Talk me off the ledge here… for the last week or so I’ve been dreading the trainer. I just want to go ride outside, but obviously time doesn’t allow for that every day with a full time job and kids. I even switched to Join and started riding on Zwift (I had a full year membership I got on discount) but after a few months of that spicing up my indoor riding, I’m over it. I may try to start a low volume TR plan next week and only do my intensity indoors and try to spend the rest of the time outdoors to see if that helps… but lately I’m just not into it. My legs are fine, I think this is a brain thing… I also watched a recent video about running and how you can be a competitive runner on far less of a time commitment than cycling, so that’s been floating around my head ever since, but I’ve always swore I’d never become a runner…
I’m just talking in circles at this point, any ideas to get out of the funk?
Been through this and still going through it.
Cycling requires so much time and energy to be good. I was doing 10 hours plus a week to be average 4 watt per kg which got me to cat 3 and then I needed more. I then picked a knee niggle injury up that made me spend time off the bike.
Took up the gym seriously and you can just get so much done in 4 hours a week and all you need to do is write down two numbers (reps and weight) and then you try to improve one of them. I have then spent the other time focussing more on work and DIY skills.
I still have time to fit another sport in if I wanted to as well.
And after nearly 2 years not doing much, I jumped on a local group ride with just recreational cyclists, and was still as fast as them. I reckon I could get to full performance in a typical full Trainerroad training plan. 4 hours of running per week would get you pretty fast as well.
Do something else. Ride outside when it’s fun. Run. Swim. Watch some movies. Burnout happens both physically and mentally, and you may be burned out on the bike even from stress at work. It’s ALL stress on the mind and body, no matter the cause.
They don’t say “rest & recovery” for nothing. Rest. Recover. You’re tired and/or bored. It’s OK. Just accept it, and do what you want to do. Quit telling yourself you SHOULD do something.
You are free to do ANYTHING so long as you accept the consequences.
If you stop riding and training, you will get slower. OK, sure… who cares? Do what will make you happy. You can ALWAYS change your mind later. Several times, even. It’s your life, live it on your terms.
I don’t suggest you sell the bikes right now. If you want to sell them in a year or so, maybe. But give it some time, simply because having to repurchase bikes is slow, painful and expensive. They won’t depreciate much, and that shouldn’t be a factor anyway.
Just kidding, I think we’re seeing many threads where people are burnt out, need some rest and recovery but also just another hobby, passion or activity to keep things fresh. Whatever you do or find, ease back into it and you’ll find that motivation to do what you love.
I used to get that way in the fall even though that’s some of the best riding weather where I live. I was just too wrapped up in training and trying to improve all year. The last couple years, I split the year between 6 months of “serious” and 6 months of “fun”. I’m all in on training for the first 6 months of the year and that includes my A races. The rest of the year, I don’t do a single structured workout and just do stuff on the bike I enjoy (and also work in a bunch of other stuff like hiking and rowing). If I don’t feel like riding, I don’t ride. Zero guilt, just do what feels good. For me, that’s staying active, but not necessarily on the bike. I’ll still race my bike during the fun time, but I have to keep the mindset that the race is just like a fun group ride. The first year was hard and I always had the itch when a race was approaching to do a few intervals, work in a mini taper, etc., but I stayed disciplined and just raced with whatever fitness and fatigue I might have. The key to this for me is letting the ego go and be OK with results that are below my potential. It’s not like I have sponsors that are paying for results. And racing with this “no pressure” mindset has been a ton of fun and I’ve actually learned a few things that help me during my serious racing season.
By the time January rolls around, I’m absolutely ripping at the cage ready to start serous training again. The byproduct of this has been my best 2 seasons of racing ever and smashing power PR’s as I get into my mid to late 50’s. I’m not saying this approach is going to solve burn-out issues for everyone, but it’s worked well for me and has actually resulted in better performance at the same time.
What type of riding are you doing - Road, gravel, MTB?
Try a different discipline. It may bring the excitement back.
My primary riding is MTB. With the right planning, it opens up a lot of adventures. New trails. New challenges. New destinations. Bike packing into a the middle of nowhere.
I used to trail run. I never got as excited about a running trip or destination like I do for MTB.
Over the past 20-ish years I’ve floated back and forth between focusing on (competitive) running, cycling, and triathlon. If I’ve been heavy on the biking side of things I’ve been like you are now and gotten the desire to start running. When I’ve been heavy on running I can’t wait to get back on the the bike. When training for tri’s I would dream of only having to do one sport and be good at it.
