HS Cross Country first timer

[Anonymous]

You have received some great training advice. I might suggest that she starts running in the spring and the two of you (and of course add friends and family as appropriate) enter into some fun 5k runs in the late spring/summer. While they will give her a sense of pace, racing, etc, so many of them are really fun with a lovely spirit.

XC teams usually have some pretty nice kids too. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I agree with everyone above. One more note ... most training mileage should be done at a slow pace. When she starts working out with the team, they'll work in some speed workouts. But keep it slow and run on softer surfaces if you can to help ward off injury.

[Anonymous]

Great advice in this thread. I second the importance of good running shoes, fitted with the help of knowledgeable staff at a running store and replaced every 3 months or so. Think of those shoes as safety gear.

I would also make sure your daughter eats and hydrates well to support her new running habits. Girls that age (and our culture in general) can get focused on certain ideas about “healthy eating” that they don’t realize different people have different needs at different times. It is amazing how much energy cross country runners burn. Learning to fuel herself properly for running will help her enjoy the sport more, avoid injury, and have more success. If she doesn’t already, have her take a multivitamin with iron to ward off anemia (a common problem for female runners).

My daughter started cross country in 9th grade as well and it is a wonderful sport! We have found the teams to be tight-knit, supportive, and full of terrific kids.

[Anonymous]

IME, there are kids who start on the team without being able to run a full three miles. Even by mid-season, it seemed like there were a couple who couldn't run the full 5K. At meets, I'd always see some kids walking across the finish (or walking mid-course for a bit).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:IME, there are kids who start on the team without being able to run a full three miles. Even by mid-season, it seemed like there were a couple who couldn't run the full 5K. At meets, I'd always see some kids walking across the finish (or walking mid-course for a bit).

Former XC state champion (Illinois) and 4:06 high school miler. Had a competitive NCAA D1 career. I enjoyed 9th grade because there was minimal pressure. I ran 9:10 for 2 miles in 9th grade and the pressure started. My father abandoned the family and mother had no job and health problems, so it was a way to go to college ,(I was a very good student with no skills other than analytic thinking so college was a necessity). I don't like athletic scholarships but they are chased fervently. Brother was even faster - 4:08 miler in 10th grade.

A few points:

Start easy and get to know your limits. I was never suited for high mileage but had sub 50 400m speed. Don't invite sickness and injury with too much mileage. Talked to parents at the ACC meet this fall and too much mileage and accompanying illness and injury was a common complaint. And some of the complaints were coming from the team with the best coach in the league who is keen not to overtrain - you have to know your limits and own them. Plenty of time to run high mileage once you develop and see if you can do it.

Buy good shoes. Plenty of new runners get shin splints but often it is just lousy shoes. There are not many great indoor tracks in DC and racing them can be stressful. Get good shoes. That means racing spikes, too. I ran board tracks in my day - 11 laps to the mile (e.g. Millrose Games, Sunkist Invitational in LA) and if I doubled the next morning I was as sore as a prizefighter. Pay attention to limits.

Diet? Just eat good food and don't worry about the volume. Just avoid sugar and processed foods - not easy for a teen but no need to focus on counting calories when you start. Eating disorders are a problem in the sport because short term body fat reduction makes you fast but will damage you. The above mentioned ACC coach watches her athletes closely for health.

Train consistently enough and for most healthy fitness will obtain. Wish I had adopted more of Van Aaken methods - less intensity and light hearted but athletic workouts. Hard to find his books but there are Internet references.

In my day cross training was frowned upon - clearly wrong. Do some for strength at a coach's direction. I know coaches in the area and many are very good.

The team experience is great - still have friends from those days.

I might try to help with coaching when I retire. I was trained by a guy who ran for Igloi and can make an average runner fast on lowish mileage.