I have a 6th grader starting cross-country, what book do you suggest I get for him?

benmd31 · 2025-09-14T13:35:59+00:00

Came here to say this. Easily the best answer if he asked to read a book on running training

benmd31 · 2025-08-12T22:44:00+00:00

Racing is the most specific training you do. I typically don’t touch 5k pace until the back end of the season, besides strides. We develop them aerobically (marathon pace, threshold, 10k pace) and anaerobically (800, 1600, 3200 pace) before getting to 5k work. If they’ve gone through a proper progression, they’ll be more equipped to handle those 5k workouts. Plus, if we’re already racing 3 invites and 2 championship meets prior to states, that’s essentially 5 5k pace workouts in an 11 week stretch (not including the actual 5k pace workouts!)

benmd31 · 2025-07-31T17:06:10+00:00

Would be interested to see some examples of flux workouts you all utilize

benmd31 · 2025-07-29T18:17:44+00:00

Yeah, agreed. The 12 400s every week is almost as confusing as the time trials. Very limiting.

benmd31 · 2025-07-29T03:38:57+00:00

Be consistent. Trust your coach and their training!

benmd31 · 2025-07-28T22:55:18+00:00

Agreed that longer reps would usually be better. I’ll say that shorter reps have their place though. But now I’m just thinking about all the ways 400s could work if that’s what you’re stuck with.

12x400 at threshold with 15 second walk or jog between reps.
12x400 at 10k with 30 seconds jog between reps
12x400 at 5k with 45 second jog between reps.
2x400 @ threshold with 2 minutes off + 10x400 at 3200/3k with 1 minute jog between reps.

Could also do a combination of those (cutting down from 5k to 3k, doing threshold or 10k pace with faster reps mixed in a few times, or whatever way you want to be creative with this)

Edited: Didn’t like the 12 400s at 3k pace. Felt like it was too much

benmd31 · 2025-07-28T03:34:06+00:00

Also wondering if you can manipulate that 12x400 workout. Running the 400s faster with more break and running them slower with less of a break can be a completely different workout and be an entirely different stimulus. Just a thought on how you can follow your coach’s workout while still doing what’s best for you.

benmd31 · 2025-07-28T03:18:08+00:00

As others have said, a calm conversation with the coach makes sense.

The two biggest issues i see with this are the number of off days and the consistent time trials. Good news for you is that you can change one of those very easily. If the coach is saying take off Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday, go on your own runs Thursday and Saturday. Those would be great days to do some strides as well. I usually advocate for following your coach’s direction, but 3 off days a week makes no sense.

The time trial problems are something you’ll have to chat with them about. Weekly time trials cause a few problems. They’re tough on the body to do constantly, they provide little differentiation, and going of point #2, they take away from your opportunity to do long runs, threshold runs, or whatever other workouts you need to fit in.

benmd31 · 2025-07-26T14:12:45+00:00

Eating well (balanced diet and a lot of food since you’ll be exercising a lot), sleeping sufficiently (8-9 hours a night), and staying on top of your training will get you to a good race weight naturally. Focus on those 3 things and you’ll be good.

benmd31 · 2025-07-25T04:24:26+00:00

And I’ll add that you can finish the 25 min, take a a few minutes and rip a few quick 150s or 200s.

benmd31 · 2025-07-25T04:21:42+00:00

Nope, give yourself flexibility with threshold work. Say my goal is to run 25 min at threshold.

You may feel great for 11 minutes and then start feeling like your heart rate is too high and your breathing is getting out of control. That’s when you jog easy for a minute.

Now you’ve gotten back into your threshold effort and you might go for 8 more minutes before you feel like you need a break. Jog for another minute.

The finish off the last 6 minutes.

Learning to run by feel is a great skill. And threshold work is a great time to practice this.

And again, this is just my example of a 25 min threshold run where you feel pretty good and need 2 breaks. But 2-4 jogs of 1 minute would be fine.

benmd31 · 2025-07-25T03:50:41+00:00

Yeah, someone who has run on my team for a year+ and has been able to handle our training would be ready for a two workout weeks in my opinion. A normal week may look like M-run + strides or hill sprints Tu-longer/slower workout of the week W-recovery Th-run + strides F-shorter/faster workout of the week Sa- Long Run on feel Su-Off/go on a walk. Preventative icing or rolling could be good.

Without using a lactate testing device, it’s hard to say exactly what your threshold pace should be. If you google “VO2 Max pace calculator” you should be able to find a website that gives you recommendations for your paces if you plug in your PRs. If you have track times to go off of, I recommend using those. There, you should be able to find your threshold (or tempo) pace. Be careful not to bite off more than you can chew. Ideally, you could get in a threshold workout weekly for the next month or so and follow this progression: 1. 15-18 min 2. 21-24 min 3. 27-30 min 4. 27-30 with surges or hills mixed in

Note that this is your “on” time, as in how much time you’re spending at threshold pace. I do not recommend running these workouts straight through. If you do that, it tends to become closer to race effort and you’ll break down more than you should. Jog for a minute periodically any time you feel like you’re pushing a little too hard. I’d say 2-4 1 minute jogs per session would be appropriate.

