How can i break 15 minutes xc (High school XC)

50 mpw, strengthening and lifts on top of this. Also improve your track PRs

Some advice:

Work up to 55-60 MPW next summer on 6 days of running. In the summer do 1 workout (either tempo or fartlek) and 1 long run per week.

Ex.

M: 8-9mi; T: 3 mi warmup, 4 mi tempo, 3 mi cool down; W: 8-9mi; TH: 9mi; F: OFF; SA: 8; S: 12mi

In season (50-60MPW):

- One 3-4 mile tempo @5:15-5:25/mile every other week.

- 10-12 mile LR run each week (probably Sunday) at ~6:45/mile finishing with last 2 miles at 5:45-6:00.

- If you are in season but not racing that week, do 1 interval workout on grass/dirt. And do 1 secondary workout such as the tempo mentioned above, or a fartlek like (1' on, 1' off) x 10 @ 5:00-5:20/mile with jog at 6:00-6:30/mile, or 4-6x 200@mile pace with 1' rest etc.

interval workouts ex.

- 4-5x 1600 @4:50-5:00/mile with 2 min rest

- 10x 400 @70-72" with 30" rest

- 6-8x 800 @2:22-2:26 with 90" rest

Take 1 day off from all training each week. Sleep 8-10 hours per night. Drink a lot of water. Dress warm/wear tights in winter to help prevent injury. Easy runs at 7:00-7:30/mile. Listen to body and go easier on run/LR/workout if you are feeling tired.

Thank you i will do this really appreciate it!

Thank you! yes i haven’t lifted at all definitely should

That dude pretty much nailed it. I'll add that you should do core pretty much daily. When I was in HS after we cooled down/stretched someone would set a 10 minute timer and everyone just did as much core as they could.

Honestly similar training dont overwork yourself and you should do it

Perfectly happy to write you a training plan if you need it.

I’ve competed internationally as well as D1 in the NCAA. Drop me an email henry@runlinecoaching.com and we can talk more about your training history to work out what sort of thing might get you those last 20 seconds.

yeah I was doing core a decent amount just not lifting. Im gonna make sure to get it all in from now on.

Listen to your coach.

Also, if you're in high school, you should still be growing. No need to add in tonnes of new stimuli; you should get a natural progression simply by becoming stronger and running consistently.

A typical week to be guaranteed to break 15 at 5 k : M: 50- 60 min @ 6:40- 6:50 pace Tu: 12- 20 x 400m @ 70- 71 sec, rest 60- 90 sec We: 50 min @ 6:40- 6:50 pace Th: 60 min @ 6:40- 6:50 pace Fr: LT- intervals 800m- 1600m reps @ 5:10 pace to a total of 6- 8 miles. Sa: 60- 80 min @ 6:40- 6: 50 pace Su : Day off

Forget the 3-4 mile tempos. Have you ever heard of an East African doing them? No. Instead, do 6-8 mile tempos around projected marathon pace. Also, for workouts do intervals that work both race pace and threshold. An example would be 20 x 1 minute on 1 minute off. The minute on will be around 5k pace, however, you will stay within threshold with it being short. Great way to work on 5k pace rhythm and threshold at the same time.

Here’s a weekly schedule…

Sun: 70-90 minute long run

Mon: AM - 30 minutes PM - 50 minutes + Strides

Tue: 6-8 mile tempo around thon effort with 10 minute warmup and cooldown

Wed: 50-70 minutes

Thu: AM - 30 minutes PM - 40 minutes + Strides

Fri: 20 x 1 on 1 off w/ 10 minute warmup and cooldown

Sat: 30 minutes easy or off