Sub 4:45 training log

I had never seen this chain before; it was cool to look through it. I am now an hs senior and pretty similar to you two. I train hard but a lot of times things don't pan out perfectly and I can be a head-case. The big difference is that over the past few years I've trained with some great younger guys who start slower and eventually surpass me (I am not the most naturally talented), so we were able to win a California state xc title. I hit about 50 miles a week with no doubles, and I ran 16:40 during xc but blew up at states, felt good running 4:42 and looking to finally prove my fitness. I'll stop by to see how y'all progress.

Last 11 weeks

18 miles
25 miles
48 miles
33 miles
21 miles
50 miles
26 miles
62 miles
48 miles
40 miles
58 miles

Finally, training like myself again, broke out of the injury cycle I had been in last semester when I got covid and had to take 3 weeks off. Just sprained my ankle this monday but I've been strengthening my former injuries all summer, so I made a quick rebound.

4 more weeks then a 3k time trial before the XC season starts, In the last few weeks I've had some of the best training I've ever done endurance-wise. Excited to see where this goes, then finally in the winter I'll break 4:45, only 2 years late haha.

Haven't been back here in a while but I ended up finally breaking 4:45.

Splits:

36.4

1:12.58 (36.19)

1:49.44 (36.86)

2:26.01 (36.57)

3:01.82 (35.82)

3:37.71 (35.89)

4:13.37 (35.67)

4:44.73 (31.36)

Also got the heat win, my first since my sophomore year of hs (now a sophomore in college) so that definitely contributed to my fast close.

I'd toss my training and xc results up here if there's any interest but I think this thread is dead

love to see it

What were some of your key workouts in XC and track?

Gonna try to send a big summary later tonight because I'm short on time right now but appreciate your curiosity and I will list my workouts and races!

Great job on your improvement! I just opened my season with a 1500m in 4:22. My personal best is 4:15. Interested in hearing about your workouts!

55-60 mpw is a sweet spot for middle distance running. The mileage really pays off when it’s time to run fast.

Was shocked to see my old thread bumped, congrats buddy. Happy you made it across that barrier. 31 close shows me you could be running 4:39 soon.

Ok so here's everything up to the week of my first week this fall:

For context, my prs going into the build:
200: 24.9
400: 55ish
800: 2:09
1000: 2:50.95
Mile: 4:50.7
8k: 30:33.7

Also, I run club at a school in the Northeast w/ a pretty competitive d1 team but also a pretty strong club team and was our 5-7 depending on the day in xc races this fall.

Additionally, I was biking 8-10 miles 5 days a week to commute to my summer job but I didn't include any of those rides here.

May 23-29:
13.32 miles at around 8 minutes, 4 runs total, just getting back into it after 2 weeks off

May 30- June 5:
26.06 miles, all easy at 8 minute pace, 6 runs and 1 off day

June 6-12:
30.64 miles, first full week of runs, still around 7:30-8 minute pace

June 13-19:
35.18 miles, started workouts
M: 2.02 at 8:11
T: 6.03 at 7:04 with 3 at threshold (goal 6:30, went 6:28, 6:26, 6:25)
W: 4.01 at 8:00
Th: 5.77 at 8:16
F: 4.5 at 7:48
S: 4.77 at 8:10
Su: 8.05 at 7:26, progression-ish long run

June 20-26:
40.04 miles
M: 5.2 at 7:52
T: 3.7 at 7:43
W: 7.07 at 6:44, 5x1200 w/ 2 mins jog (4:27, 4:26, 4:22, 4:24, 4:15). Was pretty happy with this at the time, but was probably too fast for this early in the buildup
Th: 4.77 at 7:55
F: 6.8 at 7:08, 11x(1 min on at 6:00ish, 45 sec off at 7:00ish), average paces were pretty close overall while on a hilly loop
S: 3.66 at 7:32
Su: 8.75 at 7:33

