Making the jump from good to great

Training Advice/Discussion

8 years ago 04/19/2015 11:01pm EDT

Started running a couple years ago. Didn't take it seriously till this winter. Put in 45-50mpw consistently, with some fartleks and tempos thrown in.

Had some good success so far this track season. Won a couple smaller races but still get beat handily at the big meets. Probably won't qualify for state.

So I'm wanting to get to where I'm a medal contender at state in xc. I'm thinking build to 60-70mpw in the summer. Run some long tempos, fartleks and hills.

I have a couple questions if you guys would be willing to help out. Should I have a long run or not? Could I just replace regular interval workouts with hills? Like instead of doing 8x600 I could do 8x2:00 hills at 5k pace. Thanks for your help

8 years ago 04/20/2015 1:41pm EDT

re: short legs

8 years ago 04/20/2015 1:48pm EDT

re: short legs

8x600 doesn't sound like a very good staple workout for 5k XC. There's not enough of an aerobic component in that workout. I like the 8x2' hill intervals idea better, but I'd like it even more if it was 8x3' or 8x800 uphill. It can be hard to find a hill that long though, depending on where you live.

Cautiously increase your mileage, listen to your body, and stay consistent with everything.

8 years ago 04/20/2015 2:02pm EDT

re: short legs

Talk to your coach and come up with a plan.

Alternatively, read Jack Daniels book cover-to-cover twice, then come up with a plan on your own.

Finally, you can just search on Summer of Malmo and have at it...

8 years ago 04/20/2015 2:20pm EDT

re: va grad

Long runs make all the difference in being competitive to being very good. Strength and endurance you build from the long run allows you to have better quality tempos, intervals, repeats, etc.

Its all about the ability to handle larger and larger workloads.

8 years ago 04/20/2015 2:54pm EDT

re: short legs

Switch to an elite training club. A friend has dropped his hm time from 1:17 to 1:06 since changing teams.

8 years ago 04/20/2015 3:27pm EDT

re: cbenson4

cbenson4 wrote:
8x600 doesn't sound like a very good staple workout for 5k XC. There's not enough of an aerobic component in that workout. I like the 8x2' hill intervals idea better, but I'd like it even more if it was 8x3' or 8x800 uphill. It can be hard to find a hill that long though, depending on where you live.
Cautiously increase your mileage, listen to your body, and stay consistent with everything.

I should have said that the 8x600 was just an example of changing an interval workout to hills. Thanks for your input!

8 years ago 04/20/2015 7:34pm EDT

re: short legs

short legs wrote:
Started running a couple years ago. Didn't take it seriously till this winter. Put in 45-50mpw consistently, with some fartleks and tempos thrown in.
Had some good success so far this track season. Won a couple smaller races but still get beat handily at the big meets. Probably won't qualify for state.
So I'm wanting to get to where I'm a medal contender at state in xc. I'm thinking build to 60-70mpw in the summer. Run some long tempos, fartleks and hills.
I have a couple questions if you guys would be willing to help out. Should I have a long run or not? Could I just replace regular interval workouts with hills? Like instead of doing 8x600 I could do 8x2:00 hills at 5k pace. Thanks for your help

Forget about the "long tempos, fartleks and hills" during the summer, unless you're planning to peak shortly after Labor Day. Focus on building up to 60-70/week. If you get there, then you can think about adding in a little faster stuff to touch your speed before school starts.

8 years ago 04/20/2015 9:06pm EDT

re: short legs

Don't ask for advice on LetsRun for training. Find a good coach and do your own research.

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