Cross Country

[quicksilver1122]

I decided to try out for Cross Country this year. To get in better shape for Crew in the Spring. Got on the team and what now.. lol. What I wanted to know is if you guys have anytips? Of anykind.. lol. I'll take anythign into consideration and would be helpful. I know some of you are really good runners and take it extrememly seriously.

 

[Sage]

Cheesy as it may sound, what you need more than anything is motivation - You have to want to be running and to be a faster runner... You have to want it really bad, because quite honestly, there are some days when you'll hurt like hell and you'll still have to push yourself faster. Motivation is seriously the one thing that you need more than anything.

As for "side-bar tips", here are just a few (most of the real nuances you'll just have to find out on your own):

• Keep your jaw and shoulders as relaxed as possible - You should be on the verge of drooling (gross, I know, but it's true)
• Bend your arms at 90 degree angles
• Run on the ball of your foot - Try your hardest to never, ever let your heels touch the ground, because they slow you down considerably (especially in grass)
• Don't drag your feet, don't "shuffle"... keep your knees up high, and give a good kick
• Find out how your body handles eating and running... for me, I have to eat before I run, while for others, they'll puke
• Keep a consistent speed as much as possible - When going up a steeper hill, you can shorten your stride or go slower ever so slightly, but try to keep a close pace throughout
• Breath in through your mouth and nose (this is one of the reasons for keeping a loose jaw). Breath in deeply (without breathing in so deep that your momentum gets messed up)
• By all means, ignore the fact that you're tired and in pain - keep your back straight, neck straight, look forward, and just keep going, and don't think at all

Mm, that's all I can think of right now...

 

[LoudMusic]

That's good, Sage. How long have you been running?

I think in Cross Country, even more so than track and any other sport, success is something you have to want REALLY bad. It's just between you and the clock - none of the other runners matter. There is more work involved with running than any other sport, and more pain. Sage is right, you have to run through the pain and keep going. Your body isn't used to it but it CAN take it. The more you run the more it can take. Running is said to be 20% physical and 80% mental. You can play with the ratio how ever you like, but it boils down to your mind is more important than your muscles. Don't let the pain get to you.

Wow, I'm talking alot about how much it hurts. If you stick with it for a few months you'll over come the pain and start to realize how wonderful it is. The feeling of crossing the finishline seconds, even minutes ahead of your previous best far outweigh all the hours you spend in training.

So I guess the season is over, or nearly there. How did it go? My personal best on a 5km CC course was 17 minutes flat. My best possition was 5th in a field of over 250 runners. We won that meet by quite a margin.

 

[VIPFREAK]

Man I remember those days... there was one day our workout consisted of running the length of the pool with jeans and shoes on doing 15 - 20 laps? Then we did treading water in the deep end of the pool for 5 min intervals with jeans and shoes on. Then a run consisting of running up 3 long hills in our area. I think the whole run was about 5-10 miles after we were done?

Anyway, I agree motivation is a big part of it, find someone that you can run with especially for the weekends.

Nick

 

[Sage]

Originally posted by LoudMusic
That's good, Sage. How long have you been running?

I know I'm a bit late, but I haven't visited this forum in months, so I just saw this. I've been running (as in, more than the 1-mile every week in P.E.) since I joined CC in my Freshman year – I'm a sophomore now – so, I haven't been running for too long, about 1 1/2 years now.

Anyway, I have my first meet of the Track season coming up this Saturday. I'll see if I can slot myself into the 800, but it's incredibly popular, so I'll have to see... I wouldn't mind doing the mile, but the 2 mile is horrible on a track, since you see the same damn things for 8 laps.

 

[vat_man]

Well, I haven't posted here in a while. I've been progressing quite nicely, got my second marathon at Canberra in just over a month, and training's going along pretty well.

In the mean time, I've dropped my 5km time down to 18m 36s, and did my best 10k time of 39m10s yesterday. My pace is much improved - did a 25km event about four weeks ago and held 4:30 pace through to 20km and was able to put in a couple of 4:10-20 laps to round off the last five km.

Certainly the fittest I've EVER been, and my weight's below 180 pounds for the first time since university (around 12 years ago).

Training at the moment is:
Sun - Long run, generally around 25-32km
Mon - 5km recovery, very gentle
Tue - Hill repeats. Currently 10x300m, looking to build to 20 repeats
Wed - 15km tempo run (3 x 5km, with quicker pace for each subsequent 5km)
Thu - 1km intervals - currently at 7 repeats, looking to go to 10
Fri - off
Sat - 10 to 27km, depending on mileage requirements

Mileage is between 60 - 90km depending on where in my cycle I am.

Not bad for a fat (well, not anymore!) balding, greying 33 year old.