2 Month Getaway

Recently, I have been talking to my previous cross country coach. He knows a lot about running and is a runner himself. I asked him about setting me up with a plan to keep me in shape for the upcoming season but not something that would make me sore.

He looked at me and started writing a plan. However, when he handed it to me, I was shocked at what he said. He said, "Here is a routine. Now, wait until February to start it. In the mean time, spin twice a week and swim three times."

I was shocked. I thought I was supposed to be running all the time. He told me that this got some of the best runners from area to places such as ranked in the nation and even placing at nationals. This man is very smart and I trust in his decision completely but this goes to show that a break does a runner good.

By giving your legs time to heal, you better yourself in the long run. This was very shocking to me that you could do this and still improve your times.

When February gets here, I will do the following plan:

• Day 1: A long run
• Day 2: A short run
• Day 3: Easy run in the middle of short and long
• Day 4: Intervals, reps, or tempo (Each week do the next one)
• Day 5: Accelerations (You start then work up to a sprint)
• Day 6: Same as day 3

Now, you may be wondering about the distances for each of these days. Distance will depend on each individual runner, so I cannot list the distances.

Good luck and keep this advice in mind!