You may have noticed that for the last six months, I have become one of those absent bloggers. For this, I would like to apologise and assure you that there is, in fact, very good reason.
In November 2014, I took up a position as Digital Writer at Women’s Running Magazine. In the process, I left my bike in the Cheshire countryside, moved to London bikeless, and swapped my cycling shoes for a pair of trainers. In short, I became a runner.
A fickle cyclist indeed, I rejected my passion for cycling and focused all of my energies on running. In fact, if you follow my Twitter and Facebook pages, you’ll see that I’ve become a little obsessed. A couple of weeks back, I run my first half marathon and next month I will be flying out to Geneva to run a second!
However, a recent injury has left me unable to run and so this weekend, I travelled home to the North West to dust off my bike. A 30-mile ride through Cheshire’s rural lanes in the crisp, spring morning air left me, quite frankly, euphoric Wow. Post-run high − move over.
To say I’ve ‘missed’ cycling would be an understatement. However much I enjoy running, the euphoria experienced cycling through the British countryside is unrivalled. The burn to quads, the exhausted elation when you make it to the top of a seemingly never-ending hill, the nod to the fellow cyclist, the sweet smell of silage at every gate hole…
While a 20K run down the Thames every Sunday is pretty hard to beat, there’s nothing quite like cruising through the countryside on two wheels, especially at this time of year.
And so here I am: a cycling and running hybrid. A runner with a part-time hobby or a sportsperson that dabbles in two sports? Or do they call these fickle sports people duathletes?
Not quite there yet, admittedly. But I do believe there is something to be said for dabbling in cycling and running, particularly when you’re injured and have a half marathon to train for…
In the next few weeks I will be using my bike to cross-train. Working as a fitness journalist for a running magazine, I’m forever presented with research and advice from fitness experts on the benefits of cross-training to improve performance as a runner. Building strength in complimentary muscles, increasing leg turnover and developing cardiovascular fitness are just some of the reasons why cycling is a great cross-training activity for runners. Cycling places less stress on the body than running, and requires far less recovery time, making it the perfect way to keep up your cardiovascular fitness while injured.
Right now, from my one cross-training session, I can only say I’m shattered, starving and my quads burn like hell, but I don’t feel half as guilty for missing my last long run before my half marathon.
I’ll let you know how the crossing-training goes in the next few weeks…
Lets Go Ride a Bike 