Summer Training

[name]

I am a sophmore and up until this track season i didnt take running that seriously. During the summer and winter in between XC and Track i didnt do any running. So now my PRs in the 1600 are only 5:06 and in the 3200, it is a pooey 11:22 (i know i can run better than this now though). By the END of XC season i want to be able to run a 4:40 1600, and a 10:05 3200. I plan on training a lot over the summer. Do you think my goals are realistic? And how can i train over the summer to try and reach these goals?

[Beanfontaine]

if i can go from an 11:39 3200m guy to a 9:58 with 5 1/2 weeks of off season training...your goals are definately realistic.

[Beanfontaine]

now as far as training.

what i did was basically hit decent mileage. 6-8 miles a day. the shorter runs are ran of course at a faster pace than the longer runs. and thats pretty much it. kept it consistant made sure i didnt over do the training either as far as running too hard.

[izzm]

How fast is your 400? 200?

It might be realistic. Just seeing your 3200 as in relation to your 1600 I can say that you are not very developed as a runner and have definate improvement to go.

[AsthenicAthlete]

I am a sophmore and up until this track season i didnt take running that seriously. During the summer and winter in between XC and Track i didnt do any running. So now my PRs in the 1600 are only 5:06 and in the 3200, it is a pooey 11:22 (i know i can run better than this now though). By the END of XC season i want to be able to run a 4:40 1600, and a 10:05 3200. I plan on training a lot over the summer. Do you think my goals are realistic? And how can i train over the summer to try and reach these goals? I'm in the exact same boat except my times are a little bit faster and my goals are slightly faster too (4:35/9:50 as you probably know from my other thread :D). Regardless, I'm also interested in how to get the best possible base in this summer so that I can improve a ton next year. Any help from a knowledgable person would be appreciated.

[mhs-07]

I know that i have to do a lot of base during the summer, but my question is how much is not enough and how much is too much. Could somebody post a one week plan that my teamates and i could follow over the summer

[izzm]

I know that i have to do a lot of base during the summer, but my question is how much is not enough and how much is too much. Could somebody post a one week plan that my teamates and i could follow over the summer

It will all be relative. For some people, running 80 miles a week is not enough. For other people, running 80 miles a week is too much. It all depends on how prone to injury you are, and your physical makeup. By not enough, I mean you could be running more to be at your fastest (and healthy). By too much, I mean you could be running less to be at your fastest (and healthy).

It takes time to know what works best for you. Have you ever did base training? Start low and work your way up to the high mileage. Make sure you monitor your body closely while you increase your miles (slowly). A good starting point in my opinion is about 42 miles a week. I believe anyone in decent shape can start at about 6 miles a day.

[yeahtrack123]

don't go too easy in the summer, not all of us are capable of amazing times off of easy summer diistance training

get up to 70-75mpw gradually
incorporate 2-3 hard runs a week including a hard long run in late july/early august

Substantial gain is obtained through at least a few hard sessions during summer base training, not just long slow distance

also, you may want to try to do 8 by 80m all out sprints once a week after an easy day, keep your speed and leg turnover sharp

[name]

are there any workouts to do on the track that can help for xc?

[Madone5.9]

York does 25x400m once a week during the summer, starting in maybe july. i dunno, check with some of the more knowledgeable IL guys.

[PreLikedBeer]

no they dont. they do it once a summer. and maybe twice during a season, once in the beginning and once in the end. Atleast thats what i heard.