Neuqua Valley Men's Cross Country

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Goals of Conditioning for Optimal Performance in Cross Country

When most people think of training for cross country they think it is a simple “go out and run” and you will get in shape. There is a lot more to coaching and training for cross country than this. Below are some simple, yet essential, guidelines to follow when training for a three mile race in cross country:

1. What you do in practice should match the physiological and psychological demands of a three mile race. The technical name for this is Specificity. In other words, it won’t do us much good if all we did was sprints everyday in practice. Running three miles is about 90% aerobic (with oxygen) and sprints tax the anaerobic (without oxygen) systems. Therefore, the majority of our training needs to reflect aerobic conditioning. This means long runs, tempo runs, fartlek, long intervals, etc.

2. The body needs to be stressed to achieve greatness. This is called Overload. The human body will make physiological adjustments (use oxygen with more efficiency, build more capillaries, increase the number of mitochondria, etc.) if it is “made to do so.” In other words, in order for the body to make adjustments it must be pushed beyond the comfort zone. This means our workouts will be relatively tough on some days.

3. We have a plan! Running involves taking baby steps in order to make giant steps. If I were to ask you to go out and run fifteen miles the first day of the summer, you would probably get hurt or be so sore the next day you would not be able to run. Running involves a progression of miles and intensity. We will first concentrate on building a base of mileage starting with a couple of miles a day for beginners. Some of the veteran runners will start the summer off with seven-ten miles a day for they have built up to this point.

4. Consistency is the key. Exercise gurus call this Regularity. It is important a runner puts in mileage on a consistent basis. Running year round is the best way to improve and eventually become a champion. The same goes with running in a typical week. You are better off running four miles every day rather than running nine miles three days in a row and then taking four days off.

5. One can overdue it! Over training is a common cause of injuries and should be avoided. Stick to my plan and advice and don’t go run on your own without telling me. This is especially true during the racing season. Increasing mileage and intensity at the same time invites injury.

6. Do not do too much too soon. You might find that I take it easy on some of the guys even though they might be able to keep up with a higher group. I have my reasons based on experience and maturity level. For example, if an athlete does not run track and field, runs very little during the spring and comes out for summer running, I am not going to let this runner run with the first group all the time even though talent -wise he may be able to keep up. As the summer progresses, I will increase the intensity level by letting this runner run with the advanced group more often. In this case, it would be to increase the mileage and speed up the pace. Intensity can also be increased with less rest time between intervals.

7. Rest, rest, rest. Recovery is just as important as the overload days. Adequate time must be given to let the body recuperate from the hard training the day before. Recovery days will vary according to the experience and fitness level. In other words, a recovery day for a novice runner might be three miles easy, while a varsity runner might run five miles in the morning and five more easy miles in the evening.

8. How long is enough? The duration of a run will vary according to the time of the season. We will typically run our longer runs during the pre season and early season. As the season progresses, the runs will shorten in duration and increase in intensity. Due to the aerobic nature of the sport, it is still important to get a tempo or long run in every seven to ten days even in the middle of the season.

9. Variety is the spice of life. Cross country at Neuqua Valley High School will always reflect some variety. We will run somewhere different, play a game, receive a treat after we run, etc. to spice up our practices. For example, during the summer we pick different trails to run on, play ultimate Frisbee, and attend the Oregon camp.

10. Running well when it counts most. Basically, the premise here is the body must be primed physiologically and psychologically to reach a maximal performance at the right time. Running well at the end of the year is more dependent upon proper nutrition, rest, and a moderate and consistent training approach than changing things up at the end. We will reduce our mileage to add a little more spring to your legs but the intensity will remain the same.