Cross Country LONG BEACH POLY BOYS CROSS COUNTRY PROGRAM Article By: George Wright Setting Poly is a 102-year-old inner city school with a long and prestigious athletic heritage. The school population of 4,300 is culturally and ethnically diverse dominated by Asian (39%), Black (21%) and White (16%). In a setting where one can easily be lost and overwhelmed, the XC program strives to provide a "family" ambience and sense of belonging. To meet that end, we have a very strong XC booster club, activities such as weekly pasta dinners, breakfast runs, team functions (golf was big this year), weekly newsletters, a web site and a year end banquet that attracts over 200. The boys and girls programs are coordinated, but separate and there is one coach for each with no assistants. Our geographical location dictates to a large extent, the type of training we do. There are no green belts or parks close by. We basically have 2 areas where we run. A 1.6 mile jog on cement sidewalks will get us to the beach where we have a several options including grass, sand and a bike path. The second main option is Signal Hill. Though it is not a large hill, it provides trails, dirt roads and steep grades. For the purposes of this article, all training and distances described are for the varsity (usually the top 9). We have 4 workout groups and runners are assigned based on ability and running maturity. Distances and difficulty are scaled down proportionally for each level. The periodization plan described here is based on a late November peak. Philosophy We believe running should be fun and promote lifetime fitness. Our mileage is kept at moderate levels. We believe in one day of rest and due to the religious beliefs of many of our runners, that day is Sunday. Preparation Period/Summer Program (Mid June-late August) Our summer program begins when school is out around June 15. A seven-week training plan is provided for each member of the team for this important base building period. We start out with 4 runs a week, totaling 24 miles and build gradually to 6 runs per week and a total of 4-45 by the first week of August. The weekly long run grows from 6 1/2 miles to 12 during this period. Most of the runs are done at an easy pace. One run might be fartlek or tempo and one will be a hill run. The captains are in charge through the first of August when I return. All runners are encouraged to keep a log. Summer Training Camp Those that have put in the training time are invited to our Mammoth Lakes training camp. This is truly the highlight of the summer for my wife volunteer parents our runners and me. The camp runs 8 days including one day of rest. Our runs range from 7 to 14 miles at elevations between 8,000 and 11,000 ft. Each run is an adventure taking them to scenic spots in the area including 2 wilderness runs and one in Yosemite. This has given them great strength and confidence on hilly courses. Our theme throughout the week is "SAC is FLAT" meaning that compared to the tough runs done at Mammoth, the infamous Mt. SAC course is relatively easy. Each camper receives a T-shirt describing all of the runs with distance and elevation statistics. A few notes on our camp: All of our runs are done on trails or dirt roads. All campers have daily jobs ranging from cooking to cleanup. Its all about camaraderie and teamwork. The bonding that begins here may indeed be the glue that keeps us together through the long season. In fact, running may be the least important thing that goes on at camp. After camp, we continue to meet daily during August stressing base work, maintaining our long runs of 10-12 miles and weekly hill runs. Additionally, our runners participate in a Park and Recreation Department sponsored cross country race series. We use this opportunity to do some mild speed work. Developing a training plan for the Season Our planning begins with an analysis of very detailed records kept in the previous season, noting those things that worked well and those things that didn't. We try to make an educated guess as to how far our team will be able to go in league and CIF competition in the upcoming season. A goal is set and our training plan is structured to reach that goal. The competitive season is divided into three to five week cycles, each culminating with a key race. The key races are usually invitationals but could be a dual meet in a close league. Each cycle involves a gradual increase in distance and/or intensity followed by a recovery week. For the first two cycles, we will cut back just slightly (10%) in the recovery week and get a little extra rest. The last key race is the race that