From Track to Trails
What the transition from spring track to cross country training is like
In previous posts, I’ve talked a lot about the need for speed training, even if you are a marathon runner.
Today, I’m going to talk to you about what it feels like to have just finished a season of left turns and how that plays out on the trails of cross country. Not a track runner? This is still for you because you should be doing a season of speed training and you too will need to transition back to your regularly scheduled training.
In this post, I’ll be covering these topics related to transitioning between track/speed cycles and cross country/endurance training:
✔️Down time between seasons
✔️Training Differences
✔️Shift in Mentality
Break Time
The first thing I always force on my track runners is time off. The track season is really long. Like, really, really long.
When you spend that much time running fast and you’re in spikes all the time, your body needs a rest.
Depending on who you are, 1-2.5 weeks is a sufficient amount of time to recharge your batteries in between track and cross country. Why such a gap? Well, if your season went extra long or you battled through some injuries, I think more time off is better. If you spent some of the season not running, that’s when I’d suggest taking less time off.
I’m quoting Jay Johnson here as his email just came through my inbox: “The bottom line is that athletes need some days off with no running, but they also don’t want to do nothing for two weeks.”
Basically, if you need two straight weeks with no running, take it. If you need 3 weeks where you sprinkle in some easy running, do that instead.
Either way, time off is really good for you physically, but also mentally. If you want to have your best season ever, you have to have the mental space to be able to sustain long periods of time without a breakdown. You can extend this time by having a solid break in between seasons.
Training
The first major difference between track and cross country (and more specificially summer training) is the pace. You go from ripping 200s at 800 meter pace to building up a base of easy miles. There is a big difference in pace between 800 meter race pace and easy running pace.
As I said in previous emails, this transition back to “slower paces” will make these easy efforts feel like snooze-fests. What was once a moderate effort pace-wise will now be a cruise control easy effort.
A season full of interval paces and race paces will sharpen your resolve and make you prepared for your finishing kick come the fall. But it’ll also help your running form (sprint work and hill work can help improve your efficiency) and your explosiveness (can’t run fast without a little oomph).
Cross country, on the other hand, is all about harnessing that speed you gained in the spring while coupling it with tempos and long intervals. The combination of speed and endurance make for the perfect combination of 5k runner.
Mentality
While track training requires you to focus intensely for a short period of time while running faster and faster, cross country requires a slow-burn. You may not need to focus fully during cross country season until that last rep or the last 1k of the race. You could (I wouldn’t suggest it though) get through a 5k coasting on auto-pilot and still run a decent race.
With track, focusing pays off as the times you run are an indication of how much you’ve prepared. Your times will drop if you are focusing on the process and the journey rather than trying to hit a specific time. Even still, it’s rare to drop big chunks of time off a shorter race.
In cross country, however, times aren’t as relevant, especially on different courses. What’s more a marker of progress and performance is competing and beating people. The same is the case for those training for and racing on the roads. Each course has it’s own profile and what might be a killer time on one course might be an ‘eh’ day on another.
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