How to use cycling for pure running performance (without killing workout days)?
I’m looking for help from runners who use cycling to build a bigger aerobic engine. My goal is to run faster and win races, but I want to leverage the bike to maximise my fitness by commuting with it and etc.
Two questions on how to balance them:
Volume: Does it ever make sense to intentionally reduce running mileage to fit the bike in? Or should cycling only be used as an add-on to pad total volume? For context, I have been running for 3 years and only in the last 9 months started to do structured training and within this training I was hitting 185-200km weeks, so structurally my body can take high mileage and I recover well.
Fatigue: How do you protect your hard running sessions? What guardrails do you use (e.g., high cadence, strict Zone 2 HR caps) to avoid feeling depleted during threshold workouts?
Cheers!