Advice from a runner?

Question

I decided to do cross country this fall and have been running at least once every day for 30 minutes to first work on my endurance. After I can comfortably run 30 minutes without stopping I will increase this time to 45 minutes. After I can comfortably run 45 minutes without stopping I will start to work on speed. One day out of each week is spent cross training by bicycling or swiming. Any other tips on how to increase speed and endurance?

Also, if I lose 10lbs of body fat, about how much faster do you think I would go?

Thank you in advance [:

Answer 1

Lol it really depends how much you weighed before (sorry, I really didn't mean to ask you your weight, I know it's rude :( ).  What I mean is, if you lost all the fat just from exercise, not going anorexic or something, you'll be a h**l of a lot faster.  10 pounds of less fat to run without.  I had a friend who used to be big but he lost a lot of weight from running, and he went from like a 10+ minute mile to a sub 6 minute one.

Answer 2

You will not get much faster doing that kind of training. You need to have a variety of workouts and not just the same thing every day. I dont know how good of shape you are in but here is a schedule for the average high schooler.

Monday- Jog slow and then increase your speed over and over again for 20 to thirty minutes

Tuesday-Weight lift if possible, if not go on a 40 to fifty minute run at a pace you can sustain without stopping.

Wednesday-Go on an hour run without stopping.

Thursday-Lift if possible, if not thrity minute run to recover

Friday-Fartleks atleast 3 repeats

Saturday-Easy run (30-40 minutes)\

Sunday-Complete rest to recover  

Answer 3

That's a good plan. You might want to talk to your coach about running. Don't do anything you're unsure of without your coach's consent.

Drinking lots of water helps in running. Cutting out pop, coffee, things loaded with caffeine. That REALLY helps. Eat as healthy as you can.

As far as loosing weight. That comes with the running. But you'll lose body fat and gain muscle as you run. So don't freak if you start gaining weight. Just keep running and working hard. And running isn't supposed to be all easy, if it was everyone would do it(and be good). So maybe run 30min. one day and then the next run 45min. to give yourself a challenge. Then go back to 30min. the next day.

Make sure your body has at least one rest day for your muscles to build back.

If you start feeling pain track how long it lasts. If it goes on for more than a week go to your doctor. Trust me I know(email me for the story of it all lol). They can catch injuries before you notice them, or hurt yourself worse.

Ashley- Good advice! I totally agree! I'm going to extend what you said for a moment(lol) for the people reading this strides are about a 100m long relaxed run. You're not racing, just working those fast twitch muscle fibers.

I think Ashley's plan is better than mine! But see what works for you and go with it! Remember season hasn't started yet so you don't need to be in prime shape yet. You'll peak too soon if you do that.

Hope this helps! Sorry it's so long! Email me with any questions. :D

Answer 4

XCisLife- good advice, but that is more for once the season starts. If she does too much speed/strength now then that is not good, you want to peak about a month into actual practice (I'm guessing that is mid August? Thats when mine is at least).

I think that for summer, its best to just get in the mileage... so maybe put in a couple long and slow runs (an hour instead of the 30-45 minutes) each week, and maybe lift or do abs if you feel like it, strides are nice at the end of a longer run, and hills if you can too. But by no means do an actual workout til the season starts, you will probably just frustrate yourself.