summer xc training plan

>100mpw for 3 months.

summer of malmo.

Your track times indicate you're in the right place. Is the 300 mile minimum over the course of 3 months? I am bad at math, but I think that is 25 mpw(?). Seems low for your level, but that's why it's the "minimum." How much did you run during the track season?

Summer is the time to build mileage, but not everything should be "LSD." When I think of LSD pace, I think of forcing yourself to run slow. I suggest running "easy" instead. Easy isn't an exact pace. It's a feeling.

Some days you'll run faster than others, but don't force anything. Your focus for base training should be to build endurance and strength. Hills help with that. I suggest some weight training if you don't already do that. If you run by feel, it's okay to run faster (tempo) on some days, but relax if you don't feel like it.

The good thing about summer base training is that it's flexible. If you want to race a few times, that won't hurt either. Just stay healthy physically and mentally (avoid burnout). Everyone is different, so now is the time to find what works for you.

run 50-60 mpw, skip tempos, do 4-6 strides after you're runs. and only do hill workouts during the summer.

Do intervals. 10 x 200m, reduce rest time.

Intervals are more fun than boring mileage.

Yes, the 300 becomes 25mpw for 12 weeks (or slightly more because the season starts 3rd week of august). During track we averaged 35mpw, more around 40 at the start of the season and tapering down to 25ish at the end

I think the reason you haven't gotten too many responses is that you don't need anything super specific or complex in order to meet your goals. It also sounds as though there's nothing wrong with your current training; as one poster mentioned, you're already on the right track, so stick with the basics and improvement will come.

Run 5-6 days a week, run long once a week, do core and post-run strides 2-3 times a week, and by the time school starts you'll be primed for speed work. Do make sure that a good percentage of your mileage includes hilly terrain, if possible.

Well, it sounds like she really wants to make a big jump in fitness this year, so running 5-6 times a week and sticking with exactly what she's been doing is clearly not what she is looking for. I'm not sure what your mileage has been in the past, but I would try to increase your mileage by 10-15% from what you did during outdoor track. Ideally, you would be running in the 35-45 mile per week range, again depending on what you have done in the past.

In terms of the LSD vs. workout debate, I think that you should shoot for 1-2 workouts a week. One could be a hill workout, such as 4-6x30 seconds uphill. The other could be a tempo run type effort. And then you would have a long run once a week in the 8-10 mile range, plus strides throughout the week.

A 5:17 translates to about an 18:30 5k. That is awesome; it means you've got great speed, so adding more mileage and a long run should lead to a successful cross country season.

As a current female collegiate runner who was around the same level as you at your age, here's my input:

Your times from track this season look very good and should definitely transalte to at least low 19s given proper training, but they also indicate that you're aerobically underdeveloped (not a terrible thing; most high schoolers are) given that 2:23 and 5:17 are much better than 11:45. Therefore, you should benefit greatly by upping the miles this summer. Since you say you've been at up to 40mpw before, I'd say it wouldn't be a bad idea to try to build up to 50mpw by the time the summer's over. Don't start there right away, and make sure to listen to your body carefully (don't force the mileage if you feel like you're on the edge of injury/burnout), but as long as you increase mileage gradually and don't worry about any sort of structured speedwork, I don't see why you couldn't reach that sort of mileage safely. Maybe start around 30mpw (not sure what you've been running the past couple weeks, but nothing too far off from that) and build gradually from there. You might want to take a "down" week of lower mileage every 3 or 4 weeks or whenever you feel you needed.

Run easy most of the time, but feel free to close runs hard or run a quick, progressively faster pace when you feel good. Do strides and core work after most easy runs (3-5 days a week) and try to lift some weights maybe twice a week if you can. Run long once a week; for you, this might start out somewhere around 8 miles and top out at 10-12 by the end of the summer. I like to try to run the long run a little harder (but still of course by feel) and progress to a pretty good pace over the last half of the run, maybe finishing with a hard last mile if I feel good. About halfway through the summer or a little earlier, I start to add in some more formal harder efforts, including a 3-4 mile tempo run once a week and maybe a fartlek, progression run, or hill workout another day during the week, but keep it low pressure and keep the focus on building your mileage base.

Just for an axample (doesn't have to look just like this), if I were you I might structure the training something like this:

Example for week near the beginning of summer (30mpw):

Mon: 6 miles + strides & core

Tues: 5 miles + weights

Wed: 6 miles + strides & core

Thurs: cross train + weights

Fri: 5 miles + strides & core

Sat: 8 mile long run

Sun: OFF

Example for week near the end of summer (50mpw):

Mon: 8 miles easy + strides & core

Tues: 2 miles easy + 4 mile tempo effort + 2 miles easy= 8 total, + weights

Wed: 7 miles easy + strides & core

Thurs: 8 mile hilly fartlek + weights

Fri: 7 miles easy + strides & core

Sat: 12 mile long run

Sun: OFF

Most of all, just run a lot and remember to have fun! Get some teammates to train with you if you can. Good luck!!:)

The previous post by XC Runner Girl is right on.

XC Runner Girl gave some good advice. Another thing I'd suggest is getting together with your teammates at least once a week, like for the long runs.