My Div2 workout for the week. What do you think?

This is an XC program only.

Easy on that Core, cut it from a few days especially if you're hitting the gym. What pace are you hitting the 400's and 500's?

Just under 70 and 90sec. I was thinking that track work wouldn't be till Aug sometime, but this is what the coach has prescribed.

what college are u going to? because i can see somewhat during the offseason but some variation and progression is essential

Ah, thats a solid workout then. If you are gearing up for cross you have a long road ahead of you, don't force the pace too much, you can worry about speed when the key races are much closer. Most importantly you must have faith in your coach, if you second guess his decision you may begin to second guess yourself. The best thing you can do is listen to your coach and train patiently otherwise its not worth being on the team. Staying consistent is key, if you maintain control over your running you will grow as an athlete. There is a bigger picture here, if you build over the years you will see the greatest results as opposed to the instant rewards. Hang in there, listen to your coach, have faith in his training and yourself....cut back on all that core i've known athletes that do this much core and become tight and robotic as opposed to fluid and rhythmic.

I'd rather not say which college that I'll be attending and it would be easy to believe in what the coach was saying if his philosophy were the same as what my H.S. coach had us doing. My H.S. coach was more of a higher mileage kinda guy, but the new coach says speed is much more important than mileage. In H.S. we didn't hit the track till Sept. We basically did tempos and long intervals twice a week with easy miles the rest of the time throughout the summer. The new scheduled track days don't add up to but a 5k...maybe. Kinda confusing.

You're in a tough spot that many college athletes find themselves in, a drastic change in coaching philosophies. Strength is as important as speed, you need to find the healthy balance....a long period of strength followed by a period of maintenance and speed seems to be very effective for a lot of people. Express your concern to the coach that you feel there may be a lack of strength work, a massive aerobic base coupled with speed work is a devastating combination.

However, it looks as though he is using the fartlek as strength work which is an effective combination of both speed and strength. Unlike a tempo a fartlek will not tax your body as much in the sense that you aren't maintaining a hard effort over a long distance but instead using intervals to allow your body to adapt to pace. A long tempo can tire an athlete more than needed.

If you're a college freshman allow yourself to become a "lab rat" and let your coach perform his experiments. If the training doesn't show in the next couple years, granted you are injury free, then you could begin to question his philosophies. It's worth taking a risk, you're young and if anything you will learn a lot about yourself as an athlete.

Express your concerns to your coach in a respectful manner. He or she should not take offense to an athlete who is curious about their training. Do not imply to your coach that they are wrong but instead show that you are curious and would like to become more knowledgeable.