Early-In-The-Season Training Article By: Jack Farrell, Retired Boys and Girls Cross Country Coach Thousand Oaks High School, Thousand Oaks, CA General Philosophy During This Time: What you're trying to accomplish: Our training is fairly consistent year-round for our veteran runners. There is not a great deal of difference in a training run on September 15th and November 15th. We do not follow a hard-easy pattern. All of our runs are basically tempo runs, fast, but within the comfort zone. Our mileage increases slightly from early season to mid-season (from 49 to 56 miles per week, from 7 to 8 miles per day), and the pace gradually quickens as runners become fitter, but the effort is fairly consistent. Our goal is to lower the comfort zone of our steady state runs. Athletes gradually dropping from 7 minutes per mile to 6 minutes per mile, will correspondingly drop their race pace 30 to 45 seconds or more per mile. Differences between boys and girls: Girls will typically run about a mile less per day and about 45 seconds to 1 minutes slower per mile. Some of our best girl runners, however, have run right with the best boy runners. Areas of emphasis: Keeping major components in balance (frequency, duration and intensity) and utilizing the races as part of training. Any training cycles? We run a kind of two-week cycle. Mondays are the long run, which is one mile longer than the average daily training distance. Assuming a race on Saturday, the first Wednesday will be repetition work, i.e. 4 x 1320 at race pace with 75-90 seconds between each. This will be done on a simulated cross-country course, trails or grass. The second Wednesday will be a pick-up run. If we race on Thursday as well as Saturday, then the repetition running and the pick-up run move to Tuesday. The other days are just regular street and dirt trail running. There are no especially hard days and no recovery days. We added a feature this season to strengthen the end of our races (from a Runner's World article). We call them cycles. We usually do just one. This is the only work we do on the track. The athlete runs a quarter at street pace, then a 330 at race pace for 3 miles, then a 220 at half-mile pace and then a 110 nearly all-out. The recovery is a continuous jog the same distance as the run. A cycle is exactly 5 laps. We usually do a cycle after the longer run on Monday. We experimented with our veteran runners with two cycles but found that one was sufficient. After all, it comes at the end of the longest training day. High, Medium, or Low Mileage? Our veterans will run about 7 miles a day in September and about 8 miles a day in October and November. Things we try and watch for: About 90% of what we are trying to accomplish happens out on the roads. It's necessary to watch this very closely. I use a car, a bike, or run when I can (it's getting tougher the older I get). I look for athletes running comfortably fast, a kind of fast, effortless float as a sign of fitness. I try to control athletes at either extreme, usually the ones who are racing the workouts (they're over their head attempting to stay up with athletes out of their range) or ones who chronically undertrain (they want to stop every few blocks and stretch, or go to the bathroom, or take on more water, or cut the run if they can get away with it). I am highly visible with my athletes on the roads, not only to discourage cutting, but also to reward those who are working hard and want the coach to know it. How long is this period? Our athletes spend about 30 training days at a given duration and then move up a mile per day to a maximum, which varies depending on their age, ability, gender and motivation. Therefore, we have a number of athletes doing variations of the same basic workout. Most street runs have 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9-mile versions. TYPICAL TRAINING WEEK: Week One Monday--Long run (one mile beyond the average daily training distance) plus one cycle. Tuesday--Regular steady state run Wednesday--Repetitions, as in 4 x 1320 at a race pace with 75-90 sec. interval Thursday--Regular steady state run Friday--Regular steady state run Saturday--Invitational Race Sunday--Regular steady state run on own Week Two Monday--Same Tuesday--Pick-up run Wednesday--Regular steady state run Thursday--League Dual Meet Friday--Same Saturday--Invitational Race Sunday--Same One of Our Favorite Workouts During This Period Is: Name: Repetitions (repeats usually at 1/4 the racing distance) Purpose: Practicing and becoming accustomed to race pace. (This is especially valuable for newer runners). Warm-up: During cross-country we always run from school to a park in the neighborhood to warm up the muscles before stretching. The warm-up run varies from 3/4 of a mile to 2-1/4 miles. The distance, however, counts in the total run for the day. Athletes pair up and do a series of static stretches for about 20 minutes, followed by form drills and shake-ups. The repetitions take place sometime during the regular run for the day, usually more toward the end than the beginning. This is more a matter of logistics than philosophy. a. Athletes are organized into 4 to 5 ability groups. Usually only the varsity athletes will run with timed rest. Lower level runners may not complete as many repetitions either. b. Athletes are asked to run race pace, i.e. 4 minutes for 16:00 runners and 4:30 for 18:00 runners. Things that we look for: We'd like the athletes to simulate racing as much as possible. Sometimes we even do the repetitions as cut-downs, i.e. 4:00--3:55--3:50--3:45. We've discovered that without timed rest, the athletes tend to race these, that is, run them considerably under race pace. The remainder of the day's run serves as the warm-down. MID-SEASON TRAINING General Philosophy During This Time: What You're Trying to Accomplish: Our training is fairly consistent year-round for our veteran runners. There is not a great deal of difference in a training run on September 15th and November 15th. We do not follow a hard-easy pattern. All of our runs are basically tempo runs, fast, but within the comfort zone. Our mileage increases slightly from early season to mid-season (from 49 to 56 miles per week, from 7 to 8 miles per day), and the pace gradually quickens as runners become fitter, but the effort is fairly consistent. Our goal is to lower the comfort zone of our steady state runs. Athletes gradually dropping from 7 minutes per mile to 6 minutes per mile, will correspondingly drop their race pace 30 to 45 seconds or more per mile. Differences between boys and girls: Girls will typically run about a mile less per day and about 45 seconds to 1 minute slower per mile. Some of our best girl runners, however, have run right with the best boy runners. Areas of emphasis: Keeping major components in balance (frequency, duration and intensity) and utilizing the races as part of training. Any training cycles? We run a kind of two-week cycle. Mondays are the long run, which is one mile longer than the average daily training distance. Assuming a race on Saturday, the first Wednesday will be repetition work, i.e. 4 x 1320 at race pace with 75-90 seconds between each. This will be done on a simulated cross-country course, trails or grass. The second Wednesday will be a pick-up run. If we race on Thursday as well as Saturday, then the repetition running and the pick-up run move to Tuesday. The other days are just regular street and dirt trail running. There are no especially hard days and no recovery days. We added a feature this season to strengthen the end of our races (from a Runner's World article). We call them cycles. We usually do just one. This is the only work we do on the track. The athlete runs a quarter at street pace, then a 330 at race pace for 3 miles, then a 220 at half-mile pace and then a 110 nearly all-out. The recovery is a continuous jog the same distance as the run. A cycle is exactly 5 laps. We usually do a cycle after the longer run on Monday. We experimented with our veteran runners with two cycles but found that one was sufficient. After all, it comes at the end of the longest training day. High, Medium, or Low Mileage? Our veterans will run about 7 miles a day in September and about 8 miles a day in October and November. Things we try and watch for: About 90% of what we are trying to accomplish happens out on the roads. It's necessary to watch this very closely. I use a car, a bike, or run when I can (it's getting tougher the older I get). I look for athletes running comfortably fast, a kind of fast, effortless float as a sign of fitness. I try to control athletes at either extreme, usually the ones who are racing the workouts (they're over their head attempting to stay up with athletes out of their range) or ones who chronically undertrain (they want to stop every few blocks and stretch, or go to the bathroom, or take on more water, or cut the run if they can get away with it). I am highly visible with my athletes on the roads, not only to discourage cutting, but also to reward those who are working hard and want the coach to know it. How long is this period? Our athletes spend about 30 training days at a given duration and then move up a mile per day to a maximum, which varies depending on their age, ability, gender and motivation. Therefore we have a number of athletes doing variations of the same basic workout. Most street runs have 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9-mile versions. TYPICAL TRAINING WEEK: Week One Monday--Long run (one mile beyond the average daily training distance) plus one cycle. Tuesday--Regular steady state run Wednesday--Repetitions, as in 4 x 1320 at a race pace with 75-90 sec. interval Thursday--Regular steady state run Friday--Regular steady state run Saturday--Invitational Race Sunday--Regular steady state run on own Week Two Monday--Same Tuesday--Pick-up run Wednesday--Regular steady state run Thursday--League Dual Meet Friday--Same Saturday--Invitational Race Sunday--Same One of Our Favorite Workouts During This Period Is: Name: The Pick-Up Run Purpose: a) We want our athletes to be able to hold pace or increase pace during the last half of a 3-mile race; b) since all runners use basically the same stride pattern, 170-190 strides per minutes, regardless of pace, athletes run faster by striding further and this is accomplished by using more of their oxygen uptake. We ask our runners during the last 1-1/2 to 2 miles of a regular run to go through a series of staged drops in pace. They are to drop the pace until they are uncomfortable and then hold it until they are comfortable, and then drop it again. Usually 4-6 drops will take place during the pick-up. A typical varsity boy runner may drop his pace from 6:40 to 6:20 to 6:00 to 5:50, or even faster. The last several hundred yards may actually exceed race pace; c) This verifies to our runners that they can get comfortable at faster paces and gives them the willingness and the aptitude to do this in actual races. In races we sometimes ask our runners to hang in for the first mile and then do a 2-mile pick-up run to the finish. Warm-up: During cross-country we always run from school to a park in the neighborhood to warm up the muscles before stretching. The warm-up run varies from 3/4 of a mile to 2-1/4 miles. The distance, however, counts in the total run for the day. Athletes pair up and do a series of static stretches for about 20 minutes, followed by form drills and shake-ups. How we run the workout: It's important that the athletes tack the pick-up onto a fairly continuous run. Any bathroom or water stops, should be kept to a minimum and taken fairly early in the regular run. If an athlete stops right before the pick-up begins, it virtually negates the beneficial effects. He simply ends up running a two-mile race to the finish. Things that we look for: Racing each other is discouraged in this workout, but it is hard to avoid. Athletes are also discouraged from dropping down to race pace immediately and holding it all the way in. This workout is a learning process and some athletes learn to do it early and better than others. Almost everyone learns eventually. I often ask our runners to time their last mile or two, but sometimes I ask them to turn off their watches if they cannot avoid racing in. Athletes do not really get a warm-down as the pick-up run ends at or below race pace. "The Late Season Training" and "Preparation for the Big Meet" are posted in the Running Section on the www.CoachesEducation.com website. 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.