First, a brief message of introduction: I am not a "coach" in the sense that I've any actual credentials. I've never attended a USATF coaching class (as though that actually meant anything anyway); I'm not a coach at a high school or college; in fact, I'm actually still a college athlete for one more year.
However, in high school I was very poorly trained and watched some of my (much more talented) friends suffer and fail to develop to anything near their potential due to the absurd workouts and backwards logic we were following for four years. It's taken me almost my entire college career to right the ship. In the interim, I've read nearly everything I could to learn more and more about running, as well as helping train a few younger friends with an eye toward their own development.
What follows is my "cookie-cutter" Summer Training For Cross Country program. In order to present coherent samples, I've had to write out a schedule; know, however, that flexibility is inherent and suggested, much as in Summer of Malmo. Nothing is rigid. Also, the "exact" schedule I'm providing is for a young runner, but one old enough to have a pretty consistent history of training (probably a college athlete). This is adaptable for high school athletes as well, but would probably better serve them with a slightly slower buildup and more emphasis on easy running without as much structure in the first month-ish. Also, since people obviously have different length offseasons, different needs, different racing goals, the structure can be flexible and altered to be different lengths, fall at different times, what have you.
However, unlike many who eschew and insult "schedule-making," I think it's possible to both be flexible and have a schedule that's loosely being followed. Many runners sort of flail around aimlessly without something to look at. The trick is teaching the runner (preferably early in his or her career) that nothing is set in stone. As Brad Hudson says, the entire schedule is "penciled in," which means it can be erased and altered as necessary. This is the main reason I didn't include a specific down week. I don't believe in planning down weeks, but it should probably happen once or twice during the building cycle. When the runner is feeling a little beat up, take that week a little easier in either volume or intensity (or, if need be, both), and then return to the schedule as normal.
Also, a note to those who struggle with the obvious: this is intended as offseason training for CROSS COUNTRY. 5k-10k. It might be relatively appropriate for the half marathon as well, as half training isn't that different from 5k-10k base training, IMO. But it isn't for guys prepping for an 800/1500 based season.
Here goes:
Phase 1- Fundamental Base Building
Basic tenets:
1. 2-4 weeks long, depending on previous fitness, training history, and injury profile
2. Focus: easy aerobic running with very low volume-by-percent of flexible (but utterly relaxed) "moderate efforts.
3. hill sprints and/or strides included for neuromuscular maintenance; not intended as "work-outs"
Note: notations like "easy," "moderate," etc. Are MEANT to be flexible. Like SOM, I don't believe in super strict paces/intensities in early building phases. However, since many young competitive runners over-run "moderate" and "tempo" efforts, I would suggest erring on the side of caution and going slower if you're unsure.
2 sample weeks (for experienced college runner building to 80-90 mpw, adjust as necessary for other situations):
Week 1-
M- 6 easy +strides (ex. 4-6 x 100m on grass w/ full recov.)
T- AM: 4 shakeout; PM: 8 easy w/ last 10 min. @ moderate
W- 8 easy
Th- AM: 3 shakeout; PM: 7 easy +strides
F- AM: 4 easy; PM: 7 easy +hill sprints (ex. 4-6 x :10, flat out, w/ full recov.)
Sat- 6 recovery
Sun- 13 long run (opt. last 10 min. @ moderate)
Week 2-
M- 6 recovery +strides
T- AM: 4 easy; PM: 8 easy w/ last 10 min. @ moderate
W- 8 easy
Th- AM: 3 easy; PM: 8 easy +strides
F- AM: 4 easy; PM: 8 easy +hill sprints
Sat- 6 recovery
Sun- 13 long run (last 10-15 min. @ moderate)
Phase 2- Aerobic Foundation/Power
Basic tenets:
-approx. 2 months in length
-mileage at end of phase 2 should be nearing peak volume, though some flexibility is possible to keep increasing into phase 3.
-for runners coming back from injury or starting their offseason training late (whether because of injury, postseason racing, etc.), phase 2 can extend into the beginning of cross country season. This is especially fine for high schoolers, who tend to race too much anyway.
-easy aerobic volume is increasingly supplemented by relaxed tempo running of distance (increasing in time/distance rather than pace throughout this phase); some tempos can be replaced with alternate threshold workouts to combat staleness/being bored, but the focus should be long tempos rather than cruise intervals, etc.
