NatNews

Many runners tend to put in high mileage each week, making sure that they get all of their runs in and hit the training paces that they’ve set out for themselves. One integral component that sometimes gets overlooked, though, is cross-training.

For those unfamiliar with cross-training, it consists of taking part in athletic activities outside of the realm of one’s main sport. For runners, this can include cycling, weight lifting, high-intensity interval training workouts, yoga, and an array of additional forms of exercise. Actively participating in such activities can be rather advantageous for an individual and vastly improve his or her running.

Cross-training helps to build muscles that are not used as often—or at all—while running. Repeated muscle use can cause great wear and tear on the body. Varying between running and alternative activities, which helps to balance weaker muscles with stronger ones, minimizes the potential for injury.

“I cross-train using my Peloton bike and app for strength, stretching, and yoga classes,” White Rock Running Co-op member Paige Ryder said. “I have really picked up my cross-training in the past year. Adding in strength and stretching has helped me stay injury-free and work muscles I wouldn’t while running.”

Cross-training can also be a beneficial mental break from running and allow runners to grow in their love for the sport without increasing the risk of monotony. For WRRC admin Kevin Roberts, getting out on the roads on his bike on a regular basis allows him this variety.

“I’ve always biked, even before running,” Roberts said. “It’s tougher each year for me to run in the Texas heat. Cycling allows me to get in the longer workouts and also change up the workouts to help from getting burned out.”

And as Ryder also discovered, cross-training is ideal for feeling refreshed and ready for her next run.

“For people just starting to add cross training, finding an alternative form of cardio to help take the stress off your legs is a game changer,” she said. “From there, I would start adding strength and stretching a few times a week to add variety and help you stay healthy.”

Dallas-Fort Worth residents—as well as those throughout the nation—seeking to purchase new homes may find themselves experiencing significant frustrations. After all, gas prices are not the only thing that have been on the rise lately.

Economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas recently revealed that the year-over-year home price growth rate hit an all-time high of 20.6% between March 2021 and March 2022, and current housing prices still remain well above levels home buyers saw in the final months of 2021. In the first quarter of 2022, the house-price-to-income ratio rose to 95.97, the highest it’s been since the final quarter of 2004.

Needless to say, this isn’t exactly encouraging news for individuals trying to become new homeowners. White Rock Running Co-op supporter and honorary member Ethan Celuch said that he and his fiancé had a less-than-ideal experience while searching for a new home in the Dallas area.

“[It was] demoralizing and emotionally draining,” Celuch said. “The real estate agent would alert us of a property coming on the market the next day, and we’d schedule the first available showing to see it. Before we could even view the property, it had received dozens of offers—cash offers. We did not have the time to fight the market to find a property that we weren’t panic buying and/or overpaying for.”

But this doesn’t mean that the housing market will continue to cause such stress and headaches. Historically, when home prices have inched closer to the limits of what incomes can afford, they

eventually decreased back down toward previous levels. It could take some time, though. WRRC member and part-time housing market analyst Josh Odegard said he doesn’t expect housing prices to drop anytime soon but thinks interest rates should fall in the next six months or so.

“Interest rates are rising rapidly,” he said. “In January, 30-year fixed mortgage rates were at 3%, but now they’re close to 5%. Some experts think they could go as high as 7% before the end of the year—which would make a difference of hundreds or even thousands of dollars a month. I think interest rates will probably peak closer to 6% but will hopefully be back down to 4–5% by the end of the year. Buyers can get the houses they want now at higher interest rates and then refinance after a year if interest rates decline to lower their mortgage payments.”

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