I believe in cross-training

It has taken me 5 marathons, a couple handfuls of half-marathons, and a half-Ironman to finally realize the benefits of cross-training.  But tonight, it finally sunk in.  A switch flipped.  A light went on.  It finally clicked.  [Insert any other "suddenly I realized something" cliche here.]

A visual.  In case you are inhumanly
immune to cliches.  Random aside inside a
caption: I get to see first graders make
this face almost daily.

There are many steps that led up to this atmospheric explosion of brilliance.  I will chronologically review them for you here, in case you would like to be as smart as me.

1)  Do a lot of running.  And nothing else.  Like, for years.  Do nothing but run.  Maybe throw in a couple later bouts of sporadic strength training or boot camp.  But really, just run a lot.  All the time.  Really far.  Then keep going.

Replace the word "swimming" with "running." Sing along.

2)  Get slightly burnt out, but don't admit it to yourself.  Run a lot of races.  Get faster.  Start obsessing about speed.  Kind of forget why you started running in the first place.  Have a really bad marathon.  Realize that running hasn't been very fun for a while.  But don't admit you're burnt out.  That comes later.  For now, just keep telling yourself that you're trying to avoid getting burnt out.  That you're just in a slump.

3)  Train for an event that requires you to do something other than running (but still includes running).  I guess I could just say: Train for a triathlon.  Even though as training begins and progresses, you may feel slightly overwhelmed by the sheer amount of things you have to do, keep at it.  Swim.  Bike.  Run here and there.  Do two things in one day.  Have really good workouts that don't involve running.  You may not love it the whole time.  It might even be hard.  But that's kind of the way running has always been too (even before the burnt out days).  Sometimes you'll feel great.  Sometimes you'll be glad it's finally over.  But either way, you'll begin to realize that you just might have strengths in other areas too.

4)  While triathlon training, learn about (or remind yourself of) all the cool things that other sports have to offer.  Swimming and biking offer so much to the endurance athlete that running may not have.  As much as you love running--as loyal as you are to running--admit that there are other things out there that have the potential to be fun too.  Remember why you loved swimming as a kid.  Allow yourself to get over your bike fears and dislikes.  Realize that as you train in other things, your running is remaining strong.  In fact, it's getting stronger.

5)  Have an awesome triathlon where running is the least exciting part of the whole thing.  Surprise yourself when its all over and you realize that your favorite part was the bike.  Admit that what was great about the race was all the different things it involved.  Earn a couple medals.

Compete in a race small enough that you can actually place
top three in your age group.  You might feel like you cheated
a little to get that bronze medal.  But you didn't.  You earned
it fair and square.

6)  Stop training (mainly to cure the previously unacknowledged burnt-outness).  Here's where you admit that you are burnt out.  That, with running, you've probably actually been burnt out for quite a while.  But also admit that you are kind of done being on a "training schedule" for a while.  This hiatus from physical activity may only last a few days, but enjoy it.  Allow yourself not to feel guilty that you didn't get out there and run today.

7)  Start running again, but only because you want to.  Have some really amazing life-affirming, love-of-running-renewing runs.  Don't sign up for another big race (well, you can sign up for another race just make sure it's more than 8 months away--9 months did it for me).  Then run.  Just run.  Run because you had a stressful day at work and it makes you feel better.  Run because your internal angst has nearly hit explosion point and if you don't run, things could get disastrous.  Run because you suddenly remember why you loved running before all the races and the burning out.  Run because it makes you feel good.  Run because you need to.  Don't run because you feel like you should.  Don't run because you feel like you have to.  Run because you love to run.

8)  Wake up one morning and realize that today, even though you've had a series of awesome runs, you don't want to run.  Today you feel an urge to do something different.  Ask yourself, "what is this strange new feeling?"  "Do I ignore it and keep running?" No, that's how you got burnt out.  "Do I acknowledge new sensation and indulge the urge?   Yes, yes you do.  [Side note: you may want to check the room before having this conversation with yourself.  Significant others and children could possibly be scared.  If the room is not clear, have this conversation silently in your head.  Much less crazy that way.]

9)  Realize that you have 4 out of 10 spin classes left in the package you bought while tri training, and decide to go spinning.  Visit biking guru Peter.  He misses you.  He wants to know how your triathlon went.  Tell him it was awesome and that you realized at several points during the race that you were so happy you took those spin classes with him.  Tell him that you blew your anticipated bike time out of the water because you learned so much from him.  Watch him smile.  Enjoy the fact that you just made his day (or in his words "that just made my week").  Then get on the bike and spin.  It may hurt more than it did in training.  You may feel a little less strong than you did 3 weeks ago.  But keep spinning for 45 minutes.  Climb the hills.  Make the turns.  Spin the downhills.  Sweat a lot even though it's cold and rainy outside.

10)  Feel good.  Feel really really good.  Pat yourself on the back.  Congratulate yourself at the end of the spin class.  Because you just cross-trained.  And it felt amazing.  Because you just pushed yourself way harder than you would have on a run that you probably would have gone on that day even though you didn't mentally want to.  Because you would have suffered miserably through that run.  You would have counted down the miles on that familiarly worn trail.  You may not have physically been tired on that run, but you haven't quite cured the mental side effects of being burnt out.  Congratulate yourself that you chose to do something different.  To use different muscles.  To maintain all that great work you did while training for the triathlon.  Acknowledge how this cross-training will strengthen your running for the days when you do mentally want and need to get out there and run.  Feel the light bulb turn on above your head.  Realize that cross-training isn't just another annoying thing that all the famous running coaches say you should do.  Actually understand that it helps.  It helps physically.  And it helps mentally.  And since we all know that the mental battle is the hardest one to fight, relish in this new understanding.  Embrace the idea of cross-training.  Smile, because suddenly you feel brilliant.  Suddenly you believe everything those experts keep telling you.

11)  Acknowledge that in the future you will now be spending a lot of money on spin class.  But it will be awesome.  Biking guru Peter is not cheap.  But you feel the desire to dish out the dough.  Because you want to cross-train once a week for the foreseeable future from now on.

Because you have just suddenly realized all the physical and mental benefits involved in cross-training.  And now you are a believer.

Now, I am a believer.

Just follow these 11 simple steps, and you too can be a believer.

Or perhaps you could take the simpler path and just believe what all those experts say.  You might be smarter than me that way.

But if you are anything like me, you have to make the mistakes yourself and learn the lessons through your own actions before you'll believe it.  You have to figure it all out on your own before you will believe what all those others are telling you.

So get out there.  Go do it.  Become a believer like me.