Due to a new job I have been focusing only on the run since the end of August. The last time I was on a bike was the Mt. Washington Hill climb . . . Over the last few years due to splitting time between all three sports my run has not returned to where it should be. I have a mental block that has not allowed me to race until I could get my run down to XX:XX. I have not been able to do so and have not done a tri or du as a result.
Now I only run, but am hitting 85-100 miles a week in hopes of getting back to where I would like to be in the spring. A few different things will happen: 1. I will be a decent runner again and train through next year as a runner only, 2. I will get injured and need to spend time on bike/pool, 3. I will get fast enough to feel comfortable in multisport events.
If I were to stay health and run only, does it really make sense to sit and spin on the bike a few hours a week? I am not in good enough bike shape to do an effective aerobic workout and therefore I just sit and spin. Unless I get injured and am required to spend time on the bike, I probably won’t spend enough time to get in bike shape either. I really enjoy the bike but question the utility in the course of a running schedule. My primary concern is that spending a few hours on the bike a week will somehow compromise my running. Some schools of thought with bike racers I konw suggest that running causes problems transferring over to someone who only races bikes. Would the same hold true the other way? I realize that we are the group that promotes cross-over, but is it cross overreally wise for either group (run / bike) if one is actually focusing on competition in one sport - especially if one is efficient/resiliant enough to train in volume without needing to cross-train just for overall duration. Hmmm . . .