14 March 2010  |  Misc

On Running

So, much like in years past I’ve been running a few days a week throughout the fall/winter.  I know there are a lot of people who think that running is incompatible with cycling fitness, but I don’t think that is necessarily true.  For one thing, I live in Colorado, and sometimes it gets really, really cold and snowy.  On those days, I’m running.  Some people like riding the trainer, but I am not one of them.  For a few years now I’ve had a “no-riding-the-trainer-except-for-pre-race-warm-up” policy.  (Yes, I believe that riding the trainer takes years off your life.)  Let me clarify: I think there ARE times when it is important to be on the bike a bit (the weeks leading up to a big race, etc), but I haven’t really had to change the policy.

For me, running is a great way to mix it up- mentally and physically.  It’s great for traveling- just bring your running shoes and in 5 minutes you can head out for a short jog instead of unpacking and building your bike and getting chamoised-up for an easy spin at 6pm.  Last year, I did a fair bit of running during the season (nothing too long- usually about 30mins) and I would like to keep it going again through this season.  It’s hard though, if I don’t run for a week I’m usually a little sore the next time I run, and that starts to be counter-productive.  So we’ll see how it goes.