I was looking through some old pictures over the weekend. I came upon one picture of a team I coached at the starting line of the All-State XC meet some years back. I had no problem remembering each of the athletes or her results. But looking at those kids made me realize that each and every of them got the most out of her ability. In fact each went on to run in college successfully. Those schools included Colby College, Northeastern University, Emory University, Kenyon College, Texas Christian University, St. John's University and St. Anselm's. It goes without saying that each of the young ladies was also a terrific student, and I believe, a National Honor Society member. NONE of their accomplishments can be attributed to me. Each one of those girls spent every waking hour working toward her goal, whether it was in athletics or the classroom. I am confident saying each has continued with the same work ethic as a successful adult. And isn't that what this is all about? If you live to be as old as I am, you spend 1/3 of your life working hard in order to help live another 2/3 of your life enjoyably. It makes perfect sense then to approach each and every day with goal and a willingness to put in the effort necessary to achieve it. That is how I expect every potential XC athlete to view this summer and the upcoming season. Keep in mind if you squander this opportunity it will never present itself again. That should provide all the motivation you need.
All that said, we begin training on August 23rd at a time to be determined. I have put together training plans for every ability level. The NOVICE, INTERMEDIATE and ADVANCED plans follow:
NOVICE
Week
|
Mon
|
Tue
|
Wed
|
Thu
|
Fri
|
Sat
|
Sun
|
1
|
Rest or run/walk
|
1.5 m run
|
Rest or run/walk
|
1.5 m run
|
Rest
|
1.5 m run
|
30 min walk
|
2
|
Rest or run/walk
|
1.75 m run
|
Rest or run/walk
|
1.5 m run
|
Rest
|
1.75 m run
|
35 min walk
|
3
|
Rest or run/walk
|
2 m run
|
Rest or run/walk
|
1.5 m run
|
Rest
|
2 m run
|
40 min walk
|
4
|
Rest or run/walk
|
2.25 m run
|
Rest or run/walk
|
1.5 m run
|
Rest
|
2.25 m run
|
45 min walk
|
5
|
Rest or run/walk
|
2.5 m run
|
Rest or run/walk
|
2 m run
|
Rest
|
2.5 m run
|
50 min walk
|
6
|
Rest or run/walk
|
2.75 m run
|
Rest or run/walk
|
2 m run
|
Rest
|
2.75 m run
|
55 min walk
|
7
|
Rest or run/walk
|
3 m run
|
Rest or run/walk
|
2 m run
|
Rest
|
3 m run
|
60 min walk
|
8
|
Rest or run/walk
|
3 m run
|
Rest or run/walk
|
2 m run
|
Rest
|
Rest
|
5-K Race
|
INTERMEDIATE
Week
|
Mon
|
Tue
|
Wed
|
Thu
|
Fri
|
Sat
|
Sun
|
1
|
Rest
|
3 m run
|
5 x 400
|
3 m run
|
Rest
|
3 m run
|
5 m run
|
2
|
Rest
|
3 m run
|
30 min tempo
|
3 m run
|
Rest
|
3 m fast
|
5 m run
|
3
|
Rest
|
3 m run
|
6 x 400
|
3 m run
|
Rest
|
4 m run
|
6 m run
|
4
|
Rest
|
3 m run
|
35 min tempo
|
3 m run
|
Rest
|
Rest
|
5-K
Test
|
5
|
Rest
|
3 m run
|
7 x 400
|
3 m run
|
Rest
|
4 m fast
|
6 m run
|
6
|
Rest
|
3 m run
|
40 min tempo
|
3 m run
|
Rest
|
5 m run
|
7 m run
|
7
|
Rest
|
3 m run
|
8 x 400
|
3 m run
|
Rest
|
5 m fast
|
7 m run
|
8
|
Rest
|
3 m run
|
30 min tempo
|
2 m run
|
Rest
|
Rest
|
5-K Race
|
ADVANCED
Week
|
Mon
|
Tue
|
Wed
|
Thu
|
Fri
|
Sat
|
Sun
|
1
|
3 m run
|
5 x 400
|
Rest or easy run
|
30 min tempo
|
Rest
|
4 m fast
|
60 min run
|
2
|
3 m run
|
8 x 200
|
Rest or easy run
|
30 min tempo
|
Rest
|
4 m fast
|
65 min run
|
3
|
3 m run
|
6 x 400
|
Rest or easy run
|
35 min tempo
|
Rest
|
5 m fast
|
70 min run
|
4
|
3 m run
|
9 x 200
|
Rest or easy run
|
35 min tempo
|
Rest or easy run
|
Rest
|
5-K Test
|
5
|
3 m run
|
7 x 400
|
Rest or easy run
|
40 min tempo
|
Rest
|
5 m fast
|
75 min run
|
6
|
3 m run
|
10 x 200
|
Rest or easy run
|
40 min tempo
|
Rest
|
6 m fast
|
85 min run
|
7
|
3 m run
|
8 x 400
|
Rest or easy run
|
45 min tempo
|
Rest
|
6 m fast
|
90 min run
|
8
|
2 m run
|
6 x 200
|
30 min tempo
|
Rest or easy run
|
Rest
|
Rest
|
5-K Race
|
What I have been telling some of the athletes is to begin with a plan that is comfortable for you. If after a few weeks it is no longer challenging move to a more difficult plan (starting at week 1.) If you are confused by some of the terminology in the plans, the following should help:
WHITMAN-HANSON
CROSS COUNTRY SUMMER TRAINING 2018
This summer’s training will
