i'm not running spring track. what should i do to have a GREAT 8k/10k XC season in the fall and a great mile time in the spring('09)? How should I train? I started base training last week (45miles last week). never trained in the off season before. i'm tired of being mediocre.
100m: 11.6
200m: 23.8
400m: 53
800m: 1:57
1500m: 4:22
8k: 27:15
should i just have a giant 8 month long base phase? pros, cons?
8 months is far too long of a base, mostly because of the monotony. You have good speed but your endurance is not as strong, no offense. I'd say train for the 5k for track-maybe for later in the season. This way you can get your miles up and get in some tempos to help the endurance. And then you have an idea of how to train for the summer. Get the miles up to 60-70.
Towson exile is right. If I were your coach, I'd have you run spring track but focus on the 5k and/or 10k rather than the 800/mile. Training for the 5k/10k for the next five months, followed by a good base period over the summer, would be the best prep you can do for xc. If 45 miles is the most you've ever done, try to increase it gradually until you're at 60-65 by the end of the spring. If you can handle that, you can try to go higher, say 70-75. Vary your mileage though, to avoid injury. For example, go 45, 50, 50, 40, 50, 55, 40, 55, 60, 40, 55, 60, 55, 40, 60, 60, 40, and so on.
Why are you taking the spring season off?
Three words:
Summer of Malmo!
Again, why not run track? I can see a senario where you will be in GREAT shape in.... July.
StreetRat wrote:
Again, why not run track? I can see a senario where you will be in GREAT shape in.... July.
oh, i'm taking a semester off.
JimG wrote:
Three words:
Summer of Malmo!
Beat me to it.
So you're taking the semester off... Do you still live in your college town? If so, I'd recommend working out with the team and entering some/most of the meets. If you're living far away from school, can you find a training partner to do some speedwork with or a nearby college that would let you workout with the team? I'd recommend that you train this spring as if you were competing in track if you want your best performances this fall.