I am not a elite HS by all means but i run a 8:54 3k and a 15:55 5k(XC). I was wondering what workouts to do and how to train and mile per week this summer to get me to the next level.
I am not a elite HS by all means but i run a 8:54 3k and a 15:55 5k(XC). I was wondering what workouts to do and how to train and mile per week this summer to get me to the next level.
Those are strong times. What year are you? What kind of training did you do during the year and in previous summers?
For the most part, strong HS runners are just running a lot. Lots of easy miles, some strides, some fartlek type workouts, the occasional tempo, a long run. Those kinds of basics. Some certainly do more specific workouts, but most that I knew back in the day just ran a bunch of miles. Oh, and hills. Always good to run hills.
I use the summers to hook up with the babes. If you are a runner the babes dig you!
I was wondering what workouts to do...
you don't need to do workouts during the summer.
the summer is for recuperation from the rigours of track, for building your mileage a little, for being consistent, and for preparing for the work your coach is going to give you before x-country starts.
you will need one long run each week. you don't say how old you are but a HS freshman or sophomore should be aiming at running up to around an hour at an easy, comfortable pace, a junior or senior a little more, maybe 75 minutes. there is no need to count miles, this is just about spending time on your feet.
you will need one day each week of some sort of session at around your 3km - 5km pace. how you do this is up to you. you can do a fartlek session, or run some long intervals of around 1000m - 1200m range on a sports field or run laps round a lake or something of that nature. you don't have to measure them, you just want intervals of around 3 - 5 minutes at 3km - 5km pace, with some comfortable recovery. don't over think this, this is not a track-type workout, it is just a chance to keep in touch with some faster paced running without being silly about it.
you should take one day a week of rest from running.
you will benefit from one day a week of something shorter and sharper, runs at around your 800m pace of between 50m - 150m with long active recovery. something like 6 - 8 of these with 2 - 3 minutes recovery is enough. you can do these on hills if you have them but it is not essential. do these first, then cool down with a nice easy 3 - 4 miles.
the rest of the week should be easy runs, very low key, just spending time on your feet. since you have plenty of time in the summer, you can try doubling if you like. this just involves doing a short run, 2 - 3 miles is enough, in the morning, and then do the main session later in the day. start doing this 1 - 2 days a week and build up gradually if you like.
the real point about summer is to be consistent. you don't have to do anything special or clever or arduous, just do it regularly, and allow yourself the opportunity to recover properly from every run.
if you absolutely have to know about mileage, then aim to do a little more than you've been doing.
cheers.
Cottonshirt wrote:
I was wondering what workouts to do...
you don't need to do workouts during the summer.
the summer is for recuperation from the rigours of track, for building your mileage a little, for being consistent, and for preparing for the work your coach is going to give you before x-country starts.
you will need one long run each week. you don't say how old you are but a HS freshman or sophomore should be aiming at running up to around an hour at an easy, comfortable pace, a junior or senior a little more, maybe 75 minutes. there is no need to count miles, this is just about spending time on your feet.
you will need one day each week of some sort of session at around your 3km - 5km pace. how you do this is up to you. you can do a fartlek session, or run some long intervals of around 1000m - 1200m range on a sports field or run laps round a lake or something of that nature. you don't have to measure them, you just want intervals of around 3 - 5 minutes at 3km - 5km pace, with some comfortable recovery. don't over think this, this is not a track-type workout, it is just a chance to keep in touch with some faster paced running without being silly about it.
you should take one day a week of rest from running.
you will benefit from one day a week of something shorter and sharper, runs at around your 800m pace of between 50m - 150m with long active recovery. something like 6 - 8 of these with 2 - 3 minutes recovery is enough. you can do these on hills if you have them but it is not essential. do these first, then cool down with a nice easy 3 - 4 miles.
the rest of the week should be easy runs, very low key, just spending time on your feet. since you have plenty of time in the summer, you can try doubling if you like. this just involves doing a short run, 2 - 3 miles is enough, in the morning, and then do the main session later in the day. start doing this 1 - 2 days a week and build up gradually if you like.
the real point about summer is to be consistent. you don't have to do anything special or clever or arduous, just do it regularly, and allow yourself the opportunity to recover properly from every run.
if you absolutely have to know about mileage, then aim to do a little more than you've been doing.
cheers.
Great stuff. HS athletes are still so young in their development, and while putting in hard work, burn out is seen too often. Young runners, please don't fear strength training too. Begin with upper and lower bw moves. Squats, lunges, step ups, box jumps, push/pull ups, planks. I've coached HS Track, and the majority of runners are very underdeveloped and are mislead with what "strength training" is and how it can benefit their running. Many muscular imbalances and just focusing on aerobic development is selling them short for future development. Aside from mileage, drills, and strength work, love what you do and appreciate what running does for you.
