Lions XC Summer workout

Greenville Lions Workout for the XC Team during the Summer of 2019

Why run during the summer? Without summer training there is no possible way for you to achieve your potential as a runner during the cross-country season – the season is simply too short. Our first official team practice will be on Monday August 12, 2019 at 4:00 p.m here at the school. We will do some running, but mostly this will be a team meeting. What should be my main focus be during summer running? THE SOLE PURPOSE OF SUMMER TRAINING IS TO ARRIVE THE FIRST DAY OF PRACTICE WITH A STRONG AEROBIC BASE! Don't focus too much on speed throughout the summer. Just put in the time and miles and get your lungs, joints, tendons, ligaments, and BRAIN used to the rigors of running. Be careful though...it's addictive! At the beginning of the school year, if I were to say “we’re going on a ten mile run” you should be able to finish with a reasonable degree of ease. Start setting goals for the XC season, both as an individual and as a team. Set a goal of running a certain 5k time. Run some local 5k’s and 10k’s this summer on your own and experience the thrill of setting a new PR. Talk with more experienced runners at team runs to get an idea of reasonable goals if you don’t have any ideas, but make sure to have something that you desire to achieve --- if you don’t know what you want to achieve it doesn’t much matter what you do. Running Progression Calendar: On the last page is a running calendar. It shows a general schedule that you can follow throughout the summer. Obviously, if you are a beginner, you may want to cut back on the miles, but if you are a veteran to cross-country, you WILL want to put in a few more (top runners on the team will probably be hitting 50-60 mi/wk (no more). Running is so versatile that anyone, even if you have never run before can become a runner. Can’t run 5 miles yet? Run 3 or run 2, but the most important part is just getting out there and doing it. The key is to train hard but don’t over train. The last thing we want for the team is burn out. LISTEN TO YOUR BODY! Now, you may have to overcome some lazy tendencies (come on, it must feel better to lie on the couch than go for a run in the rain), but if you ever feel anything that is “not quite right” in your body, then TAKE A BREAK. Most running injuries are caused by overtraining and failure to rest. If you stick to the schedule, you will be surprised on how well you will do, how strong you will get, and you may be in a position where you can test your own limits. BUT REALIZE THAT RUNNING SOMETIMES HURTS AND THAT’S JUST PART OF IT. THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HURTING AND BEING INJURED!! Remember these progressions are suggestions, and each individual is different in terms of their training. The important thing about summer running is consistency – it is ok to take a couple days off if you https://www.halhigdon.com/training-programs/more-training/cross-country/ Lions XC are feeling beaten up or are on vacation with extenuating circumstances, but it is not really ok to take a couple weeks off because you forgot to train. If you don’t train over the summer your potential for injury will be much higher and you will not be in a place to race to your potential. The bottom line is that if you run over the summer your cross-country season will be much more enjoyable, you will run better as an individual, and the team will be more successful. Cross training: There are some days on the attached calendar that indicate that you should cross train. THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT! This can mean doing any number of activities, essentially where you are engaging in a cardiovascular strengthening activity such as soccer, basketball, weight lifting, swimming, biking, etc. Although it is difficult to quantitatively put a value on cross training, in terms of your mileage log you may write down 1 mile for every 20 minutes of cross training (indicate the type of activity in which you are engaging). For example, if you choose to ride your bike to your friend’s house who lives 2.5 miles away (instead of driving), you would be biking for about 20 minutes to get there and back – you may count this as 1 mile of running. Books to read: Born to Run by Christopher McDougall Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner, 50/50, both by Dean Karnazes The Runner's Rule Book: Everything a Runner Needs to Know--And Then Some by Mark Remy The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork: Embrace Them and Empower Your Team - John Maxwell In addition to fitness and faster running, what will I gain from summer running? To log your miles, write them down on either the attached training log or in your own running log. If you do not do so already, it is very helpful to write down the workouts and mileage you are running. This practice is useful in terms of keeping yourself accountable for training and allowing you to look back retrospectively on your training to see what workouts allowed you to race your best. If you follow the running progression in minutes, write the minutes down that you run instead of miles. I’ve heard a lot of people run for a set time period, not just miles. For instance, if you run a leisurely 8.5 minute/mile and run for an hour, you will have covered about 7 miles. If you follow the attached training progression you will be progressing from about 18 miles a week up to 35 miles a week. Over the course of the summer you will have run about 270 miles, which is not terribly difficult, but can be challenging with summer vacation plans, and if you are new to running. For those of you who have been consistently running for several years without being prone to injury it will be beneficial for you to run up to 300-350 miles over the summer. Remember, if anyone feels that they are beginning to become injured as a result of running miles during the summer, back off running until you are healthy so that you can enter the season healthy.

