I love running… but my body doesn’t always.
My 2024 training year was consistent, if nothing else. I managed to put together a decent fall and winter. Then came January 2025, and with it a string of injuries.
First, I slipped on some ice during a long run and strained my hamstring. After a few weeks of rehab, I built back up the volume. Then, I rolled my ankle and managed to tweak my Achillies in the process. That injury lingered. Even after I completed my return-to-run, it continued to be a nuisance for another month or two.
Frustrating for sure, but there was a silver lining. The Achillies injury wasn’t bothered by time on the bike, so for the first time in about a year, I started to spend a few hours per week riding.
Over the past two months, I’ve been spending more and more time on the bike as I keep my running volume relatively low, experimenting with a cross-training heavy approach that will sacrifice some running performance, but will hopefully keep me healthy through the rest of the year.
But the more I ride, the more I remember how much I love bikes. They are just so much fun. I haven’t ridden consistently for more than a month or two at a time in years. Now, as I start to see a tiny bit of bike fitness returning, I want to see how far I can push the improvement on the bike while still maintaining at least some running.
Thus, my new project: Chasing 5s.
The project has three parts:
Ride 5 watts per kilogram for 20 minutes.
Run 5 minutes per mile for 5K.
Then do both in a one week period.
Is this a stupid idea? Probably. But it seems like fun! Plus, I’m not the only one doing stuff like this; duathlon is gaining popularity in Europe!
So, as a fun aside, I’ll be tracking my progress at various stages throughout this project here on The Running Nerd.
The Baseline
Let’s start with some numbers.
On the Bike
Over the past couple weeks, I’ve weighed 68.9kg and have recorded:
958 watts for 15 seconds, after 1500 kJ of work
354 watts for 3 minutes, fresh
266 watts for 20 minutes, fresh-ish
If you’re a cyclist, those numbers probably sound embarassing. But hey, I’m (mostly) a runner (and a pretty mediocre one at that)!
To complete this project, I’ll need to either ride:
20 minutes at 344.5 watts at my current weight
OR
20 minutes at 335.5 watts at my “race weight” of 67.1kg
Option two, or something along those lines, is probably what I’ll end up doing.
Because it’s fun, here’s my power curve since I started riding more regularly about 6 weeks ago:
My 1-30s power isn’t terrible, but the falloff towards critical power is. The biggest goal of this project will be to raise the right side of that curve. A lot.
On the Run
After a deeply inconsistent and injury-riddled last 7 months, I’m in pretty poor running shape. I’d be suprised if I could run faster than 16:30 for 5K right now. Hopefully, that will change quickly.
So, over the course of this project, I’ll need to cut off ~20s per mile from what I estimate is my current fitness.
The Plan
I’ve settled on a 7-day microcycle that allows me to get two quality sessions and a long effort in for both sports, while also fitting my weekly schedule.
Here is the general structure:
Monday: Easy Run w/ Speed Development
Tuesday: AM Run LT1/CS + PM Bike CS/VO2
Wednesday: Easy Run + Optional Easy Bike
Thursday: Ride high z2
Friday: AM Run CS/VO2/Neuromuscular + PM Bike LT1/Torque
Saturday: Long Run
Sunday: Long Ride
Obviously, there will be variation here depending on the quality of sessions, fatigue, etc. I also plan on swapping the Friday double session for a race-specific long run on Saturday and an LT1 bike session on Sunday some weeks.
The current target is ~45-50 miles per week of running, and 7-12 hours per week on the bike.
Since I don’t have a specific timeline, I’m treating the next 4-8 weeks as a base block. The primary goal will be volume, with a secondary goal of stressing LT1 and CP/CS. I’ll have minimal specific work, and the VO2 work I do will be just enough for maintenance.
I’ve been doing this structure for two weeks now, and it’s felt pretty doable. The biggest struggle is making sure I eat enough calories on the double workout days. I’ve accidentally underfueled chronically in the past, and that’s not a situation I want to replicate. So, for this block, I’m tracking both roughly calories spent (much easier on the bike than on the run) and calories taken in. Suprisingly annoying.
Tracking Progress
Over the course of this project, I’ll make updates whenever something notable happens. Whether that’s something I’m finding in training, race results, etc., I’ll try to track this project here.
If you’ve ever tackled something like this or have suggestions, let me know!