Cross Country & Off-Road Training

Likewise muddy sectio seens, 

don't pussy foot about, but be positive in effort, not driving in hard but more lightly on toes, with little ground contact.

The physics of the cross-country running surface, and the corresponding effect on stride, also differ from those of the road and the track. 

A harder running surface will produce greater elasticity in the return of energy (kinetic)from the ground into the runner's legs; the softer, off-road trails where cross-country running takes place are less elastic with less energy return, requiring the athlete to use more energy to cover the same distances, but it makes you stronger.

In addition to being more inefficient, in terms of the relationship between the energy expended by the runner and the distance travelled, cross-country running requires greater thigh muscle action and a resulting greater overall effort from the abdominal muscles and the lumbar (lower back) to support the leg action.

Unlike the stride and cadence into which a road or track runner will quickly settle to assist in the delivery of an efficient and uniform stride, the cross-country runner must continually adjust the stride length to the terrain and weather conditions. The precise planting of the foot of the cross-country runner is often variable throughout the race. For these reasons, cross-country running is the most difficult of the running sports. 

N.B, Cross-country runners tend to be more versatile and adaptive athletes as a result.

Cross-country running has tactical considerations that differ slightly from other forms of racing.

Most cross-country courses require a mass start for all competitors, which often lead directly into a narrow trail where passing runners is difficult. To counter these circumstances, many successful cross-country competitors are front runners, and not afraid to commit themselves, athletes who can get to an early good position and hold their advantage for the entire race. 

So have a good start, but then quickly settle into the pace that you find suits you best on country.

The nearest you come to the steady rhythm of road racing is that pace is maintained by working hills and difficult sections, running free downhill and coming out of technical sections at a good pace.

During an uphill or muddy patch, you are going to have to dig in with an increase in effort, but on the downhill try to float and let the terrain do some work for you.

The focus is to work on this concept in training so it becomes second nature within a race.

When negotiating bends and corners, take the shortest route as long as it's not too boggy underfoot, accelerate a little to get back on pace coming out of the bend, gaining seconds.

Listen to sensory data.  

Not all people appreciate or understand this wisdom. In this technologically driven age of heart rate monitors and GPS watches, people forget that the most important thing to pay attention to is your body. Instead of getting hung up on numbers, focus internally on the feedback provided by your senses.

How is your breathing?

How do you know you're relaxed enough?

Does your stride feel smooth and comfortable?

When you learn to read your body, you become more present and your running flows organically.

You become much better at finding that sweet spot of running hard enough, but not too hard, and that's when you have your best performances. 

Even pace is not even effort on cross-country, expect pace and times to vary, so don't over analyse or compare to road & track. 

Many people, including me, unintentionally sabotaged themselves in many races and training by stressing out about time, pace and position.

My best races have come when I stayed relaxed and focused in the present by listening to sensory data and reading all the body signs and justlonditions that an athlete might encounter. As a sport that primarily requires endurance training that tends to strengthen the cardiovascular system which will form a large part of the weekly training volume, also those exercises that enhance the body's capacity to process oxygen, the indicator known as VO2max.

To address the variability of the terrain, cross-country runners also devote significant time to hill training, fartlek, tempo grass sessions and repetition / interval running. 

(LSD) Long Steady Run for cross country : Aerobic Endurance Base Training- 

LSD OR Long Steady Runs:  

 this sets the whole foundation of your training programme and without an adequate base training volume you won’t gain the same benefits, or recover as effectively, from the higher intensity training. Usually and preferably off road if possible, but can include hills, trails, parks, rivers, canals, footpaths, way-trails, farm trails, cross-country etc

When writing a programme for a successful cross-country season or a year on year improvement, my first entry to put down is aerobic endurance via (LSD) the long steady run. 

Usually approximately eighty minutes to two hours at least 3 times a month and preferably off-road rolling trails, combinations of long and easy time on feet chatting socially, working harder on hills with steadier marathon pace tempo sections or a pickup  finish progression style pushing on near the end.

Alternatively throwing in some fartlek of five to ten times twenty seconds strides ie one every two mins, rolling in and out of the effort. 

If a particