As infant humans proceed through daily activities in an instinctual manner just like all of the other animal species on our planet. However, instinctual behavior beyond the age of 1 or 2 in humans becomes curiously rare. With the largest proportionally-sized brain in the animal kingdom, humans quickly move from instinct to learned behavior…
Archives for cross country runner
Mental Preparation for Cross Country Championship Races
Your team has just qualified for the state cross country meet with an excellent performance at the section race. Let the celebration begin! That is, for about four hours anyway. A good rule for celebrating (or pouting) is the Midnight Rule. Championship meet mental preparation begins. Celebrate your victory until no later than midnight of…
Peaking Workouts for Cross Country Runners
The championship week is the culminating microcycle of training for a long macrocycle of aerobic and anaerobic development. Unlike team sports, the “championship week” in cross country varies from athlete to athlete and from team to team. For some members of the team it may be the week of the Conference Meet and for others…
The Healthy Runner Project
Over the last 50 years the training of distance runners has evolved from a process of trial and error testing, to specific event-centered progressions that are deeply based in the scientific method. Exercise physiologists, cardiologists, and endocrinologists, working with training theorists, have provided a wealth of empirical evidence for coaches to use as a resource…
Cross-Training Nonsense
General athletic skill is governed by physical maturity and individual developments in the five biomotor skills of speed, strength, endurance, flexibility, and coordination. Development of specific athletic skill is governed by a training blend of the five biomotor skills, but with a strong emphasis on the singular skill type that is characteristic of the narrow…