Runners/Cyclists & climbing???

Yeah, sorry for the drift Emily, i have my own MP stalker, so there's that :)

Stein, I still can ride the strugglebus on certain 5.9's to this day and I've been climbing 4yrs now, haha!

Emily, the biggest factor you mentioned is "having plenty of time." Well, that more or less answers the question, as it's certainly possible, just not reasonably so for the normal 9-5'er w/ a family. Since you have a golden opportunity, take advantage of it and enjoy both pursuits. As others have mentioned, there's little/no chance you're going to bulk up from aerobic work, and it really shouldn't hurt your climbing until you're going past 12's... so I see no reason to limit your pursuit. Have fun with both. Oh, and on the age thing, Kessler trains with a kiwi buddy of mine, who recently sorta retired after Tokyo, making the semi's while pushing 40... so kessler might well still be racing professionally into his mid 30's. Nothing but a number, right? :)

You can certainly do it! I just did a 50km and a 165 mile gravel race this weekend, and could project a V5 outside if I really wanted to. I think of myself primarily as a cyclist first out of the three. Here's some ideas for you: 

Consider the benefits of 30 minute runs/rides to your training, as going all out, long distance, each time isn't going to always be the most beneficial for you. Easy days should be easy, hard days hard. Going too hard on a run or a ride will impact climbing in the next day or so. I'm a total wreck climbing right now - one of the tests of recovery is actually grip strength! Which makes me think that grip strength is affected by general freshness. So, don't always think you can do back to back hard days, even if one is primarily a bike ride and the other is primarily a hard climbing session.

Perhaps figure out a project that you could do, that could combine all three of these passions together! In Colorado this is an easy thing to do - I generally ride to the TH, run (or hike with intent) to an objective and climb/scramble around

Consider putting an emphasis on one of these passions/periodization. So for example, if you have a big climbing trip coming up, give yourself the time to really focus on climbing a few weeks/months out, and put the other two on the backburner. Running and cycling are a bit more complementary, as training for one often benefits the other. I haven't really found that to be true for climbing/running or climbing/cycling, except getting to the crag fresher/faster could be a benefit. 

It's motivating (to me) to still be able to make some personal bests out there, while still enjoying the other passions. If you have just a running/cycling objective in mind, you could switch out climbing days with hangboard workouts/something the emphasizes forearm work that's efficient time-wise to do. If it's climbing you want to excel in, just lower the running/cycling intensity, and/or do less days.

A lot of these suggestions are about avoiding burnout really, since it's a lot of things to do!

Not to put too much emphasis on the subject of weight, but I have hammy legs and a booty that don't quit - these do impact my climbing. I'm just an all 'rounder, rather than a specialist, and I'm happy with that. I do love working on my technique, since it weighs little in the pack! Something tells me I'm not going to get picked for next year's World Cup team anyways, and my goals are my own. All these passions make me happy and give me a feeling of fulfillment, so I keep doing them all! Have fun out there!

Long Rangerwrote:

could project a V5 outside if I really wanted to. 

Lol - I can project a V17.  I won’t send it either.  Your post sounds like good advice on how to combine aerobic endurance and 5.8.

James Wwrote:

Lol - I can project a V17.  I won’t send it either.  Your post sounds like good advice on how to combine aerobic endurance and 5.8.

You're certainly welcome to your own opinion!  

Christian Heschwrote:

making the semi's while pushing 40... so kessler might well still be racing professionally into his mid 30's. Nothing but a number, right? :)

I only said that because a young guy that is dominating with high and lofty goals (probably) doesn’t have the psychological structure for failure or coming in ??  place in the semi’s. When you are outperforming your peers you attach the thing itself to winning. Once those two don’t coincide, well then it’s anyone guess how that plays out. 

More often than not, this is completely true... my point was to not dissuade yourself from accepting that, with the proper amount of time to dedicate to one *or even two* things, you can still perform at quite a high level, so I just want to encourage you to perhaps shoot higher than you might normally, even deep into your 30's and possibly even early 40's. Obviously this all changes when life circumstances don't allow for all the free time, but def encourage you to aim pretty high right now, since you have the primary resource you need (time).

While time is the most important factor I would not necessarily guarantee you will have the energy to pursue everything to the max. So just make sure you still rest. I used to try to juggle running, skiing and climbing. I was able to run pretty competitively for years, then COVID hit and I decided I just really wanted to climb outside. I have improved significantly at climbing but sacrificed running fitness to get there. While I still get in 30-50 mile weeks for running (sometimes I go on 20-milers with my wife) I have so much more energy for climbing by not running 60 miles every week. 

One of the true cruxes of training at a high level… adequate rest. Sounds like the OP has not only the time for needed training, but also the time for the mandatory sleep, naps, and general rest. 

My experience with road racing and climbing is as follows. I raced road and cyclocross for several years as a cat 3, and regularly finished top ten with a few podiums and two wins. My favorite, though not strongest discipline was stage racing, and I’d usually put about 8k miles on my bike between January and October.

I still managed to climb up to mid .12 sport on occasion, but I already climbed at that grade prior to bike racing.

My schedule was as follows:

Mon-long ride, mid intensity 

Tues-sprints/climb in gym

Wed-hill repeats

Thurs-2 to 4hr ride with threshold surges/climb in gym/hangboard

Friday-rest or recovery ride/travel

Sat/Sun-group ride, OR race, OR climb outside

My cycling coach criticized me for not taking rest days.

These days, I just climb with some light running. I am much heavier and a decade older, but I climb better. 

I just recommended this in another thread but the book “Training For The New Alpinism” gets at this exact problem. While you might not be training for the alpine it outlines good practices and a structure that could permit you to succeed at all your described goals. 

I'm currently a national level distance runner(5k-1/2marathon) and about 1.5 years ago my sister got me hooked on climbing. I hear the opinion all the time that climbing and running don't mix but I disagree and actually think they are quite complimentary. Since begining to climb I'm far stronger but my bodyweight hasn't changed and I have PR'ed in several races with the 1/2 marathon being the longest.

I'm in a half marathon build up right now for US half champs in Dec, during this same buildup I started working boulders outside and managed to pull my way through a crimpy V8. I see the major misconception around running is that people think you need to run super far to get faster and its simply not true. By running higher intensity sessions and avoiding slow plodding miles training is effecient and doesn't drain an athlete's energy as much. It also leaves time for work and other hobbies! Being new to climbing my tendons simply can't handle the load of "full time" climbing training so I do a hard running workout 3x per week in the a.m., catch a second run after dinner and then hit the bouldering room to round out my day. The other days are easy running and off from climbing to allow my hands and legs the time to recover. 

With the running I am very trim for my body type and therfore require less pulling power, which is a large part of where I see endurance work as a benefit. To get the same strength to weight ratio with just climbing you would have to be ARCing like crazy or be diligent on the hangboard both of which could increase the risk of finger injury. I do notice that alot of double digit boulder problems I work inside require some burly moves that my shoulders or biceps can't handle. This is where I could see that running and climbing diverge for me as putting on big upper body muscle doesn't line up with my running goals but through good climbing form(kneebars  ) and finger strength that might not be the only path to success.

Both are super cool sports that I think can be mixed well. I also love that my running takes to me big city type races and climbing lets me explore some wild places in the most adventorous fashion!