Old habits prior to EN - should I chuck them?
I've ridden my fixie (with a flip-flop hub so I can also ride it singlespeed) since 2000 and just love the feel of it. In fact, I was riding around the course on it while cheering on my Mapso peeps at Poconos 70.3 last Sunday. I currently have a 46x19 gear because it is rather hilly where I live. It helps smooth out my spin and just has that 'back to nature' feel about it.
I also use a bike with Powercranks, something that I got into in the Spring of 2011 when I suffered a stress fracture (that still nags me to this day) in my left fore foot. I needed something to train my running muscles besides the pool running and the local bike shop had a set they were dying to get rid of cheap. Riding this thing is like doing single leg drills on both sides for the whole ride. It has helped my running fitness and my cycling has improved with them (I think) but it is very tough to do disciplined workouts with them.
I haven't started the OS or PreS workouts yet but am wondering if I should keep using these toys, I mean tools.
Comments
Do you race on the Powercranks as well? There have been a few discussions about them in da Haus, my search-fu is poor, but if you look hard enough you will find them. If they work for you and make you stronger and faster stick with them. The main goal in EN is working very hard and putting a lot of work into your legs in a minimal amount of time.
However, you said in your post that it is "very tough to do disciplined workouts with them". Therefore, I think you already answered your own question. I'd say ditch them and put your old cranks back on. You will need to do "disciplined" bike workouts in the OS and you WILL see big gains.
The left fore-foot is a different discussion. I would guess that having a proper Gait Analysis done and running more efficiently will help that. Maybe it's core and glute strengthening, maybe it's finding the right PT. It could really be a whole new discussion thread on it's on. But I think you should use your bike training to make your bike stronger. Use proper running tools to make your running better.
As for the PowerCranks, their effectiveness is a very hotly debated topic in some online communities (i.e. Slowtwitch), but if they work for you then there is no real harm in still incorporating them into your training. Again, I'd have to follow up with how much do you use them? To allude to John's question, I've never heard of anyone racing on PC's, and it's usually recommended that PC's are incorporated for some of your bike workouts, not necessarily for all of them.
Ultimately however you answered your own question as far as the PC's go. If it is very hard to do focused/disciplined workouts on them, such as very specific interval work, then you definitely need to have the ability to ride without them for the majority of your OS sessions. If you wanted to swap them back on, or can have them on a secondary bike for supplemental workouts then no reason to get rid of them entirely, but I would not advise doing 100% of your riding on them.
Thanks for the feedback. I'll keep riding the fixie for fun and for reinforcing a good spin. Swapping the hub over to the freewheel side makes it like weight lifting on the bike where I live and I do that in the sloppier winter conditions.
I don't race with the PC bike. It's a Surly Crosscheck frame and the PC model I have is very heavy. All told, that bike weighs 28 pounds with the headlight & battery, loaded seat pack and heavy touring wheels (I used to weigh 225 lbs). Add a couple of full water bottles and it is like a Queen Family Wagon Truckster. It has helped me keep my running fitness and spared my foot from a lot of abuse. It also helped me in Lake Placid this year. My tri bike's bottom bracket's left bearing seized up and caused the cranks to bind when I pedaled on the left side so the last 50 miles were only pedaled on the right side. It was not a good thing but I made it to T2.
As for the foot, I've been working with a chiropractor and podiatrist, orthotics, gait analysis - everything. It is better but I have to ration my foot strikes. That is one reason the lower running volume appeals to me. I'm not afraid of high intensity intervals so I think I'll be okay there. Only time will tell.
One nice thing about the PC bike is not having to worry about someone stealing it if I stop for coffee. It took me more than a week to be able to pedal it for more than a few minutes at a time on the trainer before I dared ride it outside. It took more than a month before I could stand out of the saddle on that thing. Heh.