It was great having three seniors and two alumni join Coach for a muddy run in Quicksilver; we slipped and slid for a solid nine miles of really beautiful running!
This is what off-season running is all about–going out and bagging mileage, and enjoying the time you are doing it! At the request of the team XC captains, I provided an off-season plan in detail, however the basics of off-season distance training are simple:
–Progressive loading: Try to increase your average weekly mileage for December/January by 10-15% per week (if you were averaged 40 miles per week during cross country, see if you can get up to 45ish per week for January).
–Train don’t strain: This should be a fun period of running. Run fast if you feel like running fast, slow if you feel like running slow (but don’t slog around so slowly that you are not doing yourself any good). Find people you like to run with and have a nice chat for an hour while you run.
–Hills are your friends! You will add strength if you build in runs in Fremont Older, Rancho etc.
–A nice long run will do wonders; schedule one long run each week that is 25-30% of your weekly mileage (if you are running 40 miles per week, a long run of 10-12 miles is a great idea).
–A few strides a couple days per week after your run will make you feel great and help your legs remember they are meant to be fast!
–Do some stretching and simple core work.
–HAVE FUN! A muddy fun run is a great idea!
You will be SO READY for track season!