https://www.halhigdon.com/training-programs/more-training/cross-country/ Lions XC Nutrition: If you own a Ferrari and put diesel fuel in it, there is a small chance you will go anywhere. This may seem obvious, but when someone wants to be a competitive athlete and they don’t supply your body with proper nutrition, they will not and cannot perform at their best. I’m not saying going “cold turkey” on the foods that you love (i.e. ice cream, burgers, etc.) but you should make a conscious effort to limit yourself on what you eat. There are lots of runners who don’t really lose weight because they feel like since they’ve run, they can eat whatever they want. Well, this is partially true, but it’s common sense that if you eat more calories than you burn you will not lose anything. Runner’s World (www.runnersworld.com) has a tremendous amount of information with nutritional suggestions, recipes, etc. to help educate you on how to fuel your body. Here are some basic guidelines to follow: 1. DON’T SMOKE! This is obvious, but for some reason, I feel the need to put it as #1. 2. Drink lots and lots of water. Summer is obviously hot, plus water keeps your metabolism churning. When your metabolism is on overdrive, you are burning calories even when you aren’t running. 3. Try to stay away from refined sugars and starches (ex. Twinkies, white bread, etc.) – moderation is the key, but these foods will slow you down. Whole wheat bread, bagels, and pasta are good. 4. Try to eat lots of fresh fruits and veggies which are easy to get during summer months. 5. Don’t neglect your protein! Some runners think that all you need are carbohydrates, but protein is very important for fueling your muscles. Try to eat lots of LEAN MEATS such as chicken and fish and try to limit your burger intake. 6. If you eat fast food, please think about what you eat. Fast food can be healthy depending on what you order and where you go. THINK about whether what you are ordering will help you or hurt you during your training. SAFETY RULES WHEN TRAINING 1. It is always good to run in groups of at least two (in case of a sprained ankle, suspicious person, etc). 2. Carry a few bucks with you if you have to stop for a drink or something at a store and/or your cell phone for emergencies. 3. Always wear a reflective vest and/or lighting if you plan to run after dark anywhere near a road. 4. Always run toward traffic whenever possible (except on blind curves). This means run on the left side of the road. 5. If anyone causes you a problem, no matter how slight, promptly report it to your parents and the police. Get all information you can at the time...location, license numbers, descriptions, etc.

https://www.halhigdon.com/training-programs/more-training/cross-country/ Lions XC 6. Be careful off-road. Low-hanging branches, roots, curbs etc. can cause injuries. 7. Hydrate well before and after. 12 ounces of water prior to a 30-minute run and 12-20 ounces immediately after (water/sports drink) are a good idea. Carry your water bottle at all times if possible. Try to read this link - http://dailyhealthpost.com/11-ways-dehydration-could-be- making-you-fat-and-sick/ IT’S FANTASTIC! YOU NEED TO READ THIS. 8. Delay or cancel your run if you are ill. Try to avoid extreme exertion on the first day of a cold. Light runs with a cold after the first day are usually OK. 9. Inform your parents or another responsible party of the direction your run will take and roughly when to expect to be back

Here are some suggestions to change up your schedule a bit (in case you are getting bored!)This is also really good to practice the competitiveness of a race:

Tempo Runs: A tempo run in this program is a workout of 30 to 45 minutes, usually run on trails or in the woods so you have no reference to exactly how far or how fast you are running. Here's how to do a tempo run. Begin at an easy pace, about as fast as you would during any warm-up on the track. After 5 or 10 minutes of gentle jogging, gradually accelerate toward peak speed midway through the workout, holding that peak for 5 or 10 minutes, then gradually decelerate, finishing with 5 minutes of gentle jogging, your cool-down. Run hard, but not too hard. If you do this workout correctly, you should finish refreshed rather than fatigued. Fartlek: Fartlek is a Swedish word, loosely translated as "speed play." A fartlek run in this program is a workout of anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes that involves constant changes of pace at different distances. It is entirely intuitive (similar to tempo runs) and is best run on trails in the woods where you have no idea how far you are running. After 5 or 10 minutes of gentle jogging at the start, pick up the pace and surge for maybe 10 or 20 or more seconds, then jog or even walk for a near equal time until partly recovered, then surge again. These speed bursts could be anywhere from 100 to 400 meters, or longer. They could be up a hill or down a hill or on the flat. They could be at top speed or at the pace you might run a 5,000 meter race or from this tree to that tree.: "In order to be a good distance runner, you have to build strength and endurance, learn race pace, and practice race tactics. Fartlek training can incorporate all of these essential elements into a single workout." Fartlek teaches you how to surge in the middle of the race to get away from opponents--or hang with them when they attempt to surge on you. Long Runs: Long runs are necessary to improve your aerobic fitness and endurance. You begin in the first week, running for 60 minutes and add 5 minutes each week to a peak long run of 90 minutes. If your pace lags and you have to walk in the last few miles, you obviously ran the early miles too fast. Run at a conversational pace. If running with your teammates (something I recommend), use this workout as an excuse to talk about every silly thing that happened to you during the week. This is a workout that you can run on the roads or on trails. Mostly, have fun.

