The key to any successful cross country season revolves around running in the summer to build an endurance base. Without this background work, a runner will find it difficult to reach a high level of performance in October and November. The longer a person trains, the broader the base becomes. The broader the base, the greater the potential to peak.
I hear coaches and high school runners talk of taking a "break" at times during the school year. A break may be necessary for certain runners' emotional relief, but it does not make sense physiology. It is the responsibility of the coach to motivate and educate the athlete and encourage him or her to continue the building process following a strenuous track season.
The coach must believe that running is enjoyable. That must be transmitted to the runners so that continuous training is not considered drudgery, but rather an exciting opportunity to prepare for the future. The runner must have a vision of the improvement possibilities, which come from an intelligent approach to training.
These are some of the elements of our day to day program:
- Fartlek: Run at varying tempos, including selected pace. Pick up to pass ad hold off others; sprint for the tape; change in tempo, such as a hard surge or a sustained faster tempo (but not a sprint). Do this sort of running to a point just short of complete fatigue, then do a recovery run to a point just short of complete rest, then go back to the tempo run and repeat the cycle.
- Hard: An effort close to or at maximum, based on time or distance
- Crisp: This is a sub-max resulting in a heart rate probably between 130 and 160. Your pulse will depend on your makeup as well as level of conditioning.
- Swing: This run takes you out of your comfort zone, but you should be able to go long with it. It's an aerobic, base-builder, that should have your pulse between 100 and 140.
- Gentle: This is a run at conversational pace. As a general rule, the faster you "gentle" tempo, the faster you hard tempo will be and the higher the quality of the fartlek.
In the fall, our basic week looks like this:
- Sunday: long and gentle
- Monday: stress workout
- Tuesday: recovery run
- Wednesday: semi-stress workout
- Thursday: recovery run
- Friday: stress workout
- Saturday: recovery run
In a race week with a meet on a Saturday we rest on Friday (we do work out, but very lightly).
Our stress workouts always include some swing or tempo runs. They might include repeat one or two-kilometer runs, or possibly fartlek in small groups where the leader changes each kilometer. Or, perhaps sustained runs with hard surges for a kilometer or mile at a time.
By running in groups and changing leaders, we try to work on mental toughness, the psychology of "pack" running and hopefully, develop the ability to concentrate on tactics rather than fatigue in a state of stress.
Coaches must be aware of the science of the sport, but also must be artists capable of working with variables. Those variables include weather, running surfaces, coaching needs and athlete attitudes and temperament. A good coach can "feel" a runner's reaction and be prepared to make adjustments when necessary.
I'm often asked how many miles my team runs a week. The answer, of course, is different for every coach. There is no "right" answer, no one milage figure that is best for each and every athlete.
Arriving at a successful formula is tricker on the high school level than it is in college. College teams compete once a week. High School teams race two or even three times a week.
It appears to me that high school coaches must, out of necessity, designate some meets as workout days and structure them accordingly. Otherwise, the season becomes a wasteland as far as training is concerned. The training effect must be retained as the season progresses.
Cross country success will result from intelligent training that incorporates a variety of effort and allows for appropriate rest after heavy work loads. The key to the puzzle is the coach.
(Sam Bell has been the track and cross country coach at Indiana. He has trained numerous world class runners and headed a number of international teams.)