How does running affect the cycling legs?

For Triathletes, this may be just everyday life, but I moved away from running to save the knees. Took up the bike instead. Does anyone know if running takes away from cycling leg strength/endurance or help improve it? Affect FTP positively or negatively?

I probably enjoy running at least as much as I like cycling but my legs are basically dead on rides or on the trainer after my runs. This season I have all but stopped running because it affects my workouts so much. From what I have seen, running only seems to help me with weight/body composition as it relates to bike performance.

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I agree with Joey–as a triathlete, running off the bike is something I try to do after at least half of my rides, more for the mental strength to push through when my legs feel really heavy. I view cross-training like running is important because it uses different muscles than cycling does and it’s a nice mental break as well. If your primary goal is to get fast on the bike however, it seems like it would be wasteful to go on a run as it’s just going to tire your legs out without much upside. Just my two cents!

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