The first step in designing training programs for cross country runners is visualizing a clear understanding of the physical components needed for success. Designing distance training schemes without a clear purpose in mind is an inefficient process at best, and at worst is a hodge-podge of this and that from impractical weight room exercises to…
Archives for coaching distance
Cross Country Training: Developing Positive Team Culture (Part 1)
Cross country running is considered a team sport by those in the know. Because the scoring of the meet is so tied into the efforts of all seven runners on a team it is imperative that a positive and selfless synergy exists between these runners if the team is to be successful. The coach is…
Speed and Ancillary Training in the Distance Events
Perspectives. Distance run training geared toward the development of energy system efficiency, cardiovascular fitness, and buffering capabilities is the foundation of any good distance program. Yet, there are several other forms of training that are applicable to endurance training, serving a specific purpose that can enhance performance, increase the effectiveness of other forms of training,…
The Tempo Run
The tempo run is a valuable training unit component that should be found in the microcycles of both middle-distance and distance runners, including cross country athletes. The name is derived from a musical term that refers to a recognized “rate of speed”. The rate of speed, or tempo, used in training distance runners is the…
Levels and Types of Competition
The word competition takes on many meanings in the natural world. For two animals in competition for the same basic needs in the same ecosystem, it means survival, and ultimately life and death. Fortunately for humans, competition in the athletic domain of our society has far less consequences. Loosely defined for sporting application, competition is…
Carbohydrate Metabolism
Understanding and following proper nutritional protocol is crucial to the success of any athlete. Human cells require nutrients ingested from outside of the body to provide an energy platform for muscle contractions, amino acids for synthesizing a wide variety of protein-based components, and micro-nutrients that provide a sort of co-enzyme function in many cellular functions….
Cross Country Training: Managing Your Phases & Periods
By now almost every cross country coach in America has had some contact with the basics of training theory. This is quite a contrast from the 1980’s when only the most diehard coaches were familiar with the works of Tudor Bompa and others from the Eastern Bloc that had first organized sport training into chunks…
Mid D & Distance Coaches (Endurance Programs on sale this week)
Middle distance and distance coaches – you know how difficult it can be to find applicable training information from successful HIGH SCHOOL endurance coaches. And you also know that running a successful middle/distance program requires an increasingly sophisticated understanding of not only how to develop an aerobic base, but how to play with special endurance…