walking

[leanman]

years ago i seen greg lemond giving an interview lying down in bed. feet up against the wall. halfway thru the tour de france.. he said if you stand you should sit, and if you sit , try to lie down.. always be off your feet recovering. some races are won in bed, and recovery is so important. i think a few years later, bernard henault said what the hell is greg lemond doing playing a bit of golf on his off day. he was just screwing around, most holes 100 years apart.. but still it was a good hour plus walking..

now as a older guy, is it dumbfor me to walk a mile or so dail? i ride 6 days a week. is there anything wrong with walking? today i did a super hard 2 hour workout on my trainer.. it was nice and sunny, the snow was staring to melt, and i wanted to go out for a 30-60 minute slow walk, but i chose to just lie around and chill figuring the walking would effect tomorrows hour ez ride.
any opinions on walking..

thank you

 

[limerickman]

Back in the day walking - or being on your feet - before/after racing was discouraged.
Like your anecdote the thought was to minimise the amount of time "on your legs".

We were trained this way.

If you're not racing I don't see any issue going walking/running.

 

[leanman]

thank you for your comment. i was just wondering.

of course, my training and racing are always the main focus, always wanting to do the best i can do for best results.. hell, i stand and walk around a lab room 8 hours a day, sitting only for a 30 minute lunch. i bet i walk 3 miles a day in my 50'x50' room..i just hate passing up days like today. 40 and sunny and i stayed in. maybe its best to always be resting after workouts and races for best results, but if going for a 30-60 minute walk a few days a week takes only a few % points away from my training/racing, i'll walk. but if its gonig to make me 5-10% more tired, doing workouts on tired legs from walking,maybe i wont. best way is try it out for a while and see how i feel.. pros that make serious $ should be resting constantly, but 57 years old and a cat 2 maybe a walk only tires me out a few % points, i'll walk then.. gonna give it a try...plus that vitamin d from the sun is so good for you...

 

[bgoetz]

I would not worry too much unless it is before a race or between stages. I suppose if you had a really hard workout planned for the next day, maybe.

 

[limerickman]

Originally Posted by leanman .

thank you for your comment. i was just wondering.

of course, my training and racing are always the main focus, always wanting to do the best i can do for best results.. hell, i stand and walk around a lab room 8 hours a day, sitting only for a 30 minute lunch. i bet i walk 3 miles a day in my 50'x50' room..i just hate passing up days like today. 40 and sunny and i stayed in. maybe its best to always be resting after workouts and races for best results, but if going for a 30-60 minute walk a few days a week takes only a few % points away from my training/racing, i'll walk. but if its gonig to make me 5-10% more tired, doing workouts on tired legs from walking,maybe i wont. best way is try it out for a while and see how i feel.. pros that make serious $ should be resting constantly, but 57 years old and a cat 2 maybe a walk only tires me out a few % points, i'll walk then.. gonna give it a try...plus that vitamin d from the sun is so good for you...

Curiously, I read that back in the old days Sean Kelly and his teams used to do hill walking and cross country skiing as part of their
winter training programme.

My own view for what it's worth is that any movement that "gets the heart working harder" is better than being stationery.
But my racing days are well behind me now!

 

[leanman]

thanks all

 

[An old Guy]

Originally Posted by leanman . now as a older guy, is it dumb for me to walk a mile or so daily?
57 years old and a cat 2.

If it was me, I would give up racing.

 

[bgoetz]

If it was me, I would give up racing.

No if it were you, you would never have raced at all. You would then join a cycling forum and live out your cycling fantasy by posting mythological stories of ridding tempo off of the front of groups of Cat 2s on local training rides and climbing 8% grades in your 53x13 for miles.

 

[gudujarlson]

If I plop down on the couch or bed after a hard ride, I am guaranteed to get an excruciating leg cramp. I find that going for a short walk (10-15 min) after a hard ride prevents these leg cramps. My only theory for why this might be is because it increases blood flow to the leg muscles without adding extra stress much like a recovery ride does. I have had the thought that perhaps an actual recovery ride my work just as well or better, but the last thing I feel like doing after a long hard ride is getting back on the bike for another short easy one. It feels much better to go for an easy walk.

 

[limerickman]

Originally Posted by gudujarlson .

If I plop down on the couch or bed after a hard ride, I am guaranteed to get an excruciating leg cramp. I find that going for a short walk (10-15 min) after a hard ride prevents these leg cramps. My only theory for why this might be is because it increases blood flow to the leg muscles without adding extra stress much like a recovery ride does. I have had the thought that perhaps an actual recovery ride my work just as well or better, but the last thing I feel like doing after a long hard ride is getting back on the bike for another short easy one. It feels much better to go for an easy walk.

If I do 120-130 mile spin with lots of climbing, the idea of getting back on the bike to do a recovery ride that day is the last thing that I do.
I find after those type of rides that 30 minute swim frees up all sensations of cramp. In fact, after a 30 minute swim I could go for a ride because I feel that good.

Stick to whatever formula works for folks here. We're all different and we all recover in different ways.

 

[An old Guy]

Originally Posted by bgoetz .


No if it were you, you would never have raced at all. You would then join a cycling forum and live out your cycling fantasy by posting mythological stories of ridding tempo off of the front of groups of Cat 2s on local training rides and climbing 8% grades in your 53x13 for miles.

Currently I don't ride with others.

Perhasp you could post links to those claims.

I did mention that I dropped a Cat1 and his team in training when they showed up wanteing to race. I did suggert that others ride 8% grades in their 53/11s. But you seem to be the one creating a myth for me.

---

I have 3 hours to do today and I am late in leaving.

 

[bgoetz]

Oh, now it is a Cat 1, I think in your original STORY it was a Cat 2, next it will be Wiggens. Typical fish stories that keep growing. Better get to that 3hr 300TSS ride you have.

 

[An old Guy]

Originally Posted by bgoetz .

Oh, now it is a Cat 1, I think in your original STORY it was a Cat 2, next it will be Wiggens. Typical fish stories that keep growing. Better get to that 3hr 300TSS ride you have.

Other obligations got in the way only did 1 hour today. And I feel bad about it.

---

Since it appears we are talking about different stories, perhaps you could post links to both stories you referenced. That way we can see exactly what I said.

I am asking you to do something for me. Since I don't think I made the claims and you do, I will send you $100 if you can find where I made the claims you referenced.

---

I did relate a story that appeard in Bicycling magazine. The context was several people claiming they could ride with the pros. One of the magazine's writers, a CAT2, wrote that he went on a training ride with a pro team. He was struggling on a climb as they were talking and having fun like any training ride. Then one of the pros decided he need to get some work in and he rode away from the group.

In another context, where many were claiming that power is important and strength is only a minor part of bicycling, I made a suggestion. Any of us can ride up a 8% hill for several miles (I will assume that part of the story is correct it is really not imortant). So we know we all have the power to get up the hill. I suggested that one use their biggest gear, 53/13 will do, and clim the hill. I did not expect they would be able to. I thought they lacked the strength to do so.

You might notice that I am not a participant in either story, but you tell similar storeis with me being a participant. Minor error on your part perhaps. Maybe different stories and my error.

 

[bgoetz]

I am sure there are about a dozen others on this forum that recall those stories from older posts of yours, if I get bored I will go find them.

 

[bgoetz]

http://www.cyclingforums.com/t/486861/high-intensity-training-help#post_4010888 This thread contains some good stuff