Dayna Pidhoresky’s cycling workouts for injured runners

Dayna Pidhoresky qualified for the Tokyo 2020 (now 2021) Games at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon last October. The runner is currently dealing with an injury in her soleus (calf muscle) and she’s cycling to maintain fitness while it heals. She explains, “I got the results last Friday, and the tendon is inflamed where it attaches to my tibia.”

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Injury hasn’t been the runner’s only setback of late. Pidhoresky is one of only two Canadians (the other being Trevor Hofbauer) who had already earned their spot on what was originally scheduled to be this summer’s Olympics. Athletics Canada will likely need to release new qualification criteria for the 2021 Games, but Pidhoresky is confident that her spot on the team will stand.

While it’s never fun to be injured, Pidhoresky says it’s nice to at least know what’s going on.

“I really had no idea what was going on with my body for a long time. Anybody I saw had no idea either. Basically, now, it’s a matter of decreasing that inflammation that built up.” To promote healing, Pidhoresky is taking Naproxen twice a day and cycling a lot. Here are some of her favourite trainer workouts that are getting her through the injury.

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Tempo workout

Pidhoresky’s tempo workout is 4 x 10 minutes at roughly 150 watts. She programs all of her workouts into Zwift to keep things interesting.

High-intensity workout

For an intense workout, the runner will do three sets of shorter reps. Her go-to workout is 8 x 1:30, 8 x 1:00 and 8 x 30 seconds. She says right now she’s still getting used to the bike, and her strength on the trainer is a limiting factor–but she’s getting the work in.

Other trainer workouts for runners

Start with an easy 10- to 15-minute spin before getting into the workout.

The ladder: 5:00, 4:00, 3:00, 2:00, 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, 4:00, 5:00 (the rest should be half the length of time of your previous interval).

The up and down: 3:00, 2:00, 1:00, 2:00, 3:00 (do two sets of this, taking a one-minute rest between each set).

The strength builder: 10 x 30 seconds hard, 30 seconds easy. Add this to any workout as an easy way to build power that’s transferable to running. Think of this as speedwork, but on the bike.