Bike Mileage vs. Run Mileage
It took me a while, but one of the things I've learned is that there is an impact on running performance based just on running more. (Or so I've read)
Is that the same for biking? I know that you have to ride fast to get fast but is there is similar impact on overall performance just by biking more?
Last year, I focused on short course racing and biked about 1,800 miles. This year, I did 2 HIMs and will probably get to about 2,700 by the end of the year. I have done a lot more group rides, so although not necessarily doing EN intervals, certainly doing "work". I def enjoy biking more than any of the sports, so "riding for fun" exists for me, where I think I'd rarely go run "just for fun". Now that the tri bike is on the trainer, I don't have a power meter on my road bike so I don't know what I'm doing in terms of watts when I ride outside.
I think my question is, are there tangible benefits from just riding more, even if I'm not doing 2 x 8' @ Z4 or soemthign "formal"? Will random riding help maintain watts so I'm not starting JOS exactly where I started last year? Or am I better off doing "real" work to "hold on" until I start JOS? (I have been throwing in some Tabatas and Z5 intervals on the trainer, cuz that's fun for me. I know. I'm demented.
Is that the same for biking? I know that you have to ride fast to get fast but is there is similar impact on overall performance just by biking more?
Last year, I focused on short course racing and biked about 1,800 miles. This year, I did 2 HIMs and will probably get to about 2,700 by the end of the year. I have done a lot more group rides, so although not necessarily doing EN intervals, certainly doing "work". I def enjoy biking more than any of the sports, so "riding for fun" exists for me, where I think I'd rarely go run "just for fun". Now that the tri bike is on the trainer, I don't have a power meter on my road bike so I don't know what I'm doing in terms of watts when I ride outside.
I think my question is, are there tangible benefits from just riding more, even if I'm not doing 2 x 8' @ Z4 or soemthign "formal"? Will random riding help maintain watts so I'm not starting JOS exactly where I started last year? Or am I better off doing "real" work to "hold on" until I start JOS? (I have been throwing in some Tabatas and Z5 intervals on the trainer, cuz that's fun for me. I know. I'm demented.
0
Comments
I'd say there are definitely benefits to just riding more. But it's that whole ROI idea. Its going to take a lot more just ridding to get faster vs targeted Z4 or whatever intervals. The most efficient way to get faster would therefore be doing more EN structured workouts, but just riding will have benefits as well.
But at the end of the day, we do this for fun. So if you want to bike, bike!
I'm of the belief there is NO such thing as junk miles (lower ROI miles yes but junk NO).... My "theory" is going thru the simple motions of swimming,biking,and running even at low intensities will enhance/improve your efficiency/economy of those motions.... There are parts of your body like core , neck , tendons , joints , that maybe benefitting as well... So its not a waste of time (specially if its fun) but it may not be the best use of time..
So YES I think just riding more and riding randomly will help you maintain and even improve your bike fitness.... But don't kid yourself if you really wanna make sure you keep what you have, better maintain some of that intensity!
Edit: to add the general consensus is that yes just running will improve you running MORE than just biking will improve you biking... I do believe this to be true.
I have come to believe that for me, biking (as distinct from swimming and running) more is better, no matter what the speed or focus.
That's from my experience over the past 25 years. While I've never done a cycling race, I entered triathlon with a lot of biking in my recent background: MTB, cross country trip, annual multi-day tours, daily bike commuting, tandem riding for fun with my wife - everything except racing. Once I stopped doing a lot of that "extra" unfocused biking about 4 years ago, I've felt that my race day performance has suffered, a lot, compared to the age-related degradation in my run.
So this year, I am re-committing to more biking, beyond the hard interval workouts, and the race pace plus weekend efforts. Of course, as Rachel and TIm point out, it is all ROI. I have unlimited free time, so extra miles cost me little. I want to get back to where I was biking for fun, and the miles added up without much thought or effort. Add 1-2 interval days a week to that, and I'm hoping I'll see a reversal of the downward trend in my race times between T1 and T2. I'm going to try and "bike commute" to my swim workouts and my run workouts at the track. I'll get back to rides with my wife. Im hitting up the Tour of California for some multi-day action. And come summer, I intend to put in a lot of miles in the mountains as I prep for IM races. I may even resurrect the mountain bike.
My plans to ride this weekend, though, were derailed by the sudden shift in the weather here. Thursday: upper 50s; by Sat morning, snow on the ground and emus hovering at +/- 32F. I'd rather ski when its like that.
As everyone has posited, in general, more is better.
Think about this within the power framework (FTP, Vo2 max, etc applies equally to S, B and R).
Now, sitting around FTP not only pushes up your FTP, but also your Vo2 max (and other power metrics like 2 hour power, 3 hour power etc).
Likewise, sitting on Z3, not only pushes out your 2, 3 and maybe 4 hour power. But it also, to some extent, pushes up your VO2 max and FTP.
The thing is, as Rachel, Tim and Al point out, ROI is important to most peeps.
So, the most efficient way to push up your VO2 max, is to concentrate on VO2 max intervals — which will also to an extent also push up your FTP. Similarly, the most efficient way to push up your FTP is to do FTP intervals which will also improve your other power metrics to some extent.
So as Al observes, with unlimited time (and providing it doesn't negatively impact on your mojo etc), more bike riding is better — assuming you are also doing enough intensity.
As I mentioned, this principle applies to all of S, B, and R, except that biking really doesn't have any technique/form issues because you are clipped into the optimal position. However, for swimming and running, that doesn't apply. So with these two sports, you need to be careful when adding volume that you don't get injured because of poor technique/form as a consequence of fatigue.
But like I said, for biking more is better at any intensity assuming you are doing an appropriate amount of VO2 max and FTP work.
This is the reason the pro sprinters often do more than 30, 000 kms a year on the bike.
Before you start biking a lot more I would ensure first and foremost that you complete all the workout prescribed in your plan and hit the targets. After that you can add some additional miles. If you replace all the workouts with lower-quality rides but simply ride more miles I think you will be making a bad trade.
The ROI equation is critically important and I'll bet you'll find that the returns to biking above and beyond the EN half-iron plan gets into pretty low ROI pretty quickly. Truthfully Kim for you I believe there is a lot higher ROI in running which I know you don't like to do but honestly have a lot of low-hanging fruit still available to harvest when you want to do that. If you want to have fun with extra time on your favorite sport then sure, go for more biking. But to improve your results I think extra time for volume should probably swing toward the run.