June 27-Jul 3:
41.17 miles, started to get a small foot pain in the lower ankle/upper part of my right foot towards the end of the week
M: 4.25 at 7:31
T: 4.76 at 7:51
W: 6.63 at 6:57, 4.2 miles at threshold (goal 6:30, went 6:32, 6:27, 6:24, 6:23, 1:21), nothing crazy here, just trying to be smooth and build strength
Th: 4.23 at 8:01
F: 6.18 at 7:33
S: 5.06 at 7:31
Su: 10.04 at 7:13, fartlek long 2x4x(3 on 1 off) w/ 4 mins jog between sets. Ons between 6:10 and 6:20, offs between 7:00 and 7:30. Foot pain was manageable but ended up taking it easy the next week

July 4-10:
7.18 miles, didn’t want to risk a significant injury (previously had a stress fracture in a different part of the same foot)
3 off days

July 11-17:
8.22 miles running (2 runs), 2 off days, 3 bike rides (45-90 mins)

July 18-24:
32.36 miles, foot felt much better after some rest
M: 5.77 at 8:22
T: 7.11 at 7:16, progression
W: rest for caution
Th: 6.09 at 7:39
F: 4.77 at 7:48
S: 8.6 at 7:08, moderate
Su: off

July 25-31:
38.83 miles, back to normal
M: 5:02 at 7:56
T: 6.12 at 7:03, progression
W: rest
Th: 5.72 at 6:52, 4 miles at threshold (goal 6:30, went 6:39, 6:20, 6:19, 6:17), decently hilly route too
F: 6.52 at 8:19
S: 10.07 at 7:20
Su: 5.04 at 7:46, first day in Boulder CO

August 1-7:
41.48 miles running, another 20ish hiking in CO
M: 7.01 at 7:35, 311 ft of elevation gain
T: 5.42 at 7:53, 449 ft of elevation gain
W: 9.02 at 7:42, 446 ft of elevation gain
Th: 4.00 at 8:21
F: 8.00 at 7:47
S: rest/travel back to MA
Su: 8.00 at 8:18, bonked hard for some reason (dehydrated from travel, back to humidity perhaps?)

August 8-14:
32.17 miles
M: 5.4 at 8:04
T: 5.2 at 6:49, 5k tempo (18:21), first time at sub-6 pace all summer
W: 6.16 at 7:43
Th: 8.04 at 7:13, 4x hill mile loop (6:42, 6:36, 6:35, 6:21)
F: 4.74 at 7:58
S: 2.56 at 7:49, 20.18 mile bike ride at 16.6 mph
Su: off/traveling

August 15-21:
50.03 miles, starting to hit real mileage now
M: 5.12 at 7:45
T: 8.00 at 6:38, 5 mile repeats w/ 90 sec jog (6:02, 5:57, 5:51, 5:46, 5:34), definitely the best workout of the summer
W: 8.06 at 7:36
Th: 4.19 at 8:01
F: 8.03 at 7:13, 4x hill mile loop (6:31, 6:30, 6:30, 6:28)
S: 5.4 at 7:40
Su: 11.19 at 7:32

August 22-28:
53.01 miles, biggest mileage week of my life at this time
M: 6.13 at 7:54
T: 8.28 at 7:04, 6x(4 mins on 1 min off), “ons” cutting down from 6:30-6:00, “offs” at 7:00-7:30
W: 9.24 at 7:36
Th: 4.34 at 8:06
F: 8.09 at 7:25, 6x1k on grass/trails w/ 1 min recovery (3:47, 3:43. 3:43, 3:44, 3:43. 3:42), felt pretty hard
S: 4.69 at 7:55
Su: 12.21 at 7:33

August 29-September 4:
36.49 miles, traveled back to campus, down week w/ rest day
M: 4.62 at 7:44
T: 7.02 at 7:22, 3x hill mile loop (6:36, 6:33, 6:32)
W: 4.74 at 8:01
Th: 5.4 at 7:39
F: rest
S: 5.48 at 7:55
Su: 9.21 at 7:54

