Is it a good idea to have a strong base before starting cross country practice?

Question

Cross country starts aug. 15 for us and the first meet is aug. 30. I only have a month left to get in shape and recently I have been going on hour long walks in the morning and then swimming laps for an hour in the evening. You can see I havent done any running because for some reason, my shins are still killing me since track. If I continue to swim and walk and ride my bike, can I get in decent shape for xc practice? I dont even know if I can last running for 30 min right now :/ I was a mid distance runner in track and was dead after 30-60 min long runs

Answer 1

YES!

I competed in xc and track for 5 yrs and not once did I off-season train

Even though I p.r'd by a minute every year....it was only cause I got lucky with my natural talent

I very very much regret not bulding up base before each season. I could've excelled SO much

I got shin splints too from track. But you have to condition your body to endure injuries like that. Sometimes you have to push through it.

I suggest going to a real cross country shoe store and figuring out if you need a stability shoe.

Ice after every run

But start running now.

Start with 2 miles and time your self each run.

It doesnt matter at first how fast you run....just focus on finishing

Find a nice trail to run on

If you have to run on pavement stay off sidewalks. Try running on the side of the road because it is softer

Answer 2

The bigger the base, the higher the peak.

Teams that are successful in XC are teams that put in the summer miles.  There simply isn't a way around that.

Hopefully the swimming has given you a good start.

As for the shins, assuming you have shin splints, try to get some hill workouts out in.  They are great for preventing shin splints.  

Good luck.