Cross Country: What Are Your Objectives?

Cross Country: What Are Your Objectives?

by Steve Gardiner, New Bedford (MA) High School

originally published on M-F Athletics - www.everythingtrackandfield.com

Countless articles have been written that outline training programs that could lead to successful and championship-driven cross country seasons. However, before the coach can implement any plan, he or she must assess a myriad of factors. It is necessary for the coach to determine what his or her team and individual objectives are before workouts can be planned, written and executed for the fall season.

What could these considerations be? This article will examine several different scenarios that will determine which direction in training that a coach should lead their athletes.

SCENARIO 1 - CROSS COUNTRY PEAK WITHOUT A SUMMER BASE PERIOD

This situation addresses the coach who cannot work with his team during the summer months and does not have a formal indoor season. Each state has different rules governing contact with the coach and athletes. Some states allow team practices throughout July and August.

In states like Massachusetts, the coach is prohibited from working with his athletes until eleven days prior to Labor Day. Unfortunately, under these rules, it is left up to the individual athlete to prepare for the upcoming season. Some schools allow what is known as “captain’s practices” which is a situation where the students are left in charge of each other throughout the summer.

Some school districts (New Bedford, Massachusetts is one) do not condone “captain's practices”. If the athletes do not prepare during the summer then this makes for a very short pre-season under this scenario.

What should the coach do?
Assuming, the coach has a twelve week period to train as a team then one possible plan would be to divide the twelve weeks up into three, four-week training cycles.

First Four Weeks
The first four weeks would be a “base” building phase that could be like the following:
• One longer, aerobic run each week (20-25% of weekly mileage).

• Threshold training. This could be in the form of a “steady state” session in which the “meat” of the run is executed as close to AT as possible. Anaerobic threshold (AT) is exercising as close as possible to that invisible dividing line that separates the aerobic and anaerobic energy zones. The runner wants to stay on the aerobic side throughout the steady state (or tempo) throughout this session (approximately twenty minutes plus an easy run that leads into the tempo and a slow down portion after the tempo).

• Cruise Intervals (see Daniels) may be the way to go for youngsters who report out of condition. In these, the approximate twenty minutes can be broken up into 800’s, 1000’s, 1200’s or miles which are followed by a very short rest (usually sixty seconds). The pace of these “cruise” sessions can be determined by adhering to Daniel’s VDOT schedule that is found in his book, Daniels’ Running Formula. (an early time trial over one mile, two miles or 5k to establish training paces based upon Daniels VDOT would establish pace for distance, tempo, interval and repetition runs).

• Light fartlek session. Fartlek is a Swedish term that refers to running using a variety of efforts over a variety of distance. It is kind of like a “free-fall” interval session. It is probably wiser to put some controls on this workout with young high school students. An example for an out of condition returning runner may be to have the athlete increase the pace for thirty to sixty seconds and then slow it down for four to four and one-half minutes and so a volume (distance) session has incorporated some faster turnover work during the course of the workout. More inexperienced and weaker runners may have to run and walk segments to complete the distance and in effect, they have executed a fartlek session.

• Striding over 100m – 150m at current 1500m “date pace”. “Date pace” is a term associated with the Bowerman (Oregon) system that refers to running at the athlete’s current performance level for a given distance. Thus, a runner who runs a 1500 in approximately 4:40 is about a 5:00 miler. Their 100m “date pace” would be approximately 19 seconds.

• Hill technique work to introduce proper hill running mechanics. These would not be run hard but would be used to introduce the basic technique used to properly run up and down hills

Second Four Weeks
The second four week cycle might include the following:

• The obvious scheduled dual meet (a hard dual meet effort would replace any interval sessions run).

• Threshold training (steady state or cruise interval).

• Vo2Max Interval session at Daniels VDOT or at athlete’s 5k date pace. Interval session could be combined into a hill workout. These could be run on grass, at a park or on the track if necessary. A hilly loop could also be incorporated during this session. An example for an athlete who hasn't prepared properly during the summer and now is into their fifth to eighth week of training could be the traditional 6 x 800 at 5k “date pace with a 400m jog.

• Striding over 100m –150m mixing current “date pace” and “goal pace”. Goal pace is a Bowerman (Oregon) System term that refers to running at a pace that mirrors the athlete’s goal for the year. In other words, the 4:40 1500 meter runner (current or date pace) who has a goal of running 4:25 (approximately 4:45 mile) would run their 100m strides at 17-18 seconds.

• One long run per week (20-25% of weekly total).

Third Four Weeks
The number of meets will play a big role in determining where some of these workouts would or could fit into a weekly program. The third and final four week cycle might include:

• Competition (hard races can replace interval sessions).

• Interval session that could include goal pace effort or be comprised of a “mix” variety meaning that the session may comprise a mix of efforts meaning date and goal paced times could comprise the workout and/or tempo (AT) efforts could also comprise part of the workout.

• Threshold Training.

• Repetitions could be run which would be less than two minute efforts at faster than 1500m pace with full recovery.

• Strides at date and goal pace.

