I'd rather be running. Always.

Cross-training. Ugh. Kind of. Or, do I like it?

I'll start with the "ugh". As I have said before, I'd rather be running. It's free, it's happy, it's hard. It makes you sweat - and you can tell. (Unlike swimming.) I like going past people when I am running. I feel strong and powerful. I am proud of myself. When I am biking and I pass a runner, my soul wants to scream out to them, "I'm actually a runner!!! I'm just biking because I have to! I'm like you!!!". It feels kind of sad. I just want to throw down the bike and run in my Velcro clip-in shoes, just to get to run. I think the worst is hiking though. I very purposefully pull out the non-back-strap-Chaco's so that if I do get the urge to run, (or attempt to succumb to it) it isn't long before I remember the decision of these shoes was to keep me walking. Then, I hopefully don't use them as hand weights and run barefoot - but at least when I do, this slows my pace, since my feet are not yet tough enough to run at a decent pace. I remember last year when I was deep in the snake-phobia, I would be too scared to run. I would be walking painfully slow, anxiety-ridden, and tiptoeing. How I first got myself to run again was to bully myself into it. "If you're walking you're just a hiker! You're not a runner!" We can be so kind to ourselves. I identify with running, it's who I am.

Now to address the "kind of". One must see the advantages - otherwise there wouldn't really be an issue. [It's like a moo point, a cow's opinion. No one really cares. It's "moo". Thanks "Friends"] It takes away the impact. It switches up which muscle groups are used to make one a more well-rounded athlete. It gives the greatly-used running muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints a nice break. Cycling especially strengthens the knees. I'm not sure of all the advantages, but I can imagine they are innumerable. The bad side of "kind of" - at me least for me - is this: I have cardiovascular endurance that far outlasts the strength of my running bones, muscles, tendons etc. I could run on and on and on, but a pain always appears in the weaker parts of my running form. I believe this is a lot of why I get myself into trouble - in the form of an on-the-verge injury. I could easily keep going, if it didn't hurt! I feel I sit on this injury fence. I have thankfully learned to listen to my body (more) and will take a few days off and only cross-train, when I feel I am pushing over to the other side. Which unfortunately perpetuates this cycle, and fortunately keeps me fit. (Please note: This should be a link to the entry on why I can't stick to running schedules - the one I've been trying to write for a week.)

Finally, "Do I like it?". Hmmm. I think I do, but I say that hesitantly. (Please refer to "ugh") I do because I am not sitting inside somewhere. I do because I love to be active. It makes me stronger. It increases my confidence, especially swimming, because I know how - it's something I am good at. I am not a great mountain biker, but I'm getting better. I can do this on trails. I am outside! When I integrate other activities, I can be active every day. I am actually becoming a faster runner (somehow) on around 20 miles per week. Once up to 35, occasionally down to 8. I am a very inconsistent runner, because I love it so much, when I don't hurt, I do as much as I can... and therefore cause myself to hurt. But that's another topic.

Therein ends my spiel on cross-training. Mixed feelings, but like it or not, (sometimes both) it gets done. Thank God for my bike. Thank God for my goggles. Thank God for my legs.