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Stick to What Works
As the cross country season begins to wind down, many coaches find themselves itching to tweak training in hopes of achieving a little bit of magic in the championship season. It’s natural to feel the urge to add something new to your workouts, especially with the state championships or post-season races approaching on the calendar. However, it’s important to remember that if your training and racing has been effective all season, you don't need to make any drastic changes in training.
During Doug Soles’ recent D-Crew clinic, he shared valuable insights on how to approach the final weeks of competition. One of his recommendations was to maintain your training routine from Monday through Wednesday, even as you prepare for a championship race on the weekend. If you grew up like me in the 90's, this approach might seem counterintuitive as the en vogue thing to do was taper and over-rest, unfortunately throwing your system out of whack. A massive taper can lead to massive disaster for runners that have been used to systematic training and thrive off of consistency. As Tinman would say, you want to "keeping the ball rolling" - even in the championship season. When you’ve found a training and racing rhythm that works, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel or add new stress right before a major event.
Big meets naturally ramp up intensity in other areas, like race day atmosphere and outside influence. Some kids have well-intentioned coaches at the dinner table that make championship races into something they're not. This added excitement can lead kids to want to push harder in practice and do things in races they've never done, all things we know that can be counterproductive.
So how do you race your best when it counts?
Stick to familiar workout and race structure which will allow your body to remain in its rhythm
Trust the work you’ve put in throughout the season
Instead of worrying about adding last-minute improvements, focus on race strategy and mental preparation
Implement workouts that you know your kids will conquer; confidence is king.
Gradually move towards race-specific work.
If you subscribe to the Coaching Distance Training Plans you will notice the whole season subtly moves towards specificity, without any drastic changes in training.
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