-Friday neuromuscular work becomes more structured speedwork, but still of minimal volume/difficulty
-1 or 2 races (as fitness benchmarks) are encouraged during this phase, preferably of different distances. I recommend choosing "off" distances to test your limits/mental side of running. As a runner training for 8k, I often enjoyed racing 15k/half marathon distances in the summer. I'd suggested picking maybe one 5k and one 15k/10 miler/half marathon
-Tempos should, again, err on the side of caution. For a runner with 26:00-26:30 8k goal, 5:50-5 pace is perfectly fine for phase 2. Run by feel; if it feels too hard, either go shorter or, preferably, go slower. One thing that makes the tempos much easier is having teammates/friends of similar ability with whom to share the burden.
Sample schedule:
Week 3-
M- 6 recovery +strides
T- AM: 4 shakeout; PM: 2 up, 4 @ tempo, 2 down
Note: for younger, less fit runners, it may be necessary to start with a shorter tempo of 2.5-3 miles
W- 9 easy
Th- AM: 4 shakeout; PM: 8 easy +strides
F- AM: 4 shakeout; PM: 8 easy +4x:15 hills w/ 2:00 recov.
Sat- 7 recovery
Sun- 14 long run w/ last :10-15 @ moderate
Week 4-
M- 6 recovery +strides
T- AM: 4 shakeout; PM: 2 up, 4 @ tempo, 2 down
W- 9 easy
Th- AM: 4 shakeout; PM: 8 easy +strides
F- AM: 4 shakeout; PM: 8 easy incl.: 2x 1:30/1:00/:30 at increasing intensity within each set; 2 min jog recovery between each. This should be PART of the continuous run. Allow time for warmup/cooldown.
Sat- 7 recovery
Sun- 14 long run (last 10-15 min. @ moderate)
Week 5-
M- 6 recovery +strides
T- AM: 5 shakeout; PM: 2 up, 5 @ tempo, 2 down
W- 10 easy
Th- AM: 5 shakeout; PM: 9 easy +strides
F- AM: 5 shakeout; PM: 8 easy +5x:30 hills w/ full recov.
Sat- 7 recovery
Sun- 15 long run (last 10-15 min. @ moderate)
Week 6-
M- 6 recovery +strides
T- AM: 5 shakeout; PM: 2 up, 5 @ tempo, 2 down
W- 10 easy
Th- AM: 5 shakeout; PM: 9 easy +strides
F- AM: 5 shakeout; PM: 6 easy, 6x150 @ "~current mile pace", w/ 250 slow jog recovery, 2 cooldown
Sat- 7 recovery
Sun- 15 long run (last 10-15 min. @ moderate)
Week 7-
M- 6 recovery +strides
T- AM: 5 shakeout; PM: 2 up, 5 @ tempo, 2 down
W- 10 easy
Th- AM: 5 shakeout; PM: 9 easy +strides
F- AM: 5 shakeout; PM: 5 easy, 5x:45 hills + 1x1:30,1:00, :30 pickups w/ 2:00 jog recovery, 2 down
Sat- 7 recovery
Sun- 15-16 long run (last 15-20 min. @ moderate)
Week 8-
M- 7 recovery +strides
T- AM: 5 shakeout; PM: 2 up, 6 @ tempo, 2 down
W- 10 easy
Th- AM: 5 shakeout; PM: 10 easy +strides
F- AM: 5 shakeout; PM: 5 easy, 2x1:30, 1:00, :30 hills, 2 down
Sat- 8 recovery
Sun- 16-17 long run (last 15-20 min. @ moderate)
Week 9-
M- 7 recovery +strides
T- AM: 5 shakeout; PM: 2 up, 6 @ tempo, 2 down
W- 10 easy
Th- AM: 5 shakeout; PM: 10 easy +strides
F- AM: 5 shakeout; PM: 6 easy, 2x3x300 @ "~current mile pace" w/ 2:00 rest between reps, 5:00 between sets, 2 cooldown
Sat- 8 recovery
Sun- 16-17 long run (last 15-20 min. @ moderate)
Week 10-
M- 7 recovery +strides
T- AM: 5 shakeout; PM: 2 up, 6 @ tempo, 2 down
W- 10 easy
Th- AM: 5 shakeout; PM: 10 easy +strides
F- AM: 5 shakeout; PM: 6 easy, 5x:45 hills +4x:30 on/2:00 off @ 800-mile effort, 2 down
Sat- 8 recovery
Sun- 16-17 long run (last 15-20 min. @ moderate)
Phase 3- Specific Endurance/Aerobic Power
Quick explanation: For many runners, reaching the end of phase 2 will mean they are already in their season, calendar-wise. Most high school/college athletes are racing either Friday or Saturday, and as such the T/F workout schedule isn't particularly plausible. For my personal schedule, which is (sort of) what I've been posting, the first 2 weeks of phase 3 are still summer training, so I'm going to stick with the T/F schedule. During most seasons, I'd recommend switching to a T/Th schedule, w/ Friday becoming an easy single, the Friday shakeout switching to Wednesday, and the long run remaining on Sunday, but at a recovery-type clip given a likely race effort Saturday.