SCENARIO 2 - CROSS COUNTRY PEAK WITH A SUMMER BASE PERIOD

First Cycle - Summer
In this situation, the athlete(s) have laid the foundation during the summer months. A strong aerobic base has been developed in the summer by focusing on two or three of the following areas:

• A longer aerobic run each week.

• A threshold session (steady state tempo or cruise interval).

• Fartlek session (that can include hilly terrain).
Strides over 100-150 meters are incorporated throughout the summer. These strides are generally done at 1500m date pace. Emphasis is placed upon proper running mechanics. The summer would be very similar (but longer) then the first four week cycle in scenario number one listed above.

The summer would serve as “phase one” or as the first cycle. The final ten to twelve weeks that culminate in the final competition could be divided up into two - five or six week phases or cycles.

Second Cycle
The second cycle that would run from mid to late August till late September (assuming a late October to mid November peak). This phase would mirror the middle phase in the first scenario. Fortunately, the coach in this situation can spend more time on targeting the key training zones that are targeted during this period. The number of meets during the week (hopefully no more than one) would determine the make-up of the weekly session. Obviously, all of the “bullets” listed below could not possibly comprise part of a weekly session.

• Competition ( a hard race can replace an interval session – see Daniels).

• Interval session (example for a veteran might be 5 x 800 meters at 5k date pace with 200-400m “float” recovery which means to cover the recovery at faster then a jog pace but slower then a steady state). The pace of this “float” for a veteran might be similar or slightly slower than their 10k pace. A younger or inexperienced runner would obviously have less volume and their recovery may first be walking and gradually jogging may be introduced. The goal is to shorten the recovery and bridge the interval distances (in this example, the 800’s) with more of a “float” recovery rather then a “jog” or walk. In this way, the athlete(s) is in effect surging throughout the workout.

• Threshold training.

• Repetition training (could be hill session).

• Strides at date and goal pace.

Final Cycle
The final cycle or phase would be designed to lead the athlete (and team) to their peak performances. This cycle would be determined by counting back from the championship or key meets. Thus, if the championship meets fall on the first two Saturdays in November then a six-week cycle would begin at the start of October.

Volume would decrease slightly during this cycle as intensity increases. Volume would drop off more dramatically in the final ten to fourteen days of this cycle. Key points of emphasis during this cycle would look similar to the final phase of scenario number one. It is important to remember that the goal is to sharpen the athlete during this phase and not to overload their systems.

SCENARIO 3 - CROSS COUNTRY WITH BOTH AN INDOOR AND OUTDOOR SEASON TO FOLLOW

In scenario 3, the coach has to decide which path to follow with three consecutive seasons. Do you attempt to peak all three seasons? It is not an approach that I favor but that doesn’t mean that this path will not work for you. Personally, I just don’t feel that the mountain that the athlete will scale during each peak will be as high as the one(s) that the 2-peak or 1-peak athlete will reach.

The more practical approach is a one or two peak program. A two-peak approach would attempt a peak for the end of cross country and the end of outdoor track. A one-peak approach would build throughout the year with the plan to reach the ultimate peak at the end of the racing season. The coach would set up their training plan depending upon which of the above “plans of attack” (3-peak, two-peak or one-peak) would be instituted. Obviously, in a two peak with the peaks in the fall and spring seasons would see the summer and winter months serving as the base or pre-competition (conditioning) periods.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

There are many other factors to consider in addition to the number of competitive seasons each athlete will be competing.

• What type of athlete(s) are you coaching? Is the person a two mile/ cross country type?

• Is the athlete more of an 800 meter type? This would determine the make-up of the athlete’s training plan.

• How about age of the athlete?

• Volume will obviously increase as an athlete gains training experience. You want your athletes to progress over time so volume will increase as an athlete ages in "training years."

• How about the type of courses that your team will be running on in their biggest races of the year? Are they hilly? Flat? Paved?

The answers to questions like this should be factored into how you prepare your team.

CONCLUSION

You can start “sculpturing” your workouts once you have determined which direction that you want to take your cross country team. As stated earlier, there are thousands of articles and texts that have been published that outline seasonal training plans. I suggest reading (if you haven’t already) texts such as:

• Daniels’ Running Formula (Jack Daniels, Ph.D),

• Better Training for Distance Runners (David E. Martin and Peter N. Coe),

• Run with the Best (Tony Benson and Irv Ray),

• Road to the Top (Joe Vigil, Ph.D),

• Peak When it Counts (William H. Freeman, PH.D),

and many others. Reading a number of different training texts will help in you forming a training plan that works best for your situation.

About the Author...

On several occasions throughout his scholastic coaching career, Gardiner has been selected The Boston Globe Division I Coach of the Year for regularly sending top quality individuals and teams to state championship meets. Several of his athletes have gone on to enjoy collegiate careers, any at top schools across the nation.

In describing Gardiner's coaching career, Kelly praised him for playing an important role in the personal development of all of his student-athletes. "Today, the image of sports at all levels that the public so often encounters is of athletes and coaches who are stars in their own movies, who prize celebrity over competence, who celebrate the individual at the expense of the team. A coach like Steve Gardiner reminds everyone that this image isn't always the case, that an athletic program where the emphasis is on the mastery of fundamentals and the sheer joy of competition is alive and well."