SoM that's what they do.... SoM
having been around a few... they actually just relax and get some LSD with just a few speed and hill workouts to keep the legs a little fresh and sharp. It depends a bit on XC goals versus indoor/outdoor goals. So, it certainly differs across athletes.
Rumor has it as a teen, Alan Webb, would travel out to Wallops Island where he would use rocket ships to pace him in intervals, where he'd work up a huge craving for a nice juicy burger. Next he'd head to Five Guys. One day at Five Guys, he poured his fries onto a napkin. They landed in an oval with the numbers 353 in the middle. Alan went to complain that they didn't give him enough fries. And the rest is history.
Those are very good high school times, assuming you ran them as a sophomore or junior if you are asking. Just do what you have been doing.
Season is long if you are going through regionals and even longer if nationals. Summer is for general base building. Don't worry about pace, just get in miles and have fun with friends.
The most structured I would go is making sure each week includes a long run, threshold work, and hills. Do you strides and drills a few times a week. Run to the barn when you feel good.
I really liked that in HS our threshold work was done in intervals to help keep the team together. Started at 3 x 6 min early summer then built to 3 x 10 min. The team dynamic of being together in the intervals and helping each other I think is more important than if you sent everyone out on a 4-6 mile threshold run and they got separated but potentially a better physiological stimulus.
Tanner1213 wrote:
I am not a elite HS by all means but i run a 8:54 3k and a 15:55 5k(XC). I was wondering what workouts to do and how to train and mile per week this summer to get me to the next level.
Those are some solid times. Most HS runners just do base training. You're young, so honestly just run easy runs and a weekly long run. Try to get in a hilly run once or twice a week. And do 6-10 striders after a run 2-3 times a week to stay in touch with your speed. I can't tell you how much mileage to run without knowing your training history. The best HS runners in the country though run 60-80 mpw, those that can run at that level off 60 mpw tend to develop better in college though.
Anyone who says “don’t worry about pace” is either:
-speaking out of their a$$
-coming from a generation where they did all their easy runs at 6:10 pace and over trained like crazy (which is rarely anyone ever in your generation)
-repeating what they’ve heard on the internet
The fact is they don’t know sh!t about your training, your easy runs, your long runs, your mileage, etc.
I saw massive gains in my own training by running easy runs faster. Not hard tempo pace, but faster. I had a very good coach in college (ran 1 year) and he had me doing my runs at ~6:35-6:45 pace, and near the end of season I was doing them at 6:25 pace with the same effort. The faster athletes were going quicker even.
I’ve heard Vigil say that running over 7:00 pace is throwing away your time.
Some people definitely don’t need to worry about pace. Some people definitely do need to worry about pace. But in my opinion, easy pace is a very simple thing to improve over the summer. If you’ve been going 7:10 average for your 8-10 mile easy runs, work down to 6:45-6:50 average. You’ll notice it only takes a few weeks to make it feel like the same effort, and you’ll definitely be stronger.
Some real garbage advice is “don’t worry about easy runs” when they are what constitute 70% of your training over the summer, even more if you can’t long run / warmups / cool downs. You sure as sh!t should pay attention to them.
Cottonshirt wrote:
you don't need to do workouts during the summer.
you will need one long run each week.
you will need one day each week of some sort of session at around your 3km - 5km pace.
you will benefit from one day a week of something shorter and sharper, runs at around your 800m pace of between 50m - 150m with long active recovery.
Wow, Cotten. For "no workouts during the summer" this is an awful lot of workouts per week.
Here is where your summer priorities should be:
1. Increase your weekly volume.
2. Increase your weekly long run.
3. Increase your weekly volume of tempo running.
You can do some strides, but you should prioritize according to the check list above. Weekly volume is king. Weekly longs runs are next. Tempo running is third. I guess you don't think tempo is important, Cot, since none of your weekly summer workouts have any. The least important aspect of your summer should be 3k pace work. If you want to do some of that, just jump into a road race or park run maybe once or twice a month at most.
Tanner1213 wrote:
I am not a elite HS by all means but i run a 8:54 3k and a 15:55 5k(XC). I was wondering what workouts to do and how to train and mile per week this summer to get me to the next level.
I am (was) an elite high school runner. I ran 60-70 per week, max. Slow easy miles except for one day a week when I open it up a bit. I don't post here but maybe once a year as it's trollsville all the time. Good luck!
