Forums >Running 101>My Off-Season Training Plan for Spring Track 2011
You are not committed to training under the coach in the off season in most places...in fact in many states the coach cannot officially train you in the off season. So if they suck, why not do real training then humor them during the relatively brief on-season?
I understand all this.
Given that another poster indicated that the coach was a middle distance runner in college, and knowledgeable to boot, my question was whether the high school kid who is running north of 23 minutes actually understood what the school program was.
The process is the goal.
Men heap together the mistakes of their lives, and create a monster they call Destiny.
Bingo. This young man would benefit greatly by joining the 25+ members of the team that are practicing 5-6 days a week. I am personally seeing the results of this comprehensive program that is building stronger bodies, stronger minds, and improved confidence in these young athletes. He is running the risk of being even further behind his competition come the start of the official track practices than he was at the end of cross country season. He should be encouraged to join up with his teammates and their new coaching staff. Then he would have a better understanding of what the program actually entails instead of what he thinks it does.
Why is it sideways?
The best off season training for high school is running twice a day, fast when you feel like it. Do strides two or three times a week.
There's no reason in the world to make it more complicated than that. If you do that, all summer long, you will be a monster in the fall.
I do need to make my logs public after I fix them up a bit. I've been consistent so far this off season. I'm building a large base. Next week will be the max mileage I will run which is 60 minutes of easy running every day and 2 moderate days. My old coach thinks that the new program won't work well because of burn-out but we will see. I have also been practicing 6 days a week with long runs of 1:30 and I felt that i've improved greatly. I haven't consulted my coaches because the new coach is having them train as sprinters first and these upcoming weeks will be distance running. I will be joining my team at the beginning of January and first practice is the 17th. I'm also okay now with not being captain. I joined the team because of the running.
I will be going into Week 6 of my Winter Training which will be the peak mileage that I'll run. (45-50) Weeks 7-9 will be especially for faster runs since I will be done building up. 2 fast sessions per week and around 30 minutes in the morning and 55 minutes in the afternoon. My legs have been handling the mileage quite well.
Chris T, where do you get the information about my team from?
P.S. - Don't show my coach this thread (0_o)
Feeling the growl again
The only way you usually have to worry about burnout is if you insist on running fast too much or pushing the pace every day.
Nobody gets great by being too afraid to even test the waters.
"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand
I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills
RunningAhead's Steepler
According to Renato Cavona (famous itaillan coach) high schoolers burn out from to many intervals, and to fast a pace, not from high milage. I think I can be somewhat of an example. I only stared my log on this site two weeks ago, but that is pretty consistent to my year round training. Many many high schoolers run 70 + miles per week without burning out, its really more of a indivudal thing though. As famous poster on Letsrun.com malmo says (George Mally, former American record holder in the 3k steeple.) "Find your sweet spot in your training"
Best of luck to you!
Pr's 400: 51.5 800: 1:59 1600: 4:27 3200: 9:48 5k: 16:06 10k :36:12 HM: 1:24 Marathon: Coming in 2015-2020
I'd like to you know what you mean by training them like sprinters. In my experience (distance runner in HS, sprinter / decathlete in college, now back to longer distance running and coaching), sprinters do a lot of form / techinique / plyo drills early in the season to help build core strength and stability, which is beneficial for runners of all distances. It is also a good way for a new coach to evaluate the individuals on the team and get a sense of each individual's commitment and personal strengths. That being said, distance runners should be doing these drills in addition to continuing to build their base mileage.
I think with the increased mileage you've been running, you'll see a lot of benefits this coming season. Long, slow runs improve your body's efficiency and actually improve your ability to produce energy, so as you start doing more speed workouts, you should find that you can run faster, recover faster, and go farther than last year. Personally I also believe that the tired sore legs you get at the end of a long endurance run will help you push through the tightness at the end of a shorter faster race.
You mentioned that you have been going out for an hour a day, with a long run of 1hr 30min. Since your weekly runs are of a consistent duration, have you been alternating easier / harder days (thus some hr runs would be shorter than others)? Typically as you're building mileage you'd want to alternate easy/short days with easy/mid-distance days, and then still have a single easy / long day.
As encouragement, now that I started training this way over this past year (with slower, longer runs) and built my base mileage up to 35 mpw, my 5k times have dropped to just below 6:00 pace and I'm running faster 5ks at 27yo than I was at 17. Back then I simply wasn't consistent with my running and didn't have the base mileage.
PRs: 5k - 18:34 (2010 Littleton Road Race) 10k - 41:40 (2010 Livestrong Philly) HM - 1:29:48 (2010 Hartford Half Marathon) M - 3:10:31 (2011 Big Sur International Marathon)
Again, bingo. This is exactly what is being done along with specific core strengthening exercises, weight room sessions, basic mileage and a weekly long run. Their program is a comprehensive between-season one. The cross country athletes that have taken part consistently will show up for the first official track & field practice in a much better overall condition than they were in at the end of xc.
What i've been doing basically is:
Week Four: -52 min duration every day. 1 day of fartlek for 52 minutes. Different intensities. Some days moderate, other days easy. 1:25:00 long run
Last week (week 5): 56 Min every day. I did a tempo once. Alternate between easy and moderate days. 1:30:00 long run.
Tomorrow I start Week 6. Also I do core workouts such as push ups, planks, side planks, superman. Plyometrics 2-3 times a week. Fast 10 second strides every other day. Now I need some advice for week 6: Should I stop building my mileage and max out at 56 min and 1:30:00 long run? Should I start decreasing volume and start increasing intensity to get readu for track which starts on jan 17th? Or should I just get to running 1 hour every day and stay at 1:30:00? I'm leaning more towards stop building mileage and decrease from running 56 min every day to 52 and start adding moderate workouts this time TWO times a week. Week 6 will probably be my last week training by myself My coach keeps telling me to train with them when school starts back up which is next week. The majority of my runs ever day are very aerobic except for the occasional days where I might run a fartlek or tempo.
Also becoming a good runner is not 100% about training physically. Training the mind also plays a big role in success which is why many people are successful when they visualize their race. The mental aspect of running is the part that many people forget.
I made my log public for those who want to take a look at my training.
Please keep in mind that the paces and miles are not accurate because I run a loop around my neighborhood and I don't know how many miles it is although I estimate 1.3 miles = 1 loop but I'm not sure.
The duration of all my runs are completely accurate though.
My running log: http://www.runningahead.com/logs/725c860abe004f88a614b39277395279/authenticate?password=viewlog
I'd recommend, again, that you go train with your coach and teammates.
What you miss-characterize as "sprinters" workouts may be exactly what you need to improve your form and general running ability. You can always complement those workouts with additional easy running, if you feel that's necessary.
I just took a look through your log, it looks great, but I do have one question. Is there any reason you arent/cant run 6 days a week? even if those extra 1-2 days were just easy 30-40 minute runs it would help. Other then that it looks like you are doing a fine job, Keep up the good work.
It isent my place to say whether or not you should train with your other team mates, I find it impossible to follow two coaching philsophys without doubting one, which undermines any benefits you could gain from it. Running is just as much believeing you are ready to race as it accually is being fit enough to race
Best of luck