focus, as is it customarily does, on base mileage or foundational training, but
will also include elements of
speed, resistance and endurance. How may miles do you need to run to
accomplish your goals? The
appropriate answer is unique for you and varies dramatically between
members of our team. I feel it
takes two to three years of building up before you can tolerate a high
training load level. And no
training program should be used as a reason to over train. I encourage each of
you to discuss your summer
training with me before proceeding. Descriptions of some of the training
included in the plan follow
below:
Tempo Runs: A tempo run in this
program is a workout of 30-45 minutes, preferably run on trails or soft
surface with reference to time,
rather than distance. There is no need necessarily to know exactly how far
or how fast you run a tempo.
Begin a tempo run at an easy pace, that is warm up speed. After about 10
minutes increase your speed to a
pace that is slightly uncomfortable but one you can maintain through the
middle portion (10-25 minutes) of
your run, after which you will decelerate and run at cool down pace for
10 minutes. You should not feel
exhausted following a tempo, but feel somewhat refreshed following the
cool down.
Interval Training: This is a more
precise form of speed training, consisting 200-400 meter fast repeats
followed by a jogging or walking
recovery. Your speed during these workouts is less important than
remaining consistent throughout
the repetitions. You do not want to run an interval slower at the end of
your workout than at the
beginning, nor should your recovery period (the interval) be different from
repeat
to repeat. If you are new to
running it may take several workouts to determine the parameters within which
you feel comfortable. An
experienced runner may have already developed an intrinsic sense of how fast
he/she can run intervals as well
as the recovery required to repeat each in a consistent time.
Fast Running: For our purposes
fast can be generally defined as the rate at which you can run the entire
distance programmed for the day.
This does not imply or suggest that it is a sprint or even close to the
speeds you run your intervals, but
is somewhat slower than the middle portion of your tempo run. For
experienced runners, fast pace
can best be described as a pace 30-45 seconds off your (achieved, not
projected) 5K pace.
Long Runs: In order to improved
your aerobic fitness and endurance, long runs should be a weekly
element in your training plan.
Speed is not a factor in your long run, just a pace that you can run from start
to finish. These runs are better
accomplished when running with others. Run at a conversational pace.
Add 5 minutes to your long run
each week. It is about time and not distance.
Rest Days: These are the days
when you do not run hard. For less experienced runners rest can be an easy
run of 30 minutes, or it can be a
day you do not run at all. No runner should run 7 days per week. One day
of rest is required to maintain
health and fitness. You need days of comparative rest between the hard
workouts. Otherwise you will not
accomplish your goals for those hard workouts. And you will not
improve without those hard workouts.
Training hard every day will NOT make you a better runner.
Extra Training: For some
experienced runners, 35-45 miles of running per week is not enough. To a
certain extent , for those
runners, extra training will improve your racing speed. Extra training can be
accomplished by adding miles on
easy days (for Advanced runners, Monday and Wednesday) or adding a
second shorter run on one of
those days. If after 5 weeks of training with a second workout on one day, an
advanced runner can add a second
day of a short run. For example, an experienced runner adds a second
three mile run to his/her Monday
routine. After five weeks, he/she can add a second three mile to run to the
Wednesday routine. Keep in mind
you are expected to maintain consistent workouts on Tuesday and
Wednesday.
OK then . . . I have attached
Novice, Intermediate and Advanced summer training plans and ask that you
discuss your particular situation
with me over the next week or so. Our season starts August 23 and you’ll
want to be ready . . .
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