heflix455

So im going running with some friends in a couple of days and i havnt been in a long time (knee injury etc etc etc). Im pretty active (workout 2-3 times a week, mountain bike at least 2 times a week, and hiking a couple of times a month) so im wondering if all my activities have prepared my muscles so i at least wont get massive leg cramps the next morning after running. Pretty much what im asking is - has anyone here been biking for years and years and then all of a sudden tried running one day and had insanely sore muscles the day after that. I know its a new "exercise" and i probably will get some soreness but i want to know if its going to be the kind of soreness after a hard ride or the kind of soreness after your first time working out for months. I just dont want to be crippled the next day at work.

'nother

Don't get your hopes too high. I run about 2 times a year and each time I'm sore for a couple of days. The hiking muscles might help some but the cycling ones don't contribute much, if any, to running. Take it easy, slow, etc. . . . start with short distances and low intensity and build up to avoid injury and soreness.

heflix455

awesome I did a quick run tonight with alot of stretching. Hopefully that will help a bit.

BikeInMN

I'm just starting my "running" for cross season and I always get sore after the first few runs. Start easy and slow. My first few runs are no more than 15-20 minutes and the pace is nothing faster than 9 minute miles. My third run is tonight and I should be ok tomorrow. I find that I can have all the cycling fitness in the world and still be sore after a really short run first time out.

If you jump in and do 30-40 minutes right off you'll probably be pretty sore the next couple days.

kuan

Look up gallowalking, or like I like to call it, a marathon plan for mid-agers.

Incorporate walking into your running. Run 50 steps, walk 50 steps, or some combination thereoff. Sorta like an interval session.

UmneyDurak

I did Bay to Breakers in Spring, with absolutely no traininning (just my cycling). Aerobically speaking I was just fine, and after my legs warmed up I was able to drudge along. I think I did that 7.5 mile run through SF (==hills) in 1h 14m stopping a bunch of times and walking since my friend couldn't keep up. Boy did my legs hurt the next day. I think I was limping for a week because I pulled a muscle in my foot. Morale of the story cycling will help aerobically, but not for muscles.

merlinextraligh

Its exactly the opposite in my opinion. The aerobic fitness from cycling gives you the engine to truely torch your legs which aren't prepared for running. If you're generally out of shape and start running, your fitness is a limiting factor which makes it less likely to hurt yourself, as your body adapts to running. But if you're fit, but not a runner, you need to cnsciously take it easy when you start running.

keith_b00ne

Cycle more if you want to be good and cycling, run more if you want to be good at running. Very little comparison except for keeping the heart pumping.

msparks

Cycling will in no way help with your soreness after running.

This last year I took a military PT test where I have to run 2 miles. I did not run 1 time for the whole year. Man the next day I could barely walk. Now cycling helped with cardio (I still ran it in 14:30) which is better than the 18 year old standards.

this year I plan to start running at least 2-3 weeks before so I can ease into it. Then when I take the test I won't be sore for a week afterwards.

mosscoveredhat

Cycling muscles help running in the hills. I run track at school during the spring. I am a middle distance runner, but sometimes train with the sprinters when they do hill work. I can beat all of them without tiring, 15x in a row up the hills, but I get dropped pretty quickly on the track against them.

ericgu

+1

I do this every year when I start coaching my daughter's soccer team. I'm usually most sore on the front of the feet - the muscles that you use to go up onto your tip-toes.

kjhspa

As a runner who is relatively new to biking (just started bike commuting in May), I agree that running and biking use different leg muscles. I'm still quite surprised at how difficult biking is. I had expected not to have to exert much effort, as everyone else on the street seems to make biking look so easy and not sweat at all. Much to my surprise, my legs got pretty tired when I first started biking. So I wouldn't be surprised if a biker would also get tired and sore legs after running at first.