Monday, April 19, 2010

Running vs. Biking

The big advantage to running is that it is much simpler. In the summer, when I run on the beach, all I need is a bathing suit. Off the beach, it isn't much more than that (add shoes, socks, and a shirt).

Biking is fun. It's great that you can cover more distance, but there is so much equipment/clothing, logistics, etc. Here in Charlottesville, most people that do a lot of biking have to drive to a place where it is "safe" to bike. And I quote safe because the safety of biking on country roads is debatabl

Yesterday I road 33 miles on fairly hilly roads. My chain fell off three times as a result of things being slightly out of whack from my recent incident. This was a bit frustrating since I had brought the bike into the shop after the incident. After the ride yesterday I headed directly back to the shop.

Saturday I was on the track and working towards my half-mile time trial.

I am looking forward to the time when a 33 mile ride in the hills doesn't leave my quads sore.

2 comments:

Sub 5 at 50 miler said...

Several years ago (probably 10), when running on Bill McMullen's masters "Blade Runners" cross country team, there was a guy on the team who trained almost strictly by biking. He was a high mileage biker, and I think only ran one cross meet that year, which was the final meet of the season. (whaaaat season, my wife would ask). Anyway, I remember meeting him before the race, and he said he ran just one time I think the day or two before the race. Other than that, he did a ton of biking. He beat me.

The lesson here is that if you can get good workouts in by biking, then I think with just some minimal running, you can perform quite well. This guy may really rode a lot of mileage, if I remember. I think one of the trick is riding in gears that get your heart rate up comparable to running.

Of course, it it also helps not to crash and land on your face.

Mark

Speedo said...

One advantage of biking vs. running is that (as long as you don't crash) you don't get beaten up quite so much.

It is less efficient time wise though. There is a lot of stuff to be done, and it is so efficient that you have to do more of it for the same level of fitness workout.

Speedo