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Hi All,
I have been cycling for quite a while now but i got into serious cycling more than a year ago and i have been doing serious miles ever since. I have loss a lot of weight from that too (from 98kgs to 75kgs). And now i want to add running to my life style. i have been contemplating on running since the start of this year but i have not got the will to do it. two days ago out of no where i just decided that i will run on my way home (5miles) and then i went for it. i was not too sure of what i was doing but i just started running.
My pacing was rubbish and sometimes im not sure if im running or jogging. my route involves hills and it was quite difficult running on descends as i dont know how not to run too fast. it took me 50mins in total to do 5 miles, 15mins of which was probably walking. I almost gave up halfway through but I decided not to give up and just keep running and eventually I made it home (woohoo).
I initially did not like the whole experience but i guess that can be blamed for my impulsiveness to run without preparing my self properly but looking back at my experience i realized how wonderfull running was and I really really want to do it again.
My goal now is to compete in a Duathlon event next year so im going to start running regularly alongside my cycling and I really want some advice from all you guys.
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Comments
You have avery good base fitness from the cycling but as you have found out its not an easily transferrable skill!!
Going out for a 5 miler as you have found as well is not the best way to start!! Have a look at some beginner plans on here and introduce them to your cycling in a week, I suspect you will make quick progress once you start but you do need to start off conservatively !
Tough way to start, but you made it. The biggest challenge you will face is that you have good cardiovascular fitness from cycling, but you don't have the musculoskeletal fitness for the constant impact that you will encounter. There is no way to rush building that, so even if running starts to feel easy, you will need to strictly limit how much you allow yourself to run and how often for the first 4-5 months, gradually building distance as your bones and muscles get stronger from the impacts.
So what can happen to a cyclist who doesn't build slowly, doesn't respect running, and doesn't listen to advice from runners? Lance Armstrong found out the first time that he ran the NY Marathon. He was WAY undertrained but had the cardiovascular fitness to complete the distance. Because he didn't have the musculoskeletal fitness, he ended the marathon with a tibial stress fracture that sidelined him for quite a while. Word to the wise. Slow, steady increases.
Another cyclist that has just started running. I think I was helped by the fact that I walk with my dog for at least 7 miles every day at quite a quick pace.Even so It was very hard to run for much more than a few minutes. I started with my early morning walk with Bonnie by running then walking gradually increasing the running until I could run for the whole two miles albeit at a slow pace.
I have now completed 15 non stop runs after increasing the distances bit by bit till this morning I did 8 miles.
I have invested in a Garmin 110 to show just what pace I am doing and have done 10k cross country in 53 minutes which I am pleased with..
Haven't plucked the courage to enter an event, but like you I would like to do a duathlon. There aren't many though. Now if only I wasn't scared stiff of water.