Cottonshirt wrote:
I was wondering what workouts to do...
you don't need to do workouts during the summer.
the summer is for recuperation from the rigours of track, for building your mileage a little, for being consistent, and for preparing for the work your coach is going to give you before x-country starts.
you will need one long run each week. you don't say how old you are but a HS freshman or sophomore should be aiming at running up to around an hour at an easy, comfortable pace, a junior or senior a little more, maybe 75 minutes. there is no need to count miles, this is just about spending time on your feet.
you will need one day each week of some sort of session at around your 3km - 5km pace. how you do this is up to you. you can do a fartlek session, or run some long intervals of around 1000m - 1200m range on a sports field or run laps round a lake or something of that nature. you don't have to measure them, you just want intervals of around 3 - 5 minutes at 3km - 5km pace, with some comfortable recovery. don't over think this, this is not a track-type workout, it is just a chance to keep in touch with some faster paced running without being silly about it.
you should take one day a week of rest from running.
you will benefit from one day a week of something shorter and sharper, runs at around your 800m pace of between 50m - 150m with long active recovery. something like 6 - 8 of these with 2 - 3 minutes recovery is enough. you can do these on hills if you have them but it is not essential. do these first, then cool down with a nice easy 3 - 4 miles.
the rest of the week should be easy runs, very low key, just spending time on your feet. since you have plenty of time in the summer, you can try doubling if you like. this just involves doing a short run, 2 - 3 miles is enough, in the morning, and then do the main session later in the day. start doing this 1 - 2 days a week and build up gradually if you like.
the real point about summer is to be consistent. you don't have to do anything special or clever or arduous, just do it regularly, and allow yourself the opportunity to recover properly from every run.
if you absolutely have to know about mileage, then aim to do a little more than you've been doing.
cheers.
You contradicted yourself. You said you shouldn't be doing workouts during the summer, and then say to do workouts such as intervals.
I'm basically at your times right now. I'll be doing 3 workouts per week. Make sure to touch up on anaerobic/turnover workouts, a tempo of some sort, and a long run. Those kinds of workouts will give you the toolset for xc. As far as elite highschoolers go, they generally do 65-80 miles per week and some crazy long and fast workouts (10k tempo, tons of mile repeats)
Tanner1213 wrote:
I am not a elite HS by all means but i run a 8:54 3k and a 15:55 5k(XC). I was wondering what workouts to do and how to train and mile per week this summer to get me to the next level.
They run all summer and put in a lot of miles including hills and tempo runs.
Tatter... hmmm... you really didn't try to stay anonymous
Agree 100%... that is a lot of workouts for no workouts!!! Just run... have fun.. once a week go longer ... add a few striders a couple times a week if you feel like it one day run run faster.. if in another day you feel different run slower.
nc high school runner wrote:
Tatter... hmmm... you really didn't try to stay anonymous
??? I broke 8:55 more in hs between 1-4 years ago, but I'm not who you think I am, it's just my handle that I've used for 4 years now, but not on this forum. As I posted, I only come here for results as it's a bummer to see what this site has turned into in a few years.
Here are my recommendations:
1) Get enough rest after the season. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!!! Most good coaches give their athletes 1-2 weeks completely off of running after a long year of hard training. When you build back up do so gradually. You won’t be hitting peak mileage until late July/August so you have time to build. You DO NOT want to overdo it in the summer.
2)Volume wise, you should aim to run roughly 10-15 miles a week more than you did the last training cycle. Obviously this can vary from person to person. An athlete running 80+ miles a week may only increase by 5 miles while an athlete running 20 miles a week could double their mileage comfortably.
3) Most of your mileage should be very aerobic. Pace wise, there is a time and place for everything. You don’t want to hammer everyday at 6:00 pace but you also don’t want to jog everyday at 8:00 pace. Make sure that you listen to your body and go easy when you need to! You don’t want to be cooked going into the season! I would recommend starting off very easy and going by how you feel. If you feel good don’t be afraid to run steady and get som high end aerobic running. If you feel crappy just take it easy.
4) Structure wise, I would make sure to include a few things. Every week you should do a long runs that is 20-25% of your mileage. The pace of this run isn’t too important at first but by the end of the summer you can run at a good clip for at least the last third of the run. A medium long run of about 15-18% of your mileage is good as well. During late July/early August you can do some tempos/fartleks but make sure these are CONTROLLED! Another thing that is overlooked is speed development. Once a week you can do 6-8x :15s hill sprints at pretty much max effort with FULL recovery (2-3 mins). You can do this as an afternoon double one day or just tack on mileage after the session. STRIDES ARE SUPER IMPORTANT! I would do 8x 100m strides pretty much everyday except for the ones you do speed development or a long run. Strides should be around 1600-3200 meter effort, but focus on keeping these relaxed and running with good form.
This is a sample week (you don’t have to do it exactly like this)
Mon- normal run + strides
Tue- normal + strides or a workout
Wed- medium long run + strides
Thur- normal run + speed development
Fri- normal run + strides or a workout
Sat- normal run + strides
Sun- Long run
5) DO THE LITTLE THINGS! Things like eating well, getting enough sleep, stretching/foam rolling, and consistent strength training will set you apart from your competition.
Finally, talk to your coach. Mark sure that you and him/her are on the same page bout the plan fore the season!
I know this may seem like a lot, but if you follow these things consistently, you will have a very successful season!