September 5-11:
50.5 miles, started classes
M: 5.5 at 8:18
T: 8.6 at 7:46
W: 5.83 at 8:02
Th: 6.35 at 6:54, 3 mi tempo (5:56, 5:56, 5:55)
F: 5.7 at 8:13
S: 4.49 at 8:09
Su: 14.00 at 7:38 (first 10 at 7-7:15 steady, last 4 easy at 8-8:30)
End of Summer Training, races started

I spent most of this summer trying to get quality miles in, none of my workouts were crazy fast but the volume was good and I built a decent amount of strength. I was lucky enough to spend a week at altitude which also helped me a bit.

fall/early winter training coming soon, this is where the real workouts began after my base training.

Fall XC Training:

September 12-18
36.18 miles, took a day off for a spikeball tournament lol
M: 5.62 at 7:51
T: 7.46 at 8:11, 8x800 cutdown w/ 90 sec standing recovery, went (2:59, 3:00, 2:57, 2:55, 2:55, 2:53, 2:43, 2:37). First time I really ripped a workout and felt great on the last couple 800s
W: 6.1 at 7:38
Th: 8.04 at 7:15, 1-2-3-4-3-2-1 fartlek w/ equal recovery, stayed controlled and didn’t go much faster than 5:50 pace for the “ons”
F: off, spike ball tourney
S: 3.69 at 8:31, strides included
S: 4.5 total, 5k race at 17:28. Was mostly alone for the 2nd and 3rd miles but this was a pretty good rust buster and I was happy with it. Splits were 5:36, 5:36, 5:48, then 5:02 pace for the last bit

September 19-25:
33.02 miles, 1 day off to let a blister heal
M: 2.71 at 8:18, 20 min bike
T: 9.41 at 7:06, 3x10 min tempo at 6:00, 5:55, 5:50 for each rep and 3 min jog recovery. Pretty key strength work here
W: 6.12 at 7:50
Th: 6.21 at 8:08, 12x400 on gravel path at 5k with 1 min standing rest, averaged around 80-82 for these
F: 30 min bike
S: 8 total, 8k at 29:43 at Franklin Park (pr). Did this in trainers bc blister, splits were 5:34, 5:56, 5:59, 6:01, 5:59. Pacing was sub optimal but Franklin park is hilly and I still prd by 40 seconds so this was good.
Su: 20 mile bike ride at 16.2 mph

September 26-October 2:
50.35 miles
M: 6.3 at 7:46
T: 6.39 at 7:49, hill repeats, 700 ft of elevation gain
W: 7.07 at 8:02
Th: 8.78 at 6:59, 10x(2 min on 2 min off), ons at 5:55-6:00, offs at 7:00-7:15, felt very smooth and relaxed for these
F: 3.79 at 8:14 w/ strides included
S: 7 total, 8k at 29.19.59 at Highland Park, 24 second pr. Pacing was better, went 5:40, 5:49, 5:57, 5:58, 5:55, and was happy with this race. Side note course was muddy
Su: 11.01 at 7:44

October 3-9:
52.12 miles w/ an off day, team trip to Acadia NP so lots of good running on gravel over the weekend
M: 5.14 at 7:45
T: 7.11 at 7:37
W: 9.15 at 7:51, 4 x tempo mile on rocky trails (6:07, 6:07, 6:08, 6:13). Terrain was pretty rugged and hilly so this was a tough effort
Th: 5.05 at 8:01
F: 40 min easy bike b/c lots of mileage planned for the weekend
S: 10.53 at 7:28, 2x2.7 mile tempo (6:10 pace, 6:00 pace), also accumulated 1,058 ft of elevation gain
Su: 13.5 at 7:06, (886 ft of elevation gain)probably the best long run of the fall

