Winter Break workouts

As discussed before we let out for winter break, it is important to keep our goals in mind, and for the majority of those involved our goal is to make it to state, and perform our best while there. May 17-19 might seem a long way off, but that time will be here before we know it. In fact it's only 22 weeks until then; solid preparation is important from now until then. So let's keep our goals in mind as we move forward.

Photo courtesy of Katie Dalton (photographer's Flickr Photostream)

"The trouble with not having a goal

 is that you can spend your life

 running up and down the field and never score"

--Bill Copeland

You have 3 workout choices: structured, somewhat structured, unstructured. Don't get caught up in the details of which to do, because getting work in during the next two weeks is what is most important. I would recommend the structured workouts above them all, but those are the most time consuming and you just might not have time for all that, so choose one that works and get to it.

(Before we start: WARM UP! We have put a ton tons of tons of work into our warmups so far. Do not abandon that. You may not remember everything we've done, but I'm sure not all memories of our warm-ups were booted out of your brain during finals. Warm-ups will be a greater emphasis than they ever have been before for this entire season)

STRUCTURED

• 12 hill runs, 40 meters (m) distance, 4 minutes (min) rest
• 10 field/track runs, 60m distance, 5 min rest
• 6 track runs, 200m distance, 10-15 min rest (take a full 15 if you need it. These should be very fast)
• 3 sets of 4 reps of 80m runs. After each rep take a 3min rest, after each set take an 8min rest. So one set is run 80m, rest 3 min, run 80m, rest 3 min, run 80m, rest 3 min, run 80m, and then rest 8min. So 3 sets of 4 reps means we are doing 12 reps (3x4=12).
• Same set up as previous but further distance: 2 sets of 3 reps of 300 meter runs. 3-5min rest after each rep, 8-10min rest between 1st and second set. You are doing a total of 6 runs, and they should be hard. That is why you have the flexible rest period--take the higher end if you need it.
• 5 field/track runs, 100m distance, 3 min rest

Somewhat structured

• Run 130-170m at around 75-80%, do a 30 second plank, rest for 45 second, repeat 6-8 times
• Run at 75-80% for 30 seconds, rest (walk) for 30 seconds, repeat 15-20 times
• Run at full effort for 20 seconds, rest (walk) for 2 minutes, repeat 10-15 times.
• Stuck inside? Do 12 sets of 7 burpees. Rest 45 seconds between each set.
• Yoga or gymnastics workout
• Group exercise class at a gym

Unstructured

• Do push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, dips or other body part exercises until it feels like the body part being exercised might fall off. Doing this might build good habits that will last you well into your old age.

• 15-30min jog (work on pulling those feet into "figure 4" position intermittently throughout run.
• 100 burpees for time
• Go skiing, snowboarding, or snowshoeing
• Take the dog for a long walk (some of the workouts from the "somewhat structured" category might also be fun for your pups)

These are just some suggestions. I have a ton more, and you maybe could think of some of your own. Do something. Do something a minimum of 3 times a week. At the end of each workout get a good cool down stretch of about 8 minutes.

Coach Nack

Enjoy some music during your workouts