My Two Loves: CrossFit & Running

Of course this comes after my first loves - Hubby, Little Beast, Chubby Wubbies (my two other fat children).

I've been running on and off for almost a year now. I started at just under a mile last September. I've had good running days and bad ones, times when I'm not motivated to run at all, and others when I want to run twice a day. I used to think that in order to be a good runner, all you needed to do was run. Totally not true. If you run every day of the week, that doesn't guarantee you will be a faster runner. In fact, you risk injuring your knees or your ankles because of how much you hit the pavement. At my max, I was running 13 miles a week and that was all that was feasible for me. I can justify working out up to 4 times a week but anything beyond that I feel is time I could be spending with Little Beast.

Enter CrossFit. I was initially scared my running would suffer because of spending a couple days a week at the box. I actually lost motivation to run because of how fast I saw my body change with CrossFit. I certainly didn't see those changes when I was just running. After a month of not running, I had a 5K I signed up for with my local running mom group. I assumed my time would suffer and wondered if I would even break 30 minutes. I ended up coming in 3rd for my age group. So the more you run doesn't necessarily make you faster.

CrossFit has definitely helped my running. I have stronger legs and more endurance now. I also have a general feeling of being physically fit - hard to describe - but this has helped my confidence. And to be good at anything, you have to be confident.

Now that I am training for my first half, I do one long run a week (just hit 6 miles last weekend) and I go to CrossFit 2-3 times a week. Usually at least one of those WODs has a 400m run in it. I could probably run one more time during the week but unless it's a jogging stroller run, it probably won't happen. Little Beast is growing up way too fast and I don't want to feel like I missed it. He says at least 20 words now and one of them is "Outside". He is growing up to be just like Hubby and that is perfectly okay with me!

So back to running, I really enjoy my long runs on Sunday and I really enjoy CrossFit during the week, especially the crazy Friday classes. I love the combination of the two and am more than happy to be able to do them both.

Are there two sports/hobbies that you couldn't live without? Do you favor one over the other?