As you mentioned, one of the nice things about running is it (at least for me) takes about half the time biking does to be at the same level. A couple other things I really like compared to biking:
Cheaper
Easier logistically (both getting out the door for runs as well as traveling to destination races)
More options for races (and if you have kids it’s easier for them to cheer for you and a lot of races have kids runs)
The things I miss about biking when I’m just focusing on running:
It’s easier on the body (at least for me). I (knock on wood) very rarely end up with injuries from cycling. Running definitely beats me up more.
Going for long rides and getting to see more of the woods/countryside
The feeling of riding my bike. Whether going slow up a long climb, sprinting to a stop sign, hammering down a long stretch, or just riding Z2….running can’t quite match that feeling for me
I wouldn’t sell all your bikes unless you don’t really like them.
I heard on a podcast recently someone say “I’m not training anymore, I’m exercising” and there’s nothing wrong with just biking for exercise and mixing it up with running or whatever to get that exercise.
Although - I did get excited for big hikes - and running gets you in great shape for that.
I haven’t run since 2014 due to injury. I hiked a 14er this summer, and was more sore after this than any other big hike I did in the past. Or maybe it’s just me getting old.
What are your goals? Age? Training background? Body composition?
Sure you can compete for an age group medal at the local 5k but to be truly competitive you need to put in the training. Running is a high impact exercise and you really need to ease into it (injuries). The fitness from cycling may be there but the bones and ligaments and everything else needs time to catch up and adjust to the higher impact. That takes time. And the thing about running, genetics matter A LOT. It’s all engine… there’s no advantage from superior handling skills and there’s no free ride in a draft.
I guess it comes down to your goals, but whether you are going for an age group win or a fast time it’s a long term project. Running is awesome and not trying to deter you… just adding a perspective that is likely less hours but is just as much work to be competitive.
I did road/crits through my 20s/30s, and really fell off. It was no longer interesting to me, and that’s when I found MTBs. I didn’t compete, just rode locally with friends and had fun, but friends moved away and I wasn’t really in shape to compete.
Now, another 5-6 years later, cardiovascular health became more of priority now that I’m in my 40s, and started doing gravel w/ some (other) friends. Got my fitness back up and combining the skills of MTB and the endurance aspect really speaks to me now more than any other discipline.
If running speaks to you, sure, it is supremely boring to me though.
Try and detach this need to be competitive to get enjoyment from cycling and go ride your bike - maybe focus on other ways or riding, go bikepacking with the kids (if old enough), join the slower social group ride.
Take an off season, drop the training volume and or intensity for a while - keep tapping along for a bit, not every workout needs to be hard, drop down to 1 quality indoor session per week, sweet spot or even long z2, it doesn’t need to be on the rivet.
I think you should ask yourself why you need to be competitive? I have struggled with this in the past. This year I have started cyclocross and am racing purely for fun. No obsessing about lap times, normalized power or dismount/remounting technique. Just embracing being average and having a laugh. It’s great. When my XCO season starts I will get serious again.
I have found I can maintain pretty good speed on the bike with just two quality rides per week with 2 runs and 2 weight lifting sessions. And, I’m a healthier and happier person as a result of mixing up my workouts. I normally only ride/train on the bike on Tuesday and Saturday…then mix in running and lifting as my schedule permits. I try to make sure my legs are fresh for my cycling workouts so no running on Monday or Friday.
I agree with making sure you’ve taken some rest and a couple weeks really off.
But, otherwise, do what you enjoy and makes you happy, and be fine with that not being on the bike. Short and/or longer term. (But, I would try and enjoy staying fit in some way and looping in a strength routine)
Running, Lifting, Golf, Hiking, Skiing/Boarding, whatever - It’s nice to have other stuff you enjoy anwyays. I can absolutely see a day not too many years off when I scale back the hard training and just do it when I want to. Lifting. TR Low Volume or Train Now mixed with running / hiking and fun biking that I do because I want to.
Let’s be honest, most of us are doing this because we had some goal or desire to do it, not because we’re all that good at it. Just find what you enjoy and maybe it’s short term and that gives you the desire to start up training again.
(But, don’t sell all your bikes on a whim - maybe thin the herd if you have one you never use or you want to swap to a trail bike or something like that, but you don’t want to decide you miss it and have no bikes!)
Gosh, I’ve been there. I ended up taking some big breaks a few times (4-6 months) due to life and burnout, but I’ve ALWAYS been glad I hung around to come back to it.
If you know you want to ride but can’t muster the motivation, like others have said, try to add some spice to it. MTB, scenic rides, destination rides, update your trainer space, or jump into the gameification of zwift. I’ve found that races, bike upgrades, drops, XP, events, challenges, and route badges are all things that keep me interested in the trainer.
Running will just never compare with mountain biking