided to continue to substitute cycling for all the recovery runs as that seemed to work really well last time. The way I see it, recovery runs are about getting your muscles moving gently to aid repair, and cycling can do that just as well as running.

Since the Manchester Marathon at the end of April I’ve been doing less running and more cycling in preparation for the holiday in France I’ve just been on, where cycling through the lovely scenery of Provence was the order of the day.

I’m hoping the hilly terrain will have acted kind of like interval training for my heart and lungs… but now the bike must take a back seat again as I need to get my legs back into running mode before my 14-week Yorkshire Marathon training programme starts on 15th July. Can’t wait!

I’d love to know what others think about cross-training. Do you do it?

You can read more from Angela on health, nutrition and running at www.lovelivingwell.co.uk

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