No workout, so something else

Because of the new statutory holiday, there was no swim today, and other than the swim, nothing else is scheduled for Mondays. So I'm accomplishing nothing today. Yay me! Instead of a workout post, I'll answer a question posted in the comments.

Mark asked whether commuter miles are worthwhile, if it's only 15-20 minutes each time. My commute is a little longer (25-35 minutes), but it's still the same question. Is there any aerobic beneft to be gained through this training? First things first, I'm going to answer from a training perspective. The environmental/economic benefits are too obvious, so not really part of the question. So, should you ride?

The time may not seem like much, but I believe that every mile, no matter how it's gathered, is worthwhile. Fifteen minutes, twice a day, 5 days a week, is an extra 2.5 hours of aerobic work. Ten extra hours per month. And it's time that you won't skip out on because of other commitments, because usually those other commitments are work-related.

Is that 2.5 hours worth the same as an extended 2.5 hour ride? The short answer is no. From a training perspective, the benefit of an aerobic ride is exponential (up to a point of diminishing returns). Two 30 minute rides aren't as good as a solid hour. The continuous demands on the aerobic system are the goalof most training. But the pair of rides are better than nothing, and that's really what we want to compare to.

There is something to be said for multiple workouts, especially regarding calorie burn. There is an bonus effect every time you "stoke the fire". So doing that twice a day is providing a nice little benefit there.

It was mentioned that it takes almost as long to warm-up as it does to finish the commute. We don't want to treat this as a training session per se. Sure, two 30 minute blocks of zone 4 work would be as good or better than an hour of zone 2, but the recovery cost is too great. A commute this short should be the active recovery that is preached. It won't tax your legs enough to hamper an actual training ride in the morning or evening, and on off days, leaves you to enjoy the rest of your life, without dedicating an hour to spinning out any stiffness.

And the last benefit is psychological. Most of us in cycling/triathlon just love to ride, and this is a perfect opportunity to do it without any other demands. No power meters, no intervals, just sunshine and asphalt. You get to ride, slow if it's needed, a bit quicker if you're feeling spry. And if you're in a good state, you can extend the commute just by missing the turn home, and you can steal an extra 15-30 minutes of enjoying the outdoors.

So ride. Enjoy it. If you can't have a 60 minute commute each way that you can make "training", then use it as a chance to work on handling, position, and recovery. Keep the gears light (I love my SS because I can't go hard on it) and have fun.