Week #2 2022 Summer Miles

                   Summer Cross Country Running:

Why Summer Mileage is Important

If you want to run your absolute best in the upcoming cross country running season, laying down a conditioning base by doing lots of summer mileage is essential. Without it you will not run anywhere near your full potential in your fall cross country races and your chances of injury are greatly increased. 

Your racing peak is greatly determined by the depth of the fitness foundation you develop over the summer. Having superior aerobic fitness enables you to maintain your race pace over the cross-country course, and still have enough left to finish fast. Running a solid summer mileage has dozens of physiological benefits including developing your maximal oxygen uptake (your ability to take in and process oxygen), improving your cardiac output efficiency (your heart’s ability to deliver and adequate blood supply to your running muscles), and greatly enhancing your muscle’s ability to process oxygen and store and utilize glycogen for fuel.

Contrast these great benefits doing summer cross country running with turning up at your first fall cross country practice out of shape. You’ll spend the entire season just regaining your aerobic fitness, so your performances will not even be close to what you could have done if you did your conditioning over the summer and arrived at your first workout ready for the faster training that your coach is giving you.

And here lies another of the major benefits of doing a good fitness base over summer. You’ll be ready for the higher intensity workouts like tempo running, track interval sessions, and fartlek workouts that your coach will be throwing you into almost immediately. The better your aerobic fitness, the less your body will have to tap into the anaerobic energy systems. This means you will not be fatigued as easy because your muscles are able to hang on to their glycogen fuel for longer, and you’ll be able to deal with lactic acid accumulation much better if you are in excellent aerobic shape.

The starting point for successful cross-country running is to do lots of steady paced distance running from June through to August. Most of your summer running should be continuous aerobic running at a pace fast enough for you to improve your fitness (not slow jogging), but not so fast that you over train. One guideline that coaches use is that you should be able to talk while running.

Do as much of your summer cross country running on softer surfaces like grass, dirt roads or trails, and beaches. You should be running between 25 to 70 minutes every day, depending on your age and whether you have been running for a year or two previously. Include one long run every week to keep improving your base and run different distances every day to give your legs a break on the shorter days.

When possible, try to run with other teammates of your ability. And because you’re going to be racing cross country, you should get used to running hills hard during your summer training sessions. This will give you a big advantage over your teammates and competitors in your races because hill running develops endurance, cardiovascular fitness and helps strengthen your gluteals for cross country surface.

 

Ok Runners it is time for all of you to start getting your form A physicals done as well as register on register my athlete. There are LINKS provided on the left side of the blog.

Physicals when completed PLEASE make sure that the doctor, you, and your parents have SIGNED and DATED each paper where it is REQUIRED. PLEASE double check them before you turn them in to me at practice. I will be at Wednesday practice. (There is a LINK for you do download or print the latest version of the form A)

Register my Athlete. PLEASE get on and get registered. There is a link on the left side of the blog that will help explain how to register.

Any questions please let me know.

Put your weekly mileage total on the blog.  The link is on the blog titled "2022 Summer Miles."  

Continue to Be patient!  Be consistent with your running! Keep allowing your body to adjust and get stronger.  As it does this, you will be able to add mileage and reach your goals! 

ALL RUNS NEED TO BE AT AN EASY PACE RIGHT NOW (except for designated Key workouts...like Canyon runs). 

Believe in YOURSELF!!!!