What is the longest you have ever spent
physically exerting yourself?
1 hour, 2 hours, 5 hours, maybe longer?
I think the longest most intense physical exertion for me is probably backpacking.
I carry a 45lb+ pack and hike for at least 6-8 hours carrying that weight on rocky, hilly terrain.
Next on the list is probably...
Footbiking the 50 mile Viva Bike Vegas ride in Oct 2010, my finishing time 5:30. This ride has at least 23 miles of uphill.
Okay put that aside for a minute.
With Kick-It Marketing I spend a lot of time with runners and cyclists participating in events and marketing in booths to runners. I have heard from many long distance runners that Footbiking is an excellent cross training tool and that it improves running times and so I pitch this to potential Footbike customers. I have found this to be true in my own short runs. Yes I do
run, but the longest I had ever run was 7 miles once on my treadmill and I did a 10k last fall. I did not consider myself a long distance runner and really had never wanted to run any farther.
I got thinking though and I decided that if I had the mental and physical strength to do one kind of physical activity for a long period of time then really shouldn't I be able to do another.
I decided to prove my theory of Footbiking being a great cross training tool and even a main training tool for a long distance run. Many times when I talk to runners about Footbiking I feel like they don't have respect for us because we are on wheels therefore it must be easier to Footbike. Often times when I tell runners about what a great tool a Footbike can be for their running they give me the " sure whatever, like you would know" look. I am currently training for a 60 mile Footbike ride in October so I thought surely with all of my Footbike training I could complete a 13.1 mile run. Right? Well...
Tomorrow I run my first half marathon!
To prepare myself for this run I have been Footbiking 3-5 times a week usually one of those is a 25 mile ride. I have been doing 1 run each week usually a 5 mile run. I thought I would work up to a 13 mile run slowly, but then one Saturday I started out to do a 7 mile run and I decided to just keep going and going. I ended up doing a full 13 miles which kinda makes tomorrows run a little anticlimactic since I have already run the distance, but tomorrow it will be an official timed race and I did not spend hour after hour running my joints into the ground, but I am ready to run the 13 miles none the less.
I think I can officially say that my experiment is conclusive. If I can Footbike for 2 hours I can run for two hours. (Is the reverse true then? If a runner can run for 2 hours then he can Footbike for 2 hours, I think so.)
Besides the Footbike is a running machine and can be a replacement for worn out runners, a cross trainer for runners, a trainer for runners, a fun alternative to running, a resting work out for runners.
Footbiking and running are very compatible.
I think every runner should own a Footbike!