October 10-16:
51.15 miles
M: 7.41 miles at 9ish pace, ran up Cadillac Mountain to see first sunrise in the US and back down again (1000 ft of elevation gain in 3.4 miles)
T: 5.73 at 8:21
W: 9.47 at 7:23, 4x4x400 w/ 30 sec between reps and 2:30 jog between sets, started at 80s and cut down to 73-71 for the last 4, this was definitely one of the best workouts of the fall and also my first time on a track since last spring
Th: 7.58 at 7:56
F: 7.66 at 7:15 w/ 8x(90 sec on 2 mins off), “ons” at 8k pace (5:45) “offs” at easy (7:30-8:00)
S: 3.48 at 8:29
Su: 9.65 total, 8k tempo at 29:59, tried to stay controlled the whole way and felt smooth

October 17-23:
30.07 miles, NIRCA regionals week
M: 4.39 at 8:01
T: 9.01 at 7:57, 10x800 cutdown w/ 90 sec standing rest, (2:56, 2:57, 2:53, 2:52, 2:49, 2:50, 2:45, 2:44, 2:37, 2:31), probably the strongest workout of the fall, closing in 2:31 for an 800 on a road was a pretty clear indicator of fitness
W: 4.09 at 7:51
Th: rest day
F: 4.03 at 8:03 w/ strides
S: 8 total, NIRCA regionals 8k (28:54.75), 57th overall out of 200ish. Great race, pr-ed by 20ish seconds, splits were 5:39, 5:45, 5:52, 5:53, 5:44. Thought I was gonna die pretty badly over the last mile but held on, hr average was 199 and got up to 209 so I was probably extremely close to blowing up
Su: 1 hour stationary bike

October 24-30:
44.99 miles
M: 5.13 at 8:19
T: 8.09 at 7:06, was supposed to do 4x2k w/ 1600 at tempo 400 faster but got my booster and felt pretty bad so bailed halfway through, this was my only true bad workout of the fall
W: 6.28 at 8:07
Th: 7.66 at 7:04, 5x1k w/ 400 jog, (3:27, 3:28, 3:26, 3:27, 3:09)
F: 3.28 at 8:31
S: 6 total w/ 5k tempo at 5:57 pace
Su: 8.58 at 7:44

October 31-November 6:
48.33 miles, last full week of xc training
M: 4.79 at 8:13
T: 9.09 at 7:04, 2x2mi tempo at 5:56, 5:51
W: 5.97 at 7:52
Th: 8.29 at 6:43, 4-8-12-16-12-8-4 ladder track workout w/ 2 min jog between everything (1:17, 2:49, 4:14, 5:44, 4:13, 2:43, 1:10), felt smooth
F: 4.85 at 7:57
S: 3.79 at 7:42
Su: 5.5 at 8:08

November 7-13:
NIRCA Nattys week, 27.91 miles
M: 5.26 at 7:49
T: 7.62 at 7:33, 2 mi tempo (5:56, 5:46), 4x400 (74, 70, 73, 68), 2x200 (28, 27), 200s in dragonflys
W: 5.09 at 8:04
Th: rest day
F: 2.64 at 8:00 w/ strides
S: NIRCA Nationals (29:09). Very hot and humid, was initially a little disappointed w/ the time but the course was also long and 70 degrees w/ 75% humidity is too hot for a November xc race so almost no one ran prs. Splits were 5:24, 5:50, 5:54, 5:55, 5:44 which is solid, and placed 151 out of 300ish after being 220th my freshman year so competition-wise I ran well which is what xc is more about anyways
Su: off

Didn't really have a bad race all fall and consistently improved. I also was dealing with some nagging hip pain towards the end but it wasn't bothering me that much. Cut off almost 2 minutes from my 8k pr so this was definitely a very solid build and my aerobic fitness grew a lot.

Is your results update?

Sorry for the long delay, got busy with school work but here's my indoor season with workouts and all that.

