Why is it ...............?

"TrailRat" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Why is it hard running for 30 seconds or so wears you out quicker than
30 minutes of hard cycling?

I was running hard to catch a train and all I did was about 30 seconds
of running before I got massively out of breath. Made me dizzy. Yet I
can cycle hard for 20 - 30 minutes before I get the same feeling.

I know diferent muscle groups are used but surely that wouldn't cause
such a feeling. I thought something was wrong. One of those "he was
such a fit healthy young man" obits. Scary.

TR

Isn't it all about how fast you can replace the oxygen in your blood?

Running hard uses it all up fast, and you can't replace it fast enough, slow
(!?) exercise gives you time to replace it.
Seems to me that it explains a lot about fitness too, unfit = unable to
replace the oxygen at speed.

Certainly when I cycle with my fitter friends, I can stick with them for a
period of time, and when we stop we'll all be breathing heavily, the
difference is that my recovery time is much longer.

Andy

p.s. This is all a total guess of course! ;o)

On 24/2/05 8:32 am, in article
[email hidden], "TrailRat"

Quoted message said:

Why is it hard running for 30 seconds or so wears you out quicker than
30 minutes of hard cycling?

I was running hard to catch a train and all I did was about 30 seconds
of running before I got massively out of breath. Made me dizzy. Yet I
can cycle hard for 20 - 30 minutes before I get the same feeling.

Bet you'r not cycling that hard though.. Next time, try selectin g a harder
gear and sprint as hard as you can for as long as you can. If you can
sustain it for more than 15 secs you weren't sprinting hard enough. That
should get you a bit out of breath and a trifle dizzy.

Quoted message said:

I know diferent muscle groups are used but surely that wouldn't cause
such a feeling. I thought something was wrong. One of those "he was
such a fit healthy young man" obits. Scary.

You haven't been really sprinting on the bike, just on foot.

...d

TrailRat said:

Why is it hard running for 30 seconds or so wears you out quicker

than

Quoted message said:

30 minutes of hard cycling?

I was running hard to catch a train and all I did was about 30

seconds

Quoted message said:

of running before I got massively out of breath. Made me dizzy. Yet I
can cycle hard for 20 - 30 minutes before I get the same feeling.

I know diferent muscle groups are used but surely that wouldn't cause
such a feeling. I thought something was wrong. One of those "he was
such a fit healthy young man" obits. Scary.

TR

I would guess for several reasons:

1) Running is more intense exercise than cycling, most people can reach
a higher maximum heart rate running since it uses more of your
musculature and is weight bearing to boot.
2) If you're used to cycling, you're specifically fit for cycling, and
that fitness won't transfer well to running. You need to run to get
fit and fast at running.
3) Assuming you're used to cycling a lot, your brain has learnt
expectations of speed vs effort for cycling. When you run you probably
push yourself harder based on those cycling expectations.

TrailRat said:

Why is it hard running for 30 seconds or so wears you out quicker
than 30 minutes of hard cycling?

I was running hard to catch a train and all I did was about 30
seconds of running before I got massively out of breath. Made me
dizzy. Yet I can cycle hard for 20 - 30 minutes before I get the
same feeling.

I know diferent muscle groups are used but surely that wouldn't
cause such a feeling. I thought something was wrong. One of those
"he was such a fit healthy young man" obits. Scary.

Running for the train you were producing energy anaerobically - without
the use of oxygen. You can only sustain this for around 60 seconds or
so and you quickly build up an oxygen debt, which is why you were out
of breath.

When cycling for 30 minutes you may be going hard but you are remaining
mostly within your aerobic threshold. It is a paced effort. Try a
couple of all out sprints. One way to do this is to challenge a mate of
roughly equal ability to a race to a road sign that's about 400m away.
The loser pays the winner a quid. You should be able to reproduce the
feeling you got running for the train.

A good way to improve your anaerobic fitness is interval training.
Count the lamp-posts as you pass them. After 4 lamp-posts go eyeballs
out for the fifth. Don't cheat - stay flat out until you pass it. Use
the next 4 for recovery and sprint for the fifth again. Repeat until
you feel sick. Repeat once a week for 2 months. Next time you run for
the train it will be a doddle.

--
Dave...