SomeDude wrote:
Many people stress the importance of building a strong aerobic base by running lots of easy miles. But I'm confused how that training should actually look. Should I be doing long runs? Tempo runs? Or would it be a good idea to do weekly trail runs?
Some background: my sophomore cross country season is starting in few months and I'm looking to improve as much as possible.
1600: 5:19
3200: 11:58
What matters most is consistency. Get out the door every day and run 45-60 minutes a day. Once a week, run longer, say 60-90 minutes. The pace should be easy enough that you can do this for weeks on end.
I suggest you not worry much about plans or all that other stuff you find confusing. If you just run every day this summer as suggested above, you will get better.
And, as you get stronger, you will want to run faster. When you start to feel this, go ahead and run harder once or twice a week. But keep the bulk of your running easy and relaxed.
Over the winter and next summer, you can start to complicate your training.