Adding bike workouts to the RDP phase
Hey all. I'm coming off an extended layoff due to a recurrence of a chronic lower back injury that sidelined me for most of last season. I've been training again since about August, and am currently in the middle of RDP2. @Coach Patrick has me doing RDP 1/2/3 and then 3 again until end of Dec. to (hopefully) bulletproof me before starting the Jan OS. So far the running is going very well and I'm absorbing the run volume pretty comfortably. What concerns me at the moment is the apparent lack of bike frequency in RDP, for a couple of reasons. First, according to my TP PMC, it seems that my bike fitness is just treading water even though overall fitness is building at a decent rate. I'd probably be OK with this were it not for the second issue, which is that the current bike volume/frequency (one ABP ride of ~ 1.5-2 hours per week) doesn't appear to be enough frequency for my lower back to not tighten up after each ride. Given that I lost all of last season to back issues, I want to get on top of this ASAP.
I'm generally a pretty diligent plan follower- meaning that I don't like to second-guess the wisdom that's built into these plans from years of collective learning. Currently I'm following the RDP2 plan pretty closely, with the only additions being one more swim in the Saturday rest day, and adding lots of core and strength work to the plan. If I wanted to add some more cycling frequency to hopefully generate some adaptation in my lower back before starting to throw volume/intensity at it in the OS, what would be the best way to do this? Should I keep the one longish ABP ride and throw in one or two more easy spins? Break up the one longish ABP bike into two shorter (hour long) efforts at higher intensity? I want to make sure that whatever I do doesn't compromise the ability to execute the quality runs, but is enough frequency for my lower back to get used to cycling.
PS - at the moment nearly 100% of my riding is indoors on Zwift, which does have an impact on comfort on the bike. I've ordered a rocker plate to hopefully help a little with this. Also, the fit/position on the bike is good, and hasn't been an issue for me in previous seasons, so I think this is just an adaptation issue.
Thanks,
John
Comments
John, I’m also doing RDP as I wait for it to be time to start 50K training. I loaded the balanced plan and there are two days of bike followed by a 20 min brick run. Maybe that would work for you? I looked at the preview of the “Durability for a Runners” and it says cross train twice with one being a bike and the other preferably not. I’d think if your body wants to bike, then you should let it.
@John Katsoudas ALSO YOGA! Hamstring tightness is a very common contributor to low back pain. Both Biking and Running can tighten your hamstrings. Stretch, Stretch, Stretch.
I know that this is a bit off of the subject for your question, however, I suffer similarly and find that my LBP is directly associated with lack of Hamstring flexibility much more than with training volume per se.
@John Katsoudas I agree with ^^^^^. I had the same problems/thoughts with the durability plans, especially the one for triathletes. I took a lot of time off throughout 2019 and just started getting back into things in the middle of September. I started with mostly bike as I have had a lot of issues with running. If I did anything at all other than bike I just walked. I then started RDP 1 in early October. My plan was to only walk but to walk every day. I did not want to lose the bike fitness that I had started to build back so I made sure I was doing at least 4 bikes a week, mostly recovery type rides and mostly about an hour. I am now in the RDP 2. I have added two bikes during the week because I felt like I could handle it. I do an interval workout on Tuesday, a recovery ride on Thursday, and the ABP ride on Saturday. I also added two run/walk days to make 7. I have started running a little more and staying injury free. I do have to do a lot of post workout stretching and foam rolling but it is working. I am at 36 days straight of either walking or running. I walk during any rest intervals and any tempo runs are 4 x .5 mile intervals instead of 2 x 1 mile. If I don't feel like running I just walk. The good thing is that I am now actually able to do some running every day. I will still fall back to just walking on any given day if I am just not feeling it.
I say all that to say that I asked Coach P about the added bikes and runs/walking. He said that for him "it's more a function of having a week that fits your schedule and achieves the goals that we want, in that order.
The way that you are supplementing things means that we have a solid fit (because you have flexibility). I agree with you on the swim. As long as you're not trying to swim with intent, I think you'll be fine. Just like the run, this is all in our reentry and getting a better baseline."
Maybe that helps.
Thanks everyone. This helps a lot! I totally agree about the effect of hamstring flexibility on lower back pain. In my case, it appears to be hamstrings + glutes. I've been seeing my chiro/therapist the last few weeks to get on top of this back soreness before it becomes a real issue. With Graston and ART he's been able to pinpoint the spots that are tight, and I've been doing a lot of stretching and foam rolling, targeting those spots. It seems to be helping as I've been able to stay on plan the last few weeks without feeling like I needed to skip or scale back any workouts as a result of back pain or tightness. Funny enough, I was just discussing yoga last night with some friends. I think I will try to add some yoga into the plan somewhere and see if that also helps with flexibility. I appreciate everyone's thoughts.
@John Katsoudas There is a nice book by Rodney Yee that is a great home Yoga resource with photos and sequential progression. I have used it for years and it is a nice way to transition to some Yoga without being "that guy" in a Yoga class for the first few times till you get used to it. Like the OS but for yoga ;)
https://www.amazon.com/Moving-Toward-Balance-Weeks-Rodney/dp/0875969216/ref=asc_df_0875969216/?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=&hvpos=&hvnetw=o&hvrand=&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4583795260915415&psc=1