So You Didn't Run Again This Summer - Why?

"The macrocycle is broken into periods of unequal length. There are normally three periods: preparation, competition and transition.

I increase this to four, because I insist on a rest period of full recovery in the early part of the transition period."

Because they are kids. /thread

There are always some kids that don't practice their instrument outside of band. Some don't do homework. Etc.

However, it's not fair of me to say it is because g they are kids. Many adults are just as bad.

Running is hard. It's easier to not run. In life there are lots of people who will refrain from doing hard things, particularly when it is optional.

I mean I had a great base phase in june and july but due to personal reasons I cant run during August. But Im willing to bet based on HOW LONG xc season really is that I will be fine in comparision to the team

Imagine you are a teenager again...What's more fun in the summer? Running or trying to get with members of the opposite sex?

/thread

A lot of kids aren't trying that hard to improve, but need a sport on the resume. As we saw a couple weeks ago, sports make a big difference at top colleges like the ivies.

The kids must love you

Richard Gozinya wrote:

Imagine you are a teenager again...What's more fun in the summer? Running or trying to get with members of the opposite sex?

/thread

You're implying that these things are mutually exclusive. They are not.

[3.1]Miles Davis wrote:

My question to you is: Why do you not train? Is it that you don't care, and if so why do you join the team then? Explain yourself i guess.

For the ones who you say "don't care," if we assume they don't have extenuating life circumstances (work, family obligations) or things they'd rather be doing (other sports or activities, members of the opposite sex), I'd argue that they weren't properly motivated by their coach. If you couldn't get them to care in a prior season, why are you allowing them back on the team this season?

If their focus is on spring track, then it's good to not run over the summer and use the fall to build your base back up.

Star wrote:

If their focus is on spring track, then it's good to not run over the summer...

No it's not.

I actually ran a lot this summer, but I also took a handful of days off when I had scheduled runs. We had a month long heat wave in the mid west that pushed temps over 100 degrees with a 110+ degree heat index. I'm a 30 year old man, not a kid, but I could see parents being concerned about their kids running in such temps. A few local 5ks were even cancelled because of the heat. And I know, there's always the treadmill and indoor tracks, so that's not necessarily an excuse.

Speaker of hard truths (the real 1) wrote:

Star wrote:

If their focus is on spring track, then it's good to not run over the summer...

No it's not.

I don't think it's good to run 12 months out of the year.

When I was training to peak in May or June, I would usually not run a step in the month of July each year.

Then I would run 2-4 times a week in August. Enough to be able to run every day in September and then doubles.

Now I was a middle distance runner and didn't care about how I raced in XC.

Star wrote:

Speaker of hard truths (the real 1) wrote:

No it's not.

I don't think it's good to run 12 months out of the year.

When I was training to peak in May or June, I would usually not run a step in the month of July each year.

Then I would run 2-4 times a week in August. Enough to be able to run every day in September and then doubles.

Now I was a middle distance runner and didn't care about how I raced in XC.

You could have been better at XC and equally good (if not better) in middle distance.

Some teenage brains (and a lower percentage of adult brains) are just not good at long-term planning. I watched my own kid do this every year - get really excited during the season for track or cross country, get frustrated that he wouldn't improve as much as he wanted, make big goals for the next season, and then do nothing for months before track or cross country. I encouraged him to run and reminded him of the upcoming season, but he never could really get going until official practices started, and then he spent most of the season just trying to get back into shape.

Even having watched it up close, I don't understand what he was thinking. Honestly, it was heartbreaking and I couldn't do a thing about it.

The common high school XC runner: Option 1) Races 5K to 1/2 Marathon road races November through August. Option 2) Races 1600m &/or 3200m during high school t&f. Never races both 1600m and 3200m in same meet. Never races on a relay except the one relay invitational 4x1600m relay.

There are 400/800 athletes who gave 100% during T&F. They raced 200m relay legs when asked to do so by a coach. They raced at least two events every meet. They have muscle/tendon strains which need to heal. Often the 400/800 athletes do not run from June 7th through August 15th.

Be happy to have the 400/800 athletes as XC teammates.

gorebull warming

So I observed for many years that whatever my coach made mandatory or highly stressed, would get done by the athletes. If it was merely a side thought by the coach or 100% optional without any pressure, it would almost never happen. I helped out my team and always tried to push them to train during the summer. Usually we would get maybe half the summer before they all disappeared. Only until this year when I finally took over did I stress its importance, how it would be 6 days a week, and that I absolutely wanted them there, that the majority came all summer (I also started a tiny bit later than the previous year which was as soon as summer started). Only had one guy not really come. He is a senior of mine and one of my most experienced and would have been a shoe in for being my #2 or even #1 guy. Now he is #4 and struggling. When he came back I made him pay with his pride by having him be outperformed by harder workers, something he wasn't used to.

I'm with you though. Why are you even here when the sport isn't mandatory?

The common high school XC runner: wrote:

The common high school XC runner: Option 1) Races 5K to 1/2 Marathon road races November through August. Option 2) Races 1600m &/or 3200m during high school t&f. Never races both 1600m and 3200m in same meet. Never races on a relay except the one relay invitational 4x1600m relay.

There are 400/800 athletes who gave 100% during T&F. They raced 200m relay legs when asked to do so by a coach. They raced at least two events every meet. They have muscle/tendon strains which need to heal. Often the 400/800 athletes do not run from June 7th through August 15th.

Be happy to have the 400/800 athletes as XC teammates.

Wtf are you talking about with your "common high school XC runners"? I can't think of a single XC runner back in high school that skipped track to do road races. I also can't think of a single XC runner who didn't run some 4x8s or Medleys or double up in the 1600/3200. Maybe those runners do exist, but they are certainly not common.