New To Cross Country!?

Question

Im 17 and have recently decided to join a cross country team.This is my first sports team.I am pretty fit.About 3 weeks ago I attempted to run a 5K.I did really bad!! My time was like 40 minutes!!What should I do to to improve in general?What muscles should I build up?How can I improve my stamina? I need advice please!

Answer 1

basically you just need to start running. you're trying to build up your running stamina so start doing things that will build up your endurance such as swimming and of course running. work on your legs

Answer 2

well wat i do is i start out runing a mile a day....then after a week i go up to 2 miles a day..then another week and i go up to 3 miles....and so on till i get too well what ever 5 k is in miles then i try to keep a steady pace and try to breath through my nose the entire time...breathing through your nose keeps your lungs calmer thus making your body do less work because if your having a hard time breathing your body with develoup stress, stress can also cause cramps, and makes your body do more work....hope this helps

Answer 3

Just start running around more.  If you're going to do weights or anything-->light weights, lots of reps.

runnersworld.com is a good site to go to.  It's pretty much all about long distance running and training.

You pretty much need to work every muscle.  You core and back muscles keep your posture.  Shin muscles, calve muscles, quads, and all that stuff are important.  Your arm muscles are needed to keep pumping you through the race.  

Once or twice a week do some 400m repeats all at about even paces.  Hills are great!  Quick uphills are for stride and working those leg muscles.  Long uphills help make your strong for long distance.  As a seperate workout, short, fast downhills can help you learn to increase turnover

Answer 4

The best thing you can do to cut down on time, build up muscle and improve your stamina all at the same time is to get out and run. Over time, if you keep training, your 5k time will drop dramatically from 40 min. I believe it is very important to build are not only the leg muscles, but to work on developing good lung/air capacity. This also comes by running a lot. In doing this, it will be a lot easier to run in general.

Hope This Helps!

Answer 5

i agree with the first answer, the only real way you can get

better would be to start running. you want to build up long, lean muscles, these are best for XC, the bigger bulkier muscles are for sprinting;]. Start running a mile everyday. then move up to 1.5 miles or 2 miles, then keep moving up. If your XC meets are 2.5 miles, get pretty good at running 3 miles, so you'll be a lot better.

drink LOTS of water, and gatorade even, after you run. DON'T sprint to begin with!! especially in races! Ask yourself at the beginning of the race "Could I keep this speed for ___ miles?" Yea, you should go a little bit fast at the start, otherwise everyone will pass you up & you'll have no chance of catching up, but keep it steady. You may feel slow, but others will start to slow down. Plus sprinting tightens your muscles.

I noticed a big difference in my calf muscle after running cross country. I also lost my extra belly fat, and a jean size, and i wasn't even overweight!

Just keep running a normal part of your routine. I'm only 12 years old and my mile time is around 6:50....that's a very rough estimate because I can't remember very well haha, but it was either 6 or 7 something...just to get an idea.

Overall, cross country was very rewarding for me, and even

though I wasn't that great at all really haha, I am going to love doing it next year! I've been looking forward to it all year haa! Just practice a lot over the summer:)

Answer 6

Best way to train for running is to run!!!! Go for runs often, some shorter some longer. Try running long distances jog 5 min, as fast as you can 30sec-1min. This will help keep up a faster pace. Also drink lots of water half an our before, and eat carbs the night before.

Happy running!!

Answer 7

this site is especially for high school runner in cross country...u should try it:  http://www.halhigdon.com/crosscountry/cr...

hope it helps!