easy pace (Read 1291 times)

I'm thinking of adding more cycling and cutting back running a little in August.  What I would do is take one of my easy days and switch it to a bike ride.  Hmmmm...should I do it?  I do have xc starting first day back in September.

MTA:  just figured out a plan to do it.  i'm getting excited now, especially seeing as I have been in a little bit of a rut lately

 

Yeah but a lot of the stuff you're talking about here isn't cross training, it's just stuff you like to do. 

 

I've no idea how to unicycle but my HS CC coach and assistant coaches would always try and try to get me to stop skateboarding. Presumably they were mainly concerned about injury but skating 8 hours a day all summer was kinda healthy. In fact, each run on the half pipe would either end with a bail or end when we couldn't take any more lactic acid buildup. But, to be honest, my skating pals weren't good runners. I also found wresting pretty good for running in HS. I'd go into track in fantastic shape but, to be honest, my wresting teammates weren't runners either. Come to think of it most of my cycling friends aren't that great at running either. Back to the drawing board. Still, it works for me.

 

Yeah but a lot of the stuff you're talking about here isn't cross training, it's just stuff you like to do.  You're not doing those things primarily to become a faster runner.

 

I think that's where the coaches are coming from.  I'm not sure I 100% agree that there's no value to cross training, but usually it's value is in problem solving or in allowing an injured or injury prone-runner to augment the running they are capable of doing.  So I get where they're coming from.

 

I think Mikey has a point and most others are viewing XT as something completely different.

 

I don't think the coaches were saying that the kids shouldn't go to the pool, or ride their bikes. I think they are saying that doing interval training, sprints and long endurance training rides on your bike will not be beneficial to the athletes primary sport of running. That time should have been spent in the primary sport. If you're an aspiring triathlete, then go for it. If you're a HS CC runner, then train for CC and do the other stuff for fun and don't focus training time and intensity on them.

Lately I have been considering adding core training to become a better runner.

I wasn't suggesting replacing any planned running mileage with other activities, just supplementing. It should also not interfere with the quality of the next run. Obvious stuff. This could be yoga, hiking, or using the bike for transportation (not hammering hill repeats). I recall in HS XC sometimes it felt like a season of attrition when too many runners suffered overuse and burnout so I'd say the goal would be to bring kids to the season fresh and prepared as possible so they can continually improve through the season. Each kid will have their own limit of what they can handle at this point in time so I hope they have good coaches ... especially if so many are hammering/racing easy runs.

In retrospect, Mikey, you could have countered my argument by pointing at my own log. Even though I was improving my running through the spring while cycling more than running I improved much more rapidly afterwards by swapping many of those cycling miles for running miles. So, although you can build fitness by cross training, no doubt, running is best for running.

Lately I have been considering adding core training to become a better runner.

I wasn't suggesting replacing any planned running mileage with other activities, just supplementing. It should also not interfere with the quality of the next run. Obvious stuff. This could be yoga, hiking, or using the bike for transportation (not hammering hill repeats). I recall in HS XC sometimes it felt like a season of attrition when too many runners suffered overuse and burnout so I'd say the goal would be to bring kids to the season fresh and prepared as possible so they can continually improve through the season. Each kid will have their own limit of what they can handle at this point in time so I hope they have good coaches ... especially if so many are hammering/racing easy runs.

In retrospect, Mikey, you could have countered my argument by pointing at my own log. Even though I was improving my running through the spring while cycling more than running I improved much more rapidly afterwards by swapping many of those cycling miles for running miles. So, although you can build fitness by cross training, no doubt, running is best for running.

 +1.  I know of a couple xc coaches who are avid cyclists, and I'm certain they would back up a kid trying to x-train with bike rides.  One of the coaches mostly cycles I believe, and he runs a 42-min 10k, which to me isn't bad.  (then again, I run a 50-min 10k)