Cross-Training -- Is it Blasphemy for Runners?

A wise runner once said, "The hardest thing for a runner to do is not run."

For me, truer words were never spoken. For more than two months, I continued to run despite suffering from a torn meniscus in my right knee. Sure, there was a little pain and discomfort in the knee when I ran, but isn't a little pain what running is all about? So, like most hard-headed, addicted-to-endorphins runners, I continued running - as much as 10 miles some days.

But following arthroscopic surgery earlier this month to snip off the torn bit of meniscus, only the truly psychotic would try to run. There's simply too much swelling, stiffness and a loss of range of motion in the joint. So what's the runner junkie to do?

Cross train.

Oh, how I hate those words. OK, we've all read articles about how beneficial it is to occasionally supplement a run with another aerobic sport - cycling, in-line skating and swimming to name just a few - but when it comes right down to it, wouldn't you just rather run?

After all, unless you use a stationary bike, cycling is downright dangerous. And experts say it requires up to four times the distance on a bike to match the workout achieved in running. Moreover, if you sit on a stationary bike, you can lose your mind in boredom. With swimming or deep water running, you need access to a pool. And in deep water running, it's often difficult to elevate your heart rate into a "training zone" due to the cooling effect of water. Like cycling, in-line skating can be hazardous to your health due to the distinct possibility of crashes and it also requires more time than running.

What's the alternative? Instead of going on a hunch, seek the advice of an exercise professional.

In my case, it was someone whom I knew was living proof of the benefits and advantages of cross training: Mark Misner, a certified personal fitness trainer and owner of "Body By Design" on Davis Islands. For the last nine years, Misner has run the 15k at the Gasparilla Distance Classic in the 55-minute range, or just under 6-minute mile pace. How many hard-core runners do you know with that kind of streak? If they run enough to be in that kind of shape for that many years, they usually miss a Gasparilla or two because of an injury - like me.

I might have a sub-53-minute time to my credit, but what I wouldn't give right now to say I could hold 6-minute miles at Gasparilla with this bum knee?

So maybe Misner's philosophy of "balance" has some merit. Sure, he knows to run fast, you eventually have to train fast and put some miles on your legs. But Misner also believes in all those things that's so hard for us runners to do: a balanced combination of flexibility, weight training and low-stress aerobic exercise.

"For the most part, runners are way off the scale aerobically compared to the general population," Misner said. "But at the same time, it's been my anecdotal experience that they can be some of the weakest, least flexible and most-injured athletes out there."

Which is why Misner stresses weight training to all his clients, not just runners. A little time in the weight room working on those muscles neglected by running can save a lot time in rehabilitation of injuries.

Considering Misner never ran in high school (he was a wrestler and field event athlete in track), his current running ability is impressive. Apart from a brief period as a teen when he was into body building, he has always done some form of cross training and he firmly believes it's what has turned him into an accomplished, injury-free runner.

He admits that most of the above is true - that you usually have to spend more time on a bike or skates or in the pool to achieve the same workout running. But he is an ardent preacher of the idea that your body will benefit from those other forms of aerobic training on at least two fronts: using other muscle groups and resting those you just pounded by running.

"There's something to be said for the freedom of running because no matter where you are - on a business trip out of town or at home with a limited amount of time - you can always go out the door, run four miles out and four miles back and, boom, the workout is over," Misner said. "Many runners who only run eventually get injured to the point where they can't run at all for an extended period of time."

Unfortunately, that's the only time when most runners seek cross training. Misner says a more sensible approach is to cross train now, before the injury develops. He believes this is particularly important as the athlete reaches age 40 and beyond.

Some of the best alternatives to running, Misner suggests, are the new pieces of "elliptical" training equipment. These devices offer a motion very similar to running but without the impact. There's also devices simulating stair climbing and cycling, and, if you have to run, treadmills that feature runways that "give" or absorb the strike of the foot as it comes in contact with the belt.

"Runners will always prefer to run," Misner said. "But I firmly believe they can have a much longer running career if they concentrate on weight training and flexibility now, way before they reach the point of a long-term injury, and mix in a little cross training."