is our ultimate goal for the year so the last cycle ends with a much greater reduction in both distance and intensity. Of course, no plan will be successful unless the runners believe in it and carry it out. We always remain flexible and adjust for things such as weather, injuries or illness. Pre Competitive Season (late August/September) The week before our first invitational in September we have our "Bun Run" Originally designed to give our runners a race experience it has grown into a community event, fundraiser and pancake breakfast. We will do 3 invitationals during this period with an emphasis on grade level competition. One will involve overnight travel and serves as a shakedown cruise for (hopefully) end of the year travel. For our younger runners these meets are a learning experience. For our varsity runners they afford an opportunity to get back into a competitive mode and find out where they're at relative to their individual goals and relative to runners from other schools. We train through all invitationals. To maximize rest before these races without mileage cuts, we will schedule 5:00 A.M. workouts the day before. This gives us between 26 and 30 hours recovery versus 18 to 22 of an afternoon practice. Running in the dark provides a welcome change of routine and also allows our runners to go home as soon as school is out. Main Competitive Season (October to early November) Our mileage continues to increase during this time hitting a high of 50 in the middle of October (assuming a late November peak). During this period, our training will include 1 or 2 days of hills, 1 day of speed work, 1 league race and a couple of recovery runs and the Sunday rest day. Very seldom will we race more than once a week and in that case will run only as hard as necessary in the dual meet. Heart rate monitors are utilized, particularly on 'easy' days to ensure that runners are indeed going easy. The highlight of this part of the season is the Mt. SAC Invitational. Our training prepares us well for our favorite course and we look forward to great competition. We want to do well here because this is the course that will be used for CIF and good performances will give us the confidence we will need 3 weeks later. We continue to train through league meets and the league championship (if possible). Our mileage during this period continues to be high, averaging around 45. Peak Competitive Season. (CIF prelims/CIF/State) Our mileage drops considerably. Speed work consists of shorter repeats at race pace or slower. We will train on hills once a week, but the number and length of repeats are reduced. Hill Training Hill work is the cornerstone of our training program and much of our success in recent years can be attributed our runners aggressive approach. Typical workouts will include a 1.25 mile street/sidewalk/parking lot rout to Signal Hill Park where we stretch and conduct team business. This is followed by a 15 to 40 minute trail run that includes a variety of climbs and descents. After this "warm-up" the team will meet at the top of the hill at our aid station (tailgate of my station wagon with 3 jugs of ice water). Then the fun begins. We use one of the steeper (6% to 18% grades) streets for repeats. Runners do loops, coming up this hill, cresting at the top and then jogging down a side street back to the start. The lengths of the uphill portions vary from 150 to 600 yards. Early season runs consist of repeats on shorter sections. As the season progresses, the number and length of repeats increases and more emphasis is placed on cresting or accelerating off the top. During the peak of our hill training, the repeats will total 3 miles (half up). Following the repeats, we cool down with a 1 mile trail run back to the park and retrace our 1.25 miles back to school. A typical hill day will be about 9-11 miles. These workouts will often take the place of an interval session if there are two races on the schedule. One fourth of our season's total mileage is done on hills, and during October the percentage is one third. Our runners believe that the hill work we do gives them a competitive edge on courses such as Mt. SAC. In fact, they look forward to hill workouts so much that I must restrain them from overdoing it. Speed work Our "track" sessions are seldom done on the track. Instead we utilize a local flood basin containing 4 pie shaped baseball fields arranged so that the perimeter of the outfields provides measurable distances and an excellent grass surface. Weekly sessions (usually Monday or Tuesday, depending on the race schedule) will typically include a 2 mile warm-up (1 mile run to the fields, followed by another mile on the fields), stretching, strides, a main set, and 2 mile cool down run. The main sets include longer repeats (mile or 1200's) early in the season; shorter and faster repeats (800/400) later on. The total "hard" distance usually adds up to 3 miles while the total mileage will be around 9 miles for the day. Race Day Routine We follow the same warm-up routine at all meets making only small adjustments as suggested by the runners. This routine calls for a 15 minute (approximately 2 miles) warm-up run starting 45 to 50 minutes before race time. Runners then spend 15-20 minutes stretching on their own. Runners jog to the starting line for strides. Water is taken just before going to the start. By following this same routine each week, and by experiencing success with it, our runners have confidence when they go to the line that they are race ready. Race days are training days like any other. After most races we do a 3 mile cool down run giving us a total of 8 for the day. This is especially important after Saturday Invitationals since we don't run on Sunday. At Mt SAC and CIF prelims we will use the rain course for the cool down to gain familiarity with that course--just in case. Post Season While it is still fresh in their minds, the runners help evaluate the season and our training. Did we peak at the right time? What could we do better next year? What are realistic goals for next year? We hope the results have made all the hard work worthwhile for it is this knowledge that will be the motivation for next year. It's now time for a well-deserved break of 3-4 weeks. We resume running in January. Sample workouts Pre Competitive Season, Mid September Date Dist Description/Comments 9/13/99 10.9 To Hilltop park, run course, then hill repeats s,m,l,xl,l,m,s back to h.t., back to school. 9/14/99 8 To end of Belmont Pier via Bluff Park (Varsity). Others 7 miles total. 9/15/99 9.2 Baseball fields. 1 to/1 there. .6 strides. 1 mile at rp & 1/2 recover, 3 x 3/4 & 1/4 recover. 1 mile ez, 1 back to school. 9/16/99 6.5 Double harbor master (Var), Single 5.5 others. 9/17/99 5 5:00 a.m. Los Cerritos. mile/course/mile 9/18/99 4 Warmup/cooldown before/after Woodbridge 9/18/99 3 Woodbridge Invite. Great Results. Kevin 16.11 (1st), Oscar 15.12 (cr) Bryan 15.29, 2nd, Steve 16.19 pr 13th, Floyd 16.54, Tim 16.58, Aaron 14.55, 1st. Team time 78:05 Tons of PR's today. cool, overcast great conditions. Total 46.6   Main Competitive Season End of a cycle, Key Race: Mt. SAC Invitational Date Dist Description/Comments 10/18/99 9 Baseball fields. Var ( 4 x 800 with 1/4lap fast start and 400 recover + 4 x 400 @ RP with fast start and 400 recover. Others 2 x 800 and 6 400 at RP. 10/18/99   Aquajog. 10/19/99 7.5 Hilltop. 30/15 fartlek on course then back. Varsity only. Others did 6.5. One loop on course 20/10 fartlek. then back. 10/20/99 4 Track. 1 mile warmup 7.55 then 3 miles pacing. 6.49/6.49 and 6.53 10/20/99   Pool Workout: 5 min kick. 7 min run shallow water forwards, 3 min backwards, 5 min aquajog. 10/21/99 4.5 To and from Hilltop park before Compton (Warmup/Cool) 10/21/99 3 Compton Dual Meet. Run EZ 10/23/99 5 warmup/cool down before/after mt. SAC used Rain course cool for Var and ED/J.V and Kevin Word. 10/23/99 3 Mt. SAC. 6th in Team Sweeps. Second among DIV 1-SS schools. Aaron 15.24 (trainng shoes), Oscar 15.32 (12th on soph list). Bryan 16.16, Kevin 16.17 (24th on Frosh list), J.t 16.39, floyd 16.47, steve 16.48. Johnny 17.00, Ed 17.06. Andrew 17.37 Total 36   Peak Competitive Season, Final Week Date Dist Description/Comments 11/22/99 7 Signal Hlll. Hiltop to 1 mile on course, then 5 short loops and cross Skyline to dirt road through canyon to return route. 11/23/99 4 track...1 mile stretch 3 miles including 2 laps strides in middle. 11/23/99   Aquajog..bottom walk for and back...7 minutes...jog with belts 8 minutes 4 x 30/30 and short 15 sec sprints 11/24/99 4.5 1 mi. warm. 1/2 strides....4 x 400 (1 rp + 5, 1 rp, 1rp-3,1 rp + 5), with 400 recovery...1 mi. cool. 11/24/99   Aquajog...4 min...4 x 15/15 h/ez...2 min ez. 11/25/99 4 CSULB 1 mi warmup. 5 laps ez/3 laps strides/4 laps ez... 11/26/99 3.1 Warmup on Woodward park course... 11/27/99 2 Warmup/cool state meet 11/27/99 5 State Championships...7th overall...Oscar 15.50, Aaron 15.56. Kevin (sick) 16.31, Bryan 16.37, Steve 16.38. Some good runs, some could have been better but 7th place is good for this team. Total 29.6   Season Mileage International Copyright © of CoachesEducation.com. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of CoachesEducation.com is strictly prohibited.