https://www.halhigdon.com/training-programs/more-training/cross-country/ Lions XC Interval Training: (Scheduled for Tuesdays.) This is a more precise form of speed training than tempo runs above, or fartlek below. You may have done interval training, or some variation on it, during the track season whether or not you recognized it by that name. Interval training consists of fast repeats (400, 600 and 1,000 meters in this program), followed by jogging and/or walking to recover. It is the “interval” between the fast repeats that gives this workout its name. In this program, I suggest a 400-meter jog between the 400 repeats, a 200-meter jog between the 600 repeats, and 3 minutes walking and/or jogging between the 1,000 repeats. Most important is not how fast or slow you walk or jog the interval, but that you be consistent with both the repeats and the interval between. For example, you do not want to run this workout and discover near the end that you are running the repeats slower than at the start, or that you need more rest during the interval between. If that happens, you picked too ambitious a time goal for the workout. Interval training is best run on a track, although it can be run on soft surfaces or on the roads, as long as you maintain consistency. Here’s more information on the three interval workouts I’ve chosen for this program: 10 x 400: Run this workout in the first, fourth, seventh and tenth weeks of the program. Pick a pace in the first week that you can handle easily. I suggest the same pace that you ran 3,200 meters in track last season, assuming you raced at that distance. Pick as your end goal for the tenth week the pace you ran 1,600 meters. If you have never run those track distances before, run the reps at a pace you think you can maintain for the entire length of the workout. According to the tables on McMillan Running, a runner who can run the 3,200 in 10:40 (80 seconds per lap) should be capable of running the 1,600 in about 5:00 (75 seconds a lap). Thus in ten weeks, I’d like you to improve about 5 seconds per 400, but be conservative; I would rather have you run too slow a pace than too fast a one. You can run faster as you adapt to the rhythm of interval training. For the intervals, jog 400 meters at a fairly fast pace. You want to recover between repeats, but not recover too much. 5 x 1,000: Run this workout in the weeks after you run the interval 400s: the second, fifth and eighth weeks of the program. This workout is best run on trails, perhaps on sections of your home cross-country course if it is marked in kilometers. When I was coaching the high school team in Michigan City, Indiana, we went to a nearby woods that contained a circular loop that was about 1,000 meters long. This was our “Kilo Loop.” The boys would run 5 x 1,000 fast, thus 5,000 meters, the same as their race distance. In Indiana back then, girls raced 4,000, not 5,000, meters so they did 4 x 1,000 meters. In between, they walked 3 minutes to recover. Run each rep fast, somewhat slower than race pace the first time, with your goal to eventually run as fast as race pace. If running on an unmeasured course, you may need to simply run intuitively, about the time it would take you to cover a kilometer in a race. I never knew exactly how long our Kilo Loop was. It didn’t matter to me or the team. More important was the effort everyone put into this speed workout. 6 x 600: Run this workout during the third, sixth and ninth weeks. Run each 600 at about the pace you would run in a 3,200-meter race. Notice I said “about” to give you some leeway. Jog a fairly fast 200 between, then go again. Keep the pace the same in later weeks, but progress instead in number: 8 x 600, ultimately 10 x 600. I choose these variations mainly so that you

https://www.halhigdon.com/training-programs/more-training/cross-country/ Lions XC speed train differently from week to week. Don’t get into the trap of comparing one week’s workout to the one before or the one after. Focus more on how you feel at the end of each workout, not the numbers on your watch. You should finish fatigued, but also refreshed. Run correctly and in control, interval training can be invigorating. It is also the single best way to improve both your speed and your running form. Overdone, however, it can lead to injuries and fatigue, chipping away at your ability to attain peak performance. Learn to use interval training as the key to cross-country success.

Rest/Easy Days: These are the two days of the week when you do not run hard. And quite frankly you can't run hard seven days a week without risking injury or overtraining. So in between the hard workouts, run easy. Rest can be an easy run of 30 minutes, or it can be a day when you do not run at all. You need days of comparative rest between the hard workouts, otherwise you will not be able to run those hard workouts at full speed. If you fail to do the hard workouts properly, you will not improve. Don't train hard every day assuming that it will make you a better runner; it may actually affect your training negatively. 9 week Training Plan – This plan is around 220 miles for the summer. The "minutes" option is roughly a 9 minute mile pace. This isn't fast, but as it's appropriate for base work. Increase speed as you need to.

https://www.halhigdon.com/training-programs/more-training/cross-country/