November 14-20:
Rest week:
40 min bike Wednesday, Friday
60 min bike Saturday
6.5 miles Sunday at 8:25

November 21-27:
34.72 miles
M: 7.36 at 7:51
T: 8.1 at 6:55
W: 4.19 at 8:00
Th: 6.01 at 6:55, 2x1k (3:31, 3:29), 2x800 (2:49, 2:45), 1x400 (73), felt bad but fine for first workout back, lift after
F: 4.28 at 7:50, strides
S: 5.5 total, 5k tempo at 18 flat
Su: off

November 28-December 4:
36.81 miles
M: 6.02 at 8:08
T: 6.16 at 7:38, 2x800 (2:43, 2:41), 3x400 (74, 74, 71), 4x200 (33, 31, 29, 30)
W: 5.38 at 7:56
Th: 5.11 at 8:19
F: 4.14 at 8:56, strides
S: 4ish total, 1000m race at 2:45 (33, 33, 33, 33, 32). Raced in a d1 meet, sat at the back of the pack for the first 500ish, moved up a bit and finished 12th out of 20 as the only non d1 runner. No idea how I did this off of no speed work but this was an excellent race
Su: 6.07 at 8:05

December 5-11:
47.27 miles
M: 4.4 at 7:10, 6x400 at 66ish
T: 5.66 at 8:27
W: 5.38 at 8:28
Th: 6.05 at 8:00
F: 5.55 at 8:45
S: 4.17 at 8:25
Su: 16.02 at 8:05

December 12-18:
45.07 miles
M: 6.02 at 7:38
T: 7.35 at 7:21
W: 5.66 at 8:03
Th: 6.81 at 8:18, 4x200 at 30
F: 5.00 at 7:43
S: 5.08 at 7:32
Su: 9.12 at 7:45

December 19-25:
40.63 miles
M: 5.17 at 8:07
T: off (traveling home)
W: 5.03 at 8:16
Th: 7.63 at 6:53, 10x(2 on 2 off), 5:51 avg for ons, 6:41 avg for offs, felt very smooth
F: 6.17 at 7:26
S: 9.17 at 7:04
Su: 7.45 at 7:18

December 26-January 1:
35.07 miles
M: off, traveling
T: 4.05 at 7:26
W: 5.01 at 7:16, 1 mile at 6 flat, 10x30 sec hill 1 min recovery
Th: 4.7 at 7:48
F: 7:00 at 6:36, 2x2mi at 11:40, 11:21, felt some hip pain
S: 6.01 at 7:47
Su: 8.2 at 7:45

January 2-8:
43.33 miles
M: 4.74 at 7:36
T: 6.02 at 7:06, 2x6x400 w/ 30 sec between reps, 60 sec between sets. Avg 79-80ish, pretty smooth
W: 5.61 at 7:46
Th: 4.54 at 7:47
F: 7.52 at 6:39, 4 mile tempo (6:06, 5:58, 5:53, 5:45), felt decent, hip pain not that bad
S: 4.87 at 7:25, strides
Su: 10.01 at 7:23, still some hip pain

January 9-15:
36.18 miles
M: skiing
T: skiing
W: 4.23 at 8:06
Th: 6.56 at 6:44, paced someone to a 18:30 5k, then did 4x300 at mile (52ish) w/ 1 min recovery
F: 6.85 at 7:26
S: 4.2 at 7:38, strides
Su: 10.12 at 7:15

January 16-22
50.08 miles
M: 5.05 at 7:39
T: 7.02 at 7:23, 6x800 on roads, 1 min rest, (2:59, 2:55, 2:49, 2:43, 2:40, 2:35), lift
W: 6.7 at 8:02
Th: 5.47 at 7:53
F: 9.00 at 7:07, 5x1k at 3:30 w/ 400 jog recovery, 5x200 (35 -> 31) w/ 200 jog recovery, felt hard but manageable
S: 5.4 at 8:06
S: 11.41 at 7:40

