Adding bike commutes vs treadmill hike for ultra training (Read 94 times)

Hi,

I am thinking of adding cross training to my program leading up to my first 100k. I am currently running ~45-50mpw and this is the highest consistent mileage/week of running for me (im in third year of running).

My typical structure currently:

Mon - rest

Tues - Fartlek (strides, 800s, etc) total ~9miles (w/ warm up/cool down)

Wed - Easy ~6miles

Thurs - Tempo repeats total ~9-10miles (w/ warm up/cool down)

Friday - rest

Sat - long run on trails

Sun - mid distance easy run on trails

I am thinking of adding bike commutes of 30mins each way (total 1hr per day) to Tues & Thurs, as in making hard day hard, easy day really easy. Would the bike commute be beneficial for me or they are just making my body tired for no actual fitness gain? I mean, they are kinda short and broken into two, I am not sure if they would help my training.

Another alternative that I have tried in the past is that I would power hike on treadmill at 12% grade for 45mins at easy HR on Tues & Thurs evening. I feel like this is more specific to my 100k, but this is another slot of time I have to carve out my day. The bike commute is kinda invincible as driving to/fro work takes about the same time (traffic - actually driving takes longer on way back).

I would appreciate your thoughts on these.

Ps: both options above would give me about the same amount of training stress score (TSS - trainingpeaks).

Thanks flatfooter, that is a great suggestion. I have been doing more speedwork during first phase, now shifting more towards getting more vert as in getting more specific closer to race. Your suggestion is spot on; I will incorporate that.

@rlopez, that's what i suspected as well, those 30mins bike sessions did seem to make me more tired and disrupting next two days. Compared to powerhiking, i quite like it as it does seem more appropriate for ultras.

I am doing Cuyamaca 100k, with 8800' gain. At 5000-6500 elevation.

 

When you ask will it make your body tired, there's 2 things to consider. Firstly what age are you because if you're older (I'm late 40's) you need to be a little more aware if you push in too much activity as it catches up to you (eventually) so you don't notice it. Secondly, I'm a big fan of mixing it up and while I run nearly every day I ride and swim most other days, or as a separate activity of it's own.

Also a good point. Im reaching mid-30s and very new to endurance sport in general. I have heard many competitive masters say the same thing. I may switch the run on Sundays to long rides. I will for sure include more cycling and reduce running volume post race.

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