The value of cross training

I've never been big on sports.  Partly because I'm not very good at them and partly because I'm so small its almost abnormal, so if a ball is hit or thrown in my direction, I tend to run away! Being a runner now, I hear and read a lot about the value of cross training.  Some runners find another sport or exercise to keep them active on 'rest days' and other, more hard core runners might cross train before or after a run! I hadn't really given much thought to what benefits it might have for my running until recently.  I decided a few months ago that while I was taking a short break from running, it would also be the perfect time to get a head start on whatever cross training I was going to do.  Problem was, I'm not great on a bike, I don't like swimming and clearly any ball sports are out! So that left gym.  Being 26 and still built like a ten year old boy, I've never had any weight loss reasons to go to the gym and keeping fit only became a priority to me when I started running.  In fact, the first time I ever walked into a gym was when a typical Summer thunderstorm in Johannesburg forced me to try out the treadmill!  So two months ago I bravely walked into the small gym in my complex to give this cross training thing a go.  My running man helped me work out a few reps that would supposedly help to strengthen my legs and surprisingly, I quite enjoyed it...until we started working on the dreaded core!

To be honest I was never quite sure what was meant by 'your core' until I read the book Chi Running which explained it all nicely.  Turns out, leading a largely inactive lifestyle for 25 years will lead to a very weak core...which is not great for running.  In the gym I wasn't able to complete many of the simple core exercises without feeling pain in my back.  It was pretty embarrassing actually so needless to say I now do all core exercises in the comfort of my own home!  Two months later and I'm still going strong at the gym.  I've got a nice little routine that keeps me busy for roughly an hour after which I go home and work on strengthening the dreaded core! The challenge now will be to see if I can keep it up while racking up the mileage on the road again.  Will all this cross training help my running? I'm not sure yet, but I hope so!