January 23-29:
51.03 miles
M: 6.65 at 8:06
T: 7.45 at 7:07, 4x1k at 3:30ish, very windy so cut workout short
W: 5.63 at 7:48
Th: 8.00 at 7:24
F: 6.21 at 8:18
S: 5.00 at 7:49
Su: 12.06 at 7:21

January 30-Februay 5:
33.15 miles, would have done more but had a weekend of sub-0 temps
M: 5.14 at 7:54
T: 6.57 at 7:30, 6x800 w/ 60 sec rest, (2:45, 2:43, 2:42, 2:39, 2:37, 2:35), felt smooth
W: 7.02 at 7:59
Th: 6.12 at 8:35, 3x(600, 400, 200) w/ 90 sec between reps and 3 mins between sets, hit 36s per 200 for most of it which was solid
F: 2.6 at 7:45, 45 min bike bc weather
S: 30 min bike
Su: 5.62 at 7:52

February 6-12:
42.48 miles
M: 6.12 at 8:11
T: 6.00 at 7:45, 3x4x200 hill w/ 60 sec jog down between reps and 3 min jog between sets, felt hard but controlled
W: 7.12 at 7:55
Th: 6.99 at 7:52, mile at 5:30, 2x300 at 54, 2x150 at 25
F: 4.7 at 8:03, strides
S: 5.5 total, mile race: 4:44 for a 6 second pr. Splits were unreal, went 36.4, 36.19, 36.86, 36.57, 35.82, 35.89, 35.67, 31.36, also got the heat win. A great race overall, closing in 31 always feels good and I was very happy with this. Note: this was at the new NB indoor track which is pretty fast (200, banked)

February 13-19:
50 miles
M: 7.14 at 8:00
T: 5.31 at 8:04 with 7x400 at 71ish with equal rest
W: 7.21 at 8:01
Th: 7.73 at 7:06, 6x800 at 3k (400 jog). Very good workout, went 2:39, 2:38, 2:37, 2:37, 2:37, 2:35.
F: 5.08 at 8:23
S: 6.18 at 7:47
Su: 11.34 at 7:14

February 20-26:
39 miles
M: 6.07 at 7:57
T: 8.0 at 7:39, 3x(800, 400, 400) at 3k with 60 seconds between reps. Another strong workout, splits were 2:37, 1:18, 1:18, 2:37, 1:16, 1:17, 2:34, 1:15, 1:12
W: 5.68 at 8:05
Th: 5.57 at 8:48 with 6x800 at 49-51 with 2 mins rest
F: 5.08 at 8:55
S: 4.43 at 8:19
Su: 5 total, mile race: 4:43 and another heat win. Opened in 33 because I wanted to win the heat and went out in 2nd place, took the lead with 500 to go and held on for the win. Splits: 33.41, 36.05, 36.84, 35.99, 36.59, 35.88, 35.42, 33.03. Not as pretty as the previous mile but a win and a pr is always good so can’t complain. Note: this was at Harvard’s 200m banked indoor track which isn’t as fast as the NB track imo but its still fast.

February 27-March 5:
33.33 miles
M: 6.15 at 7:56
T: 6.08 at 7:16 with mile at 6:10, 1200 at 6:10 pace into 400 faster (72). Would have done a track workout but go snowed on
W: 5.96 at 7:59
Th: 5.34 at 7:52, 4x150 fast (24-25)
F: 4.27 at 8:11
S: 5.5 total with 800 race and 4x4. 800 was pretty bad, went 2:11 but even split it and I think I wasn’t ready for a faster race. Didn’t quite have the speed work to be ready for it and barely ran faster than the last 800 of my 1000 in December. 4x4 was fine, split 56.8 on a flat 200m track which I was decently happy with.
Su: off

Overall, a very solid indoor season, had 2 tactically strong miles where I came away with wins and prs in both. Didn't do a ton of speed work and I think it showed in the 800 but hopefully the speed will come around outdoors.

Always catches me off guard when I see this thread get bumped, nice winter training, that 4:43 where you went out in 33 was a nice race, you'll be a lot faster outdoors.