Hiking as cross training?

daithieoghan

Hello,
I have been running a good bit for over a year now. A few 10k's and half marathon races with a view to doing a full early ish next year. Have just started marathon training upping my distance slowly but surely.
This week because of the a few consecutive days of good weather I have been hiking. I did lug on Monday, I ran 15km easy on Wednesday, Mangerton yesterday. ( I ran down), doing mt. Brandon in a couple of hours time.
I love hiking, I mean addicted to it, is it good cross training? Will it slow my running pace down? Strengthen bits and pieces of me I need? Or will it hamper my running prep?
I generally wouldn't do 3 good hikes a week, just had the time this week. And I normally run 3-5 times a week including tempo and yasso 800's( spelling errors accepted)
Thank you

tHE vAGGABOND

Good question, interested in what folks think here too

You cant replace the time on your feet running, but how good a substitute is hiking for easy days or indeed cross training?

Micilin Muc

daithieoghan wrote: »

Hello,
I have been running a good bit for over a year now. A few 10k's and half marathon races with a view to doing a full early ish next year. Have just started marathon training upping my distance slowly but surely.
This week because of the a few consecutive days of good weather I have been hiking. I did lug on Monday, I ran 15km easy on Wednesday, Mangerton yesterday. ( I ran down), doing mt. Brandon in a couple of hours time.
I love hiking, I mean addicted to it, is it good cross training? Will it slow my running pace down? Strengthen bits and pieces of me I need? Or will it hamper my running prep?
I generally wouldn't do 3 good hikes a week, just had the time this week. And I normally run 3-5 times a week including tempo and yasso 800's( spelling errors accepted)
Thank you

I did a good bit of running on hills (Dublin and Wicklow Mountains) earlier this year and last year. The first time I hiked/walked the same routes I had sore muscles other than those I'd feel after running.

Just adding hiking won't make you slower, or faster. It will build up strength in the other muscles not used in running - and decrease the likelihood of injury.

I intend doing my LSRs on Saturdays and short hikes on Sundays for the next while.

Krusty_Clown

Hiking won't benefit you as much as running, but certainly better than sitting on the couch! Probably best to think of it as recovery, rather than an alternative to running. I wouldn't do a three hour hike the day before a session or long run though, as, as per the post above, different muscles, that may negatively impact your performance. But life is too short not to do what you enjoy doing, so go out and do it.

thebouldwhacker

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

But life is too short not to do what you enjoy doing, so go out and do it.

+1
I think unless your winning events motivation is always going to be an issue at stages. I am more of a cyclist but the training I do on my road bike for events allows other benefits such as the fitness to go cycle touring for a week, fully loaded at the drop of a hat.
Fitness should have a practical application too, if your running let's you hike better and stronger then your doing something right.
Anyway imho hiking would be a good xt activity. Enjoy brandon, some day for it...