Absolutely 100 % yes in every cases. Actually I would not call it cross training but supplementary training. After a while there is so much running that you can do, that training hours will be not enough to surpass yourself.
I mean, that after a while you gain so much fitness if you trained correctly, that your speed gains will results in shorter and lesser training hours. You know a pro runner can run a 200km week in 15hours or faster. Most of their runs are at sub 4 minute pace.
So, there a couple of decisions to make and ideas to absorb in case of cost benefit ratio. For instance a runner can integrate very stimulating strength and conditioning routines to integrate into the warming up and cooldown of the runs on a way that it is sufficient for life long strength support. And can add in some road cycling and winter cross country skiing for recovery. We talk about a couple of 30 60minute rides in a week.
Or, we can turn it the other way. That the cross training is also for training and benefits of it can be greatly pulled into running. In this case for instance we augment VO2max or LT training quantities. We can augment long efforts time. We can keep quiet high training volume post race or post effort.
Is it better to run a lot and train 10 to 15 hours a week. Or it could be better to run maybe a little less, but double or tripple training hours in order to benefit from the fitness gains.
Most importantly we must talk about periodization and workout organisation. That is the actual key to pull fitness gains. Improvements are not coming right away and are not coming directly. For instance somebody who is doing mountain bike intervals and mountain bike training, besides trail running properly for a month, might need 2 to 3 weeks of easy de-training to get the recovery and the neuromuscular adaptations going on. Make your heart, lung and muscles stronger, than apply that strength to your sport.
It is like body building and strongman. They have the all the muscles and they learnt to feel those muscles and train them in isolation. Now they must apply themselves dedicatedly to a more specific strength based sport. This is true only in the means of somebody who is doubling in. A pure body builder won't be able to compete in strongman, just like a road cyclist won't be able to compete in a sky running race. It is just not happening.
In case of an injury that can be sort of untrue. You know, if you had some serious ITB syndrome or upper hamstring tendinitis, you can train for two months exclusively with a bike, barbells and ski-erg than start back running like you lost nothing. But this is very specific to certain scenarios.
Now that we are into injuries, downtime, build back. If you had anything, not only injury, but a non possibility or a possibility, a chance, an invitation, if you knew a movement, you can do it and it can into your great benefit. It can build confidence. I have a friend who knows really well how to swim and lives near the see, but also a winter ski instructor. So when he get invited for a 30km swim run, well he just jumps in. If there was 45°C heat outside, instead of running and smoking himself, he can go and swim 2500m, then do some intervals, train his upper body. From September he very gradually adds in knee and hips stability than reinforcing training. For the ski season that is coming up. That extra training greatly benefits him for the cross country run season.
For a year I ignored cardio based cross training. I did only 20 to 60minute long strength based training routines. Stability, core, fore arm, isotonic and isokinetic movements. Daily. In addition, I chop wood and use heavy machinery. It is fantastic, but I gained 10kg of weight. Like 6kg of muscle and the surrounding tissue, water and more. The thing is that I am still like 8 to 10% body fat. It is not ideal and very hard to loose. So I bought back a bike, in order to integrate cardio based training sessions.
Killian is cycling some, rock climbing some, doing alpine stuff and also skiing winter time. Every body is doing it. I don't even say what Blumenfelt does and has been doing.
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