2025 Fall Cross Country & Racing Program, Mileage, Week 3, Day 2, September 12, 2025, Tuesday is the Tempo Day!
Our program will be built around a tempo run with some hills on Tuesday, fartlek on Thursday, race day or repetitions on Saturday, Long run on Sunday and easy days on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. You can juggle around if you need and also consider keeping Saturdays an easy day in weeks you are not racing! Ask your coach before adding anything to your daily training.
Tuesday, warm-up, TEMPO Run, 20 minutes, flat surface, at pace of 20-25 seconds over the current 5k racing pace, so if you are racing a 5:30 pace, do TEMPO at 5:55 pace. This is about building mid race strength, mental conditioning and what Bill Dellinger, one of the finest coaches EVER, called “callousing”. After the TEMPO, run 30-40 minutes starting easy, building to modate pace, and finish with 5 x 1 minute hard, one minute easy, cooldown.
In this hot weather, remember to hydrate. 2-3 liters a day of water, watch out for carbonated beverages, and caffeine (in moderation). Do not take sports drinks with caffeine, ginseng and things that you have not discussed with your coach and family physician. Those drinks can cause heart issues. They are not a joke!
Many steeplers have cross country backgrounds!
Cross country is universal. It has been around for nearly three hundred years. Cross country is a good sport for the 400 meters runner on up! I loved getting hurdlers to run cross country. All of our steeplers learned how to high hurdle on the grass, and then, when I was really devious, they did 400 meter hurdles. They never complained about the hurdles again.
Mark Rowland, long time coach of Oregon Track Club and Olympic steeplechase medalist (bronze in Seoul 1988 and silver in 1990 Split Europeans), told me over dinner one time that he trained over the 400 meter hurdles to better prepare for the steeplechase.
After the Steeplechase in Tokyo, where Geordie Beamish went from 11th to first, remember he who has withering kick wins championship races, so if you do not have withering kick make the kickers hurt.
USATF Outdoor Track and Field Championships held at Hayward Field, University of Oregon, June 23-26, 2022, photo by Kevin Morris
#SummerMileage, #hillrunning, #RunBlogRunSummerMileage, #running, #crosscountry,
Will. you be ready? Follow our daily training suggestions, and daily athlete stories and you will be ready to race in the fall!
The Nike Pegasus PLUS is a great entry shoe for high school cross country. You should consider it, and learn more about it at nike.com. It is light, cushioned, a good summer mileage shoe. If you need a little more cushioning, try the Vomero 18. The Vomero 18 has more cushioning that the Pegasus PLUS. If you like NIKE, I would suggest high schoolers use the NIKE Pegasus PLUS for Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I would suggest the Vomero 18 for Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I always suggest two pairs of training shoes. Why on Vomero 18? It is a cushioned shoe that feels great and is good on the roads and trails.
If you need a more cushioned shoe, try the Vomero 18 and the Vomero 18 PLUS, for great cushioning, a more sophisticated ride. Check them out at your local NIKE retailer or NIKE running store.
Do you want to be a better cross country runner than you were in the past? Focus and follow our training. It is all about the consistency.
For Great Summer reading! Self Made Olympian by Ron Daws, A Clean Pair of Heels by Murray Halberg, Pre! by Tom Jordan, Quicksilver, The Mercurial Emil Zatopek, by Pat Butcher, The Destiny of Alain Mimoun, by Pat Butcher (a monograph)
Remember, one day at a time!!!! #SummerMileage, #CrossCountry,