I think for the High School coach, this might be the hardest time of the year to plan.
Most of the coaches I talk with do not have to worry about an Indoor Track season, which is great for training, but it’s also the time of year where you might not see your kids for weeks at a time. And then you have to worry about holiday travel, etc.
So, what do you do?
In most cases, you won’t start running Outdoor Track meets until February and so you have a lot of time to really build up and prepare. Hopefully by this point in the year your kids understand how important the training is, even when you cannot meet as a team.
For me, this two month time period is a great time to replicate what you did in the summer time; BUILD THE WINTER BASE.
Just like in the summer you’ll want to have 4-5 weeks of easy base and then 4-5 weeks of an intense base. And honestly, I’d follow it pretty similarly to what you did in the summer, but with one catch…
LET’S SAY that you don’t have a full 8-10 weeks. Maybe it’s closer to 6 weeks…here, I believe you can shorten the easy base…but no less than two weeks of easy running. And remember, you don’t want more than 4-5 weeks of the intense base anyway.
SO, just as a refresher…
EASY BASE:
M. Easy run (can be run over hilly course)
T. Easy run + strides
W. Easy run (can be run over hilly course)
T. Easy run or x-training
F. Speed maintenance
S. Long run (can be run over hilly course)
S. Easy run or x-training or rest
INTENSE BASE:
M. Progression run; 1/3 to 1/2 of the run picked up.
T. Easy run + strides
W. Progression run; 1/3 to 1/2 of the run picked up.
T. Easy run
F. Speed maintenance
S. Long run over hilly course; older runners could run the last 1-3 miles picked up.
S. Easy run or x-training or rest.
And one more thing that’s very important…I recommend giving at a minimum 7 days of complete rest after the XC season and up to 2 weeks before starting this winter base period.
If your kids can get in this winter base, then they’ll be prepared for the faster work that follows in the track season (which we’ll discuss tomorrow)!!!
As usual, questions? Please email me at thedailyrun@gmail.com
Phillips Running 