Hi, I am a 7th grader going into 8th grade and will be running XC in the fall.
I would like to train hard during the summer and hopefully be competitive during XC season.
To run well in the fall, what kind of workouts should I be running? How many miles should I be putting in? Thanks.
Hi,
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Have you ever ran before? If not, I would try to run 200 miles this Summer. Don't worry about workouts until you can comfortably run 30 mpw.
Other people here can tell you how far to run. This is my advice.
- Sleep a lot: You need this at your age. 9 hours a night or you are doing it wrong.
- Read about running: You are extremely impressionable so you need to support yourself by reading good/inspiring books about running. Knowledge is power.
- Find good friends: This will be extremely tough at your age because you are so confined by your school. Try to hang out with positive people who don't waste their days playing video games or taking the easy path in life.
- Learn to listen to older people or read/watch movies with life lessons: They have wisdom and you have potential. I recommend movies to understand this... Good Will Hunting, A Beautiful Mind, The Shawshank Redemption
Those are just a few a tips to make you a good person which will set you up to being a good runner. The majority of good runners must be good people (despite what it appears like on this board).
7th grade track athlete wrote:
Hi, I am a 7th grader going into 8th grade and will be running XC in the fall.
I would like to train hard during the summer and hopefully be competitive during XC season.
To run well in the fall, what kind of workouts should I be running? How many miles should I be putting in? Thanks.
Do this. Most days, just go out and run whatever you feel like. 2 miles, 3, 4, 5, whatever. Keep it easy, except once a week or so, pick up the pace over the course of the run and finish fairly fast.
Once a week, do sprints. Alternate these two workouts. One week, find a moderately steep hill, grass if available, that takes you 10-20 seconds to climb. Sprint up, walk down. When you're fully recovered, do another. Start with 2-3, and work up to 10. Warm up 10 minutes or so, jog 10 minutes after.
Second week, do more or less the same thing on flat grass.
At your age, it is perhaps more important to work on your ability to sprint. Endurance will come with time.
If you decide that you want to stick with it and get better for HS and maybe beyond, learn to be consistent in your training. A steady diet of 2-5 mile runs will take you a lot farther than a week of training excitement followed by a week of nothing.
Right now, just getting in time under your feet will help you improve tremendously. I am in high school now and all I wish was that I ran consistently year round in middle school of easy running. I tried so hard to do workouts and get right mileage, but in middle school it is simple. The one thing all middle schoolers lack is a developed aerobic system. Just run whatever distance you want at any pace. Do this the whole summer while keeping it fun and easy then you will be ahead of 75 percent of kids. Maybe start off at doing 2-3 miles a day for 5 days a week. Then ending the summer at 3-4 miles a day for 5 days a week. You can also try to do a 5-6 mile long run somewhere during the week. You don't have to put much intensity at all. You just need to get the endurance going. Here is an example
June- July
Monday: 2 miles
Tuesday: 3 miles
Wednesday: off
Thursday: 3 miles
Friday: 2 Miles
Saturday: 4 miles
Sunday: off
Late July- August
Monday: 3 Miles
Tuesday: 4 Miles
Wednesday: off
Thursday: 4 Miles
Friday: 3 Miles
Saturday: 5-6 miles
Sunday: off
You can also incorporate strides after each run. These are 20 second accelerations around 800 meter race pace or mile race pace. Do 2-3 strides after a run whenever your want.
Google or go on YouTube and search Jay Johnson General Strength. There is an 8 week program that I think you could benefit from.
Make sure to recover from runs especially after the long run. Consume a protein bar and some powerade after a run. Also make sure to get enough sleep and hydrate properly throughout the day.
If I were in the 7th grade this is how I'd train during the summer.
I'd play a lot of video games. I'd go swimming. I'd ride my bike to my friend's houses. I'd play some pick up basketball. Watch some movies..
Lots of good advice so far. I liked this one so much I edited it so it is easier to read/understand.
"Do this. Most days, just go out and run whatever you feel like. 2 miles, 3, 4, 5, whatever. Keep it easy, except once a week or so, pick up the pace over the course of the run and finish fairly fast. Another time during the week, do sprints. Alternate these two workouts.
Warm up 10 minutes or so, jog 10 minutes after. One week, for the sprints, find a moderately steep hill, grass if available, that takes you 10-20 seconds to climb. Sprint up, walk down. When you're fully recovered, do another. Start with 2-3, and work up to 10.(It should take 6 weeks or so to work up) Second week, do more or less the same thing on flat grass.
At your age, it is perhaps more important to work on your ability to sprint. Endurance will come with time.
If you decide that you want to stick with it and get better for HS and maybe beyond, learn to be consistent in your training. A steady diet of 2-5 mile runs will take you a lot farther than a week of training excitement followed by a week of nothing."