I spend a lot of time on a bike.

I teach cycling classes, I ride on my own, and this year I’m also training for a 70.3, so cycling is already a pretty big part of my life.

But I’ve also found that it can be a really useful part of running training.

The biggest benefit is pretty obvious. You can get a lot of cardiovascular work on a bike without putting the same amount of impact on your body.

Running is repetitive. Every step is another impact. That’s part of what makes running great, but it’s also why you can’t just keep adding miles forever without eventually needing to recover.

Cycling gives you another option.

You can spend a couple of hours riding and build a lot of endurance without having to spend those same two hours running.

It also gives your legs plenty of work. Hills, higher resistance, intervals, and longer rides can all make your legs work pretty hard.

I’m not saying cycling replaces running. It doesn’t.

If you’re training for a marathon, you still need to run. Your body needs to get used to running, and there are things you simply can’t replicate on a bike.

But cycling can help fill in the gaps.

It also helps mentally. When you’re running several times a week for months, sometimes it’s nice to do something different.

For me, that’s easy because cycling is already something I enjoy.

The trick is making sure you’re using it as part of the training plan instead of just adding more and more workouts because you happen to enjoy them.

That’s harder than it sounds.

Endurance athletes have a weird habit of thinking that if some training is good, an unreasonable amount of training must be better.

I’m trying not to fall into that trap.

The goal is to get to the NYC Marathon healthy, strong, and ready to run 26.2 miles.

The bike is just one of the tools I’m using to get there.