Basic Tenets:
-1-2 months
-This is a hybrid phase. The same principles as phase 2 are still of prime importance, but the runner should've now moved from "fit enough to run" to "fit enough to train for specific race goals," and the training will gradually begin to reflect that.
-At first, workouts won't be a TON different, and there are WAY more possible variations now than in early summer intense efforts, but it does begin to get more specific and more structured. Tempo/threshold remains the most important aspect, with small volumes of race-specific type stuff creeping in as well.
-Easy runs will likely get slower/easier/etc. as recovery becomes more important due to more difficult to workouts. If the runner continues pursuing his or her aerobic volume entirely by feel, this shouldn't really be a "change."
I'm going to post only 2 sample weeks of the ~month long phase, because for almost EVERYONE racing season starts by then. The basic structure would continue, with flexibility important based on different race schedules/goals/etc.
Week 11-
M- 7 recovery +strides
T- AM: 5 shakeout; PM: 3 up, 1x10',8',6',4',2' w/ 2:00 jog recovery starting at summer tempo pace for the 10 and getting slightly faster on each (ex. tempo for 10, half-10k for 8, 10k-8k for 6, 5k-3k for 4, 3k-1500 for 2), 2 cooldown
W- 10 recovery
Th- AM: 5 shakeout; PM: 10 easy +strides
F- AM: 5 shakeout; PM: 4 up, 5x:45 hills w/ full recov. + 3x300 @ ~mile pace w/ 2:00 rest, 3 down
Sat- 8 recovery
Sun- 16-17 long run (last 15-20 @ moderate)
Week 12-
M- 7 recovery +strides
T- AM: 5 shakeout; PM: 2 up, 6 @ tempo, 2 down
W- 10 recovery
Th- AM: 5 shakeout; PM: 10 easy +strides
F- AM: 5 shakeout; PM: 3up, 2x800 w/ 2:00-2:30 rest @ 5k + 3x400 @ mile, 3 down
Sat- 8 recovery +strides
Sun- 16-17 long run (last 15-20 @ moderate)
That is the end of the "offseason" training as it were. Obviously things begin to change as the season gets in gear...more emphasis (at the beginning of the season) on long intervals such as miles, 2ks, 2 miles, etc. than on tempos, +some pace work in 800s and 1ks. Speedwork doesn't change a TON, but may get more specific/intense, etc.
Phase 4, when things really change more, is when the early week (Tuesday in this example) workout becomes much more specific, volume of threshold pace goes down considerably, late week speedwork used more specifically for sharpening purposes. Obviously races throughout.
I want to reiterate: the "SAMPLE WEEKS" are not a rigid plan. It is hard to give examples without a plan, so I included them, but in a real life coaching situation (or a self-coached situation) they'd be much more flexible and liquid, if you will. In my own case, I've probably only followed the day-by-day schedule I wrote out for about 50% of the days. Downweeks happen, as do days when a tempo just isn't what you want and an alternate workout becomes the task. Workout days change, etc.
The important part of the summer is to get the right amount and types of work done while HAVING FUN and enjoying running and training in interesting places, trails, or with interesting friends and teammates. The exact workouts are MUCH less important than putting in the volume and at least getting weekly efforts that stress the intended systems. The sample weeks are a good guide, but far more rigid than I would suggest anyone being. Take it easy when necessary, flip days when it feels right, etc.
Also another word of note regarding adapting a schedule to different ability levels: volume aside, I think this schedule is a little too difficult for MOST high school athletes. Younger athletes would probably be smart to do things such as dropping the "moderate" chunk off the long run, shortening tempos (if they are doing less volume), and doing broken versions of tempos (like 3x8 min @ tempo, 2 min jog, continuous) if they are not yet fit enough or focused enough to hammer away for extended periods. Be creative.
Also, for those doing MUCH less volume, shakeouts can be dropped and one of the recovery run does could be a full day off. Cross training could also be implemented when necessary.