Summer XC base training help

[crosscountryboy]

ok heres my plan to run low 16's possibly high 15's this yr in XC im a soph right now...so i have 12 weeks to do it so here it is

week 1 week 2 week 3 week 4
mon-fri: 4 miles mon-fri:5 miles mon-fri:6 miles mon-fri:7 miles
sat.-6 miles sat- 8 miles sat-10 miles sat: 11

week 5 week 6 week 7 week 8
mon-fri: 8 miles mon-fri:9 miles mon-fri:10 miles mon-fri: 11 miles
sat:12 miles sat: 13 miles sat: 14 miles sat:15 miles

week 9 week 10 week 11 week 12
mon-fri: 12 miles mon-fri:13 miles mon-fri:14 miles mon-fri: 14 miles
sat: 15 miles sat: 15 miles sat: 15 miles sat:15 miles

I take all Sundays off and use them as a rest day...and once i get to 10 miles mon-fri i'll start doing 2 a day practices....just a question it gets really hot here in the summer like over 100 degrees so when i start doing 2 a days should i run the 1st morning run fast and then the 2nd one slower or the 1st one slower and the 2nd 1 faster??? is this a good base training program??? after track im gonna take 3 weeks off and then start this program...and im gonna run all these runs at Woodward park since i live like right next to it so like should i add etra hills some days???if so which days?? any suggestions on my plan if its smart or not or how to make it better...please help....im gonna make sure i get a great base this summer cause im going to state this yr and i didn't go last yr because i ran school track then went str8 to summer track then str8 to XC and messed up my hip and knee so im not doing summer track this year and focusing on XC...so any advice would be great thanx

[AzN at LARGE]

Just some of my opinions- taking three weeks off after track season seems excessive unless you are really tired from track season/hurt, otherwise a week or so should get you rested enough. also taking sunday off probably isn't necessary maybe just do a few easy miles instead. for two a days personally i don't think this is a good idea because the run's quality tends to dip but if it works for you then try to do the first run as an easy run so you can add to the mileage but not tire yourself out for your second run. for the hills maybe start doing hill repeats late in the summer and do a few hill sprints once a week to improve speed, leg strength, and form. also remember to do strides preferably on grass barefoot to help form and so you don't lose speed.

[Beanfontaine]

Just some of my opinions- taking three weeks off after track season seems excessive unless you are really tired from track season/hurt, otherwise a week or so should get you rested enough. also taking sunday off probably isn't necessary maybe just do a few easy miles instead. for two a days personally i don't think this is a good idea because the run's quality tends to dip but if it works for you then try to do the first run as an easy run so you can add to the mileage but not tire yourself out for your second run. for the hills maybe start doing hill repeats late in the summer and do a few hill sprints once a week to improve speed, leg strength, and form. also remember to do strides preferably on grass barefoot to help form and so you don't lose speed.


true. i know a lot of the elite african runners never take breaks after seasons over.

[crosscountryboy]

I have to take 3 weeks off cause i've been running with really bad shin splints all season long and i might have a stress fracture so as soon as tracks over im taking 3 weeks off to rest ice and stretch alot so i can be better by the time i start my training

[robcuxc]

If you have really bad shin splints, and you plan on doing that for your summer running, you are setting yourself up for a horrible time in cross country. I ran all of last season hurt with bad shin splints. I would run the week before the race, and heal the next week, just to jump back in again the week before the race. It wasn't the best thing I could've done for myself looking back at it. After that, I took of a month(4 weeks) and then crept back into running. I started off with 3 miles every MWF, the next week 4 miles MWF and so on until I got to six miles every MWF. Then I went 6 miles MWF and 3 on T/Th till I was up to 6 miles a day for Monday through Friday. Then I started to build myself up to 10 miles a day to rebuild my base and give my shins adequate time to heal. It wasn't till after that that I started to work in speed with my team. That may sound like a long time to recover, but I've been running and racing healthy because of my slow re-entry. This wasn't all my doing either, my coach and the athletic trainers here all had input. So I wouldn't recommend jumping right back into it doing that much mileage, otherwise your shins will fall apart again...trust me...I've been there.

[marcusandme]

for the hills maybe start doing hill repeats late in the summer


i am familiar with the idea of adding the hill repeats towards the end of your summer training, i had done it myself last summer, but i am curious why exactly is this the way it is done?

[AzN at LARGE]

i am familiar with the idea of adding the hill repeats towards the end of your summer training, i had done it myself last summer, but i am curious why exactly is this the way it is done?

i'm not totally sure, but i guess that it has something to do with peaking at the right time and not burning yourself out over the summer by running too hard. if you run hills later on, its closer to the actual race season and you'll be at peak physical form at the right time. something like that.

