The Importance of Cross Training

When I first began running I belonged to a gym. In fact, I was a regular. I would have some sort of workout planned every day, even if my “workout” included “rest” a couple times a week.

Back then I was pondering a big question. I liked running and I liked biking. Which sport was I going to pursue? It was a tough one. After much research I decided that I didn’t have the patience or the pocketbook to keep up with a serious biking habit. Did I really want to change my own tubes and grease my chains?

Growing up all I needed was my bike, and occasionally I would borrow a neighbor’s bike pump. Other than that, off I went, only to return home when it was time for dinner. Nowadays, I discovered I needed much more than that: a bike kit, extra tubes, strange tools I’d never even heard of. And have you seen the cost of bikes lately? Forget that! Running is so much easier. Give me a pair of shoes and I’m out the door, thank you very much.

The decision was easy, and I became addicted to my new running passion, so much so that it’s the only thing I did. I let my gym membership lapse because, as I reasoned, I no longer had the time to hang out at the gym. I’d rather be running. Can any of you relate?

As time wore on I began running longer and longer. Give me a clear, blue Saturday and I would much rather spend it running all day long instead of doing chores and running errands. Does anyone see something inherently wrong with this picture? Probably not. You see, all of this running is often referred to as specificity of training. If you want to be good at something, then do it, and do it a lot. You will build your running muscles and get very good at what you do: running.

Herein lies the problem: all of this running can weaken our non-running muscles. You never know when that might creep up on you and bite you in the butt. For me, that meant that I developed exceptional back muscles. Because I no longer worked my abdominal muscles regularly which were severely weakened by two caesarean sections only 18 months apart, my back began overcompensating for this.

Ultimately, I ended up with a herniated disc. A bulging disc, in fact. If you’re like me, prior to this injury I had no idea what this actually meant. Well, the disc swelled and bulged beyond the vertebrae and began pushing on my nerve. This shot down my leg and into my foot, causing severe pain and tingling. The nerve was being cut off from my leg and my leg began to weaken. This can become quite dangerous when trail running down steep hills, slowing losing the use of my left leg.

I have been running with this injury since last February when I first began noticing a strange pain in my back. Believing at first that it might be my SI joint, I visited a chiropractor to no avail. Massage didn’t help either. When it became so bad that rather than only bothering me at night it began infringing on my daily life, especially my running, I sought the help of a doctor. The pain stopped me from running and I have been suffering through steroid injections and working with a physical therapist for the past two months.

What have I learned? First of all, I realized that something was off right away. I first tried to fix things at home by stretching, icing, heating, medicating and cracking my SI joint. When that didn’t work I sought the help of professionals. I did everything right. It took some great conversations with my physical therapist to figure out exactly what my problem was. I was too specific in my focus on running. I need to cross train.

As I began to ponder my need for cross training I made a mental list of the different activities available to me here in the Lehigh Valley which I could include in a well-rounded cross training routine. I need activities which will challenge me and keep my interest. The activities should be the opposite of running, they should work muscles which I don’t regularly use when I run.

Here is the list I came up with:

Cycling (though I still won’t commit to buying all those extras, except the occasional bike tune-up)
Real Ryder classes at Multisport Fitness
Rock Climbing
Weight Training
Cross Fit Classes

I know there are other options out there but they just don’t do it for me, like yoga. I’ve given it an honest try but still can’t get into it. The fact that I hate water and getting wet is the reason why swimming won’t ever make that list.

The basic take-home for you is this. You may never get injured throughout your running career and to you I say congratulations. You are a rare breed and very lucky. Keep up the great work. For the rest of you, I would urge you to include at least one cross training activity to your running habit. Just one. Do it before you become injured, like me. Do it before your current, minor injuries become worse. Do it with this one question in mind:

Why do I run?

I run because I want to keep my weight in check. I run because I want to be fit and active. I run because I want to be healthy. The thing is, running alone has caused quite a few injuries over the past four years (ITB syndrome, shin splints, leg fracture, herniated disc.) It’s time to start a smarter fitness routine. One that allows me to continue running the way I want, but also includes variety for my other muscles.

Why do you run?