What is a decent Stationary Bike Speed?

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samonmission
samonmission Posts: 62 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hello All,

I have started running last July and been running at least twice a week since then ... I did 2 half marathons so far and registered for my first full marathon in Feb 2015. Considering my performance in the half's I thought I should include some cross training in my workout routine and from last week I started doing Elliptical and Stationary Bike for 2 days and running on the other 2 days.

However I am very new to using Stationary Bike and I am not sure what is considered a decent speed on the bike. Today I did 5 miles in 28:40 min. Which was about 5:45 min/mile. Is that a good speed or am I going too slow?

Are there any tips for cross training for a marathon?

Thank you in advance

~ Sam

Replies

  • Lladnaar
    Lladnaar Posts: 6
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    Do you have a HRM? If so just try and get a similar, or slightly lower (many people have a lower max HR cycling vs running), rate to your run training.
  • sjohnny
    sjohnny Posts: 56,142 Member
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    Decent speed for what?

    Next time do it in 26:40 and see how much better or worse that is.
  • samonmission
    samonmission Posts: 62 Member
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    I was looking at the HRM of the bike and it was 144 max for biking .. for running it goes up to Max 166 for me

    Does that indicate I am doing it at the right speed?
    Do you have a HRM? If so just try and get a similar, or slightly lower (many people have a lower max HR cycling vs running), rate to your run training.
  • Lladnaar
    Lladnaar Posts: 6
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    When I started cycling regularly I was about 15 beats below my running effort; only slightly less than the difference you've stated. These days I'm about even. So it looks like a good start, with room to improve as you get used to the different sport.
  • MB2MN
    MB2MN Posts: 334 Member
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    It likely depends on the bike...they aren't all calibrated the same. My average speed on a stationary spin bike is 19 mph, so that translates to roughly 9.5 miles in 28 minutes and I ride a little slower than that outside, maybe 17 or 18 mph on average. So in my opinion, its not super fast but if you're just starting out then keep working on it and you'll see just how much you can improve!

    Edited for typo
  • webbkr913
    webbkr913 Posts: 5 Member
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    Are you going to be following a specific training program for your marathon? These would typically give you some guidelines for cross training. Usually, they suggest cross training as a potential replacement for scheduled rest days, and therefore, its not supposed to be too intense.

    If your answer to my first question was no, I'd recommend you look into it. There are plenty of good ones available for free (halhigdon.com, runnersworld.com are examples). Finishing half marathons on just a couple of days of running a week is pretty good. However, based on my expereince, you won't be able to build up the required mileage for the full distance unless you can increase the number of days per week you're training.

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