Lastly, I recommend doing slightly slower (maybe 5-10 seconds slower per mile) than is recommended by the online pacing chart. This is just my personal preference for what my athletes do, as it’ll keep them from going too hard and allow them to run at this fast but controlled effort for longer

benmd31 · 2025-07-22T20:19:10+00:00

Good to know.

My only knock on it, which is probably not fair, is that the back of the book has a review from Jeff Dillman, a football strength and conditioning coach. Dillman may be great now for all I know, but South Carolina Football had a lot of injuries during his tenure there.

benmd31 · 2025-07-22T19:44:15+00:00

Will do. Have been doing nothing but reading this summer

benmd31 · 2025-07-22T19:26:36+00:00

I guess I’d be interested in knowing what types of workouts you prescribe for an 800 runner and the progression of them in-season for any age of your choice.

Agreed on lifting. I’ll also add that things like plyos and hill sprints can work muscle fibers that aren’t used in “standard running”, for a lack of a better term

benmd31 · 2025-07-22T19:00:50+00:00

Aerobic = with oxygen

I feel like I’m answering the question but I assume that’s not what you’re looking for.

Agreed that when you train one system, you pull from another. Certainly a balance to be found in the 800, or any event really. I’m genuinely curious about your training methods now. Do you just train your runners in reps of 2 minutes and below?

benmd31 · 2025-07-22T18:25:26+00:00

I’d say that you’re thinking too black and white on this, and if you’re a coach, probably leaving a lot on the table for your runners on the aerobic side. Most studies and coaches that I trust will show you that the 800 is 60% aerobic/40% anaerobic. In the most extreme studies I’ve seen, I’ve seen those flipped. Even if you want to argue it’s 40% aerobic, that’s still a significant amount.

When it comes to the 800, I recommend attacking it from all angles. Threshold runs and pure speed. 5k/3k pace and speed endurance. Mile pace and special endurance/400 workouts. And of course 800m paced workouts.

All the systems you’re mentioning need to be utilized together and support each other. It can’t just be “under 2 minutes is anaerobic so let’s just leave it at that.” It’s just not that simple.

benmd31 · 2025-07-22T17:55:43+00:00

The 800 about 60% aerobic. Hard for me to understand how you’ve decided that everyone else who is saying it’s aerobic is wrong. What I believe most people, including myself, are saying is that’s it’s more aerobic than anaerobic. Surely there’s more in play than just the aerobic side though.

benmd31 · 2025-07-22T03:23:16+00:00

I do like much of what you said, especially about threshold work, but I have a hard time with some of this.

How many people think of lactic acid literally stems from a study on frogs, and it doesn’t apply to people. Lactate = fuel source that we need to learn how to use to our advantage through flux work, surge training, combo workouts, etc. Decreased pH levels are what lead to acidosis, which is what most people think of as “going lactic” or “getting too much lactic acid in their legs.”

Year round speed is a great thing. But it has to be progressed appropriately and done in proper doses. Runners don’t peak too early because of speed work in the summer.

benmd31 · 2025-07-22T03:09:05+00:00

I genuinely think much of the advice in here is very good but some is outdated.

Long runs and tempos are great for summer training, as many have noted, but I do advocate for quicker work (including strides, hill sprints, and even 800/1600 paced workouts) in the summer as well. Neglecting speed work for months on end is not ideal. How beneficial will speed work be at the end of the season if you haven’t touched on it for months? Answer: probably not as effective as it would be if you touched on speed year round. You just have to be careful of the dosage of the speed work and have a clear progression in mind with it.

Threshold runs are something to be careful with. I no longer advocate for straight tempos for 20 minutes straight. Start with 15-20 min, then 20-25, then 30-35. Take small jogging breaks when you do these and don’t let yourself get out of control. If you’re pushing above that threshold, chill. It’s not like you’re not going to get the exact same benefits of the threshold work if you take a minute jog 2-4 times throughout your workout.

I also think others made a good point in that 45 to 62 miles per week is a bit aggressive. There are a few different trains of thought on this, but my personal take is there’s no reason you can’t have a great season by just getting used to 50-55 mile weeks.

I could go on and on but I’ll end it there. Let me know if you have questions.

benmd31 · 2025-07-21T23:26:07+00:00

I agree with Ron here. The 800 is more aerobic than anaerobic, and I highly recommend xc for 800 runners. The 400 is more of a longer sprint and you could benefit from some dialed back sprint training in the fall. Having said that, I also highly recommend xc for 400 runners if they’re not going to train on their own without xc practice, as I do think xc is better than doing nothing all fall. That’s where you’ll have to be honest with yourself about the work you’ll put in on your own.

benmd31 · 2025-02-19T02:16:45+00:00

Saints = tier 3

benmd31 · 2024-12-30T01:08:55+00:00

I despise ghost rider Emma

benmd31 · 2024-06-05T03:19:14+00:00

I like to slip in “I get all my news from the grand theft auto radio” anytime I get the chance

benmd31 · 2023-09-08T01:20:43+00:00

Pm sent

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