[marcusandme]

thats what i figured

[Nikki L]

hey.. didnt want to start a whole new thread just for this one question so i figure i'll ask

my D1 college coach sent me my workout for my summer base.. im a freshman... he has me starting at 35 a week then moving up.. which is fine but i get no days of rest.. should i start out taking any? i dont wanna get injured

[MichaelScott]

hey.. didnt want to start a whole new thread just for this one question so i figure i'll ask

my D1 college coach sent me my workout for my summer base.. im a freshman... he has me starting at 35 a week then moving up.. which is fine but i get no days of rest.. should i start out taking any? i dont wanna get injured

What type of mileage have you run previously? It depends how you view 35 miles per week. I don't think you need to "schedule" any specific days off, just take them when you need them if you're feeling tired.

[Nikki L]

my mileage has pretty much been the same as the kind my new coach gave me.. my peak last summer was around 40 i'll be going up to 45 or more this summer which im not concerned about.. its just that the past 4 years i've had at least a day off every other week and i've never gotten injured.. i'm just nervous about this.
he has me running 5 miles, 6x400m hills with mile warmup mile cool down then 5 miles, 5 miles, 5.5 total for a tempo run, 3 miles, then 7 miles.. for the first 3 weeks of training the next 3 will be around 40 then the next 45 etc with no days of rest all summer

should i just be sure to cross train a day a week instead of running or should i just take a day off if i feel horrible..
i was thinking this first week i'd take a day off at least just to ease my body back into training.. plus the temp has been in the 90s

idk im just concerned and dont wanna go against my new coach...

[pln09]

my mileage has pretty much been the same as the kind my new coach gave me.. my peak last summer was around 40 i'll be going up to 45 or more this summer which im not concerned about.. its just that the past 4 years i've had at least a day off every other week and i've never gotten injured.. i'm just nervous about this.
he has me running 5 miles, 6x400m hills with mile warmup mile cool down then 5 miles, 5 miles, 5.5 total for a tempo run, 3 miles, then 7 miles.. for the first 3 weeks of training the next 3 will be around 40 then the next 45 etc with no days of rest all summer

should i just be sure to cross train a day a week instead of running or should i just take a day off if i feel horrible..
i was thinking this first week i'd take a day off at least just to ease my body back into training.. plus the temp has been in the 90s

idk im just concerned and dont wanna go against my new coach...

Ask him about it. Depending on how he answers you, ask this question again afterward

[Nikki L]

Ask him about it. Depending on how he answers you, ask this question again afterward

when he first called me about summer training.. he asked if i could start out at 40 miles per week.. so i answered him honestly saying oh i've never started at such a high mileage and he goes well this is a different level of running nikki.. so i went yes i understand.. i'll do w/e training you think is right.. but since he doesnt know me or my body/training.. i figure he may not know what it best for me yet along the lines of rest and summer running

my HS coach says i should run like 4 or 5 times this first week and then get up to 7 days a week... and make sure im cross training... i think i'll just find a happy medium... as long as i get to start running fast im sure my coach wont kick me off the team lol

[crosscountryrunner]

when he first called me about summer training.. he asked if i could start out at 40 miles per week.. so i answered him honestly saying oh i've never started at such a high mileage and he goes well this is a different level of running nikki.. so i went yes i understand.. i'll do w/e training you think is right.. but since he doesnt know me or my body/training.. i figure he may not know what it best for me yet along the lines of rest and summer running

my HS coach says i should run like 4 or 5 times this first week and then get up to 7 days a week... and make sure im cross training... i think i'll just find a happy medium... as long as i get to start running fast im sure my coach wont kick me off the team lol

For the most part, take a day off a week, but cross train if that makes you feel better. But once you get to actual practices, you will probably be meeting with your team 7 days a week and the coach 6 days a week, and it becomes much harder to take that day off. And you probably won't want to take a day off once you practice with your team, because your whole team will be running 7 days a week.

So my advice is cross train on that one day, but a couple times later in the summer you have to run like 2-3 weeks with no day off. That way, once you get to practice you will be able to run 7 days a week and not worry about it.

And you probably won't get injured from running 7 days a week, so long as you aren't over doing those seven days. If you just replace your day you usually take off with an easy run, you will be fine.

edit: And I seriously doubt he would kick you off the team for running 6 days a week.

[Adam_Blue]

Just take that one 3 mile day really, really easy and run by feel all summer. I promise you will not get injured.

[Nikki L]

For the most part, take a day off a week, but cross train if that makes you feel better. But once you get to actual practices, you will probably be meeting with your team 7 days a week and the coach 6 days a week, and it becomes much harder to take that day off. And you probably won't want to take a day off once you practice with your team, because your whole team will be running 7 days a week.

So my advice is cross train on that one day, but a couple times later in the summer you have to run like 2-3 weeks with no day off. That way, once you get to practice you will be able to run 7 days a week and not worry about it.

And you probably won't get injured from running 7 days a week, so long as you aren't over doing those seven days. If you just replace your day you usually take off with an easy run, you will be fine.

edit: And I seriously doubt he would kick you off the team for running 6 days a week.

yeah i mean i have no problem running 7 days a week.. i do it all the time.. but i was just concerned cuz it was 3 months with no day off... but i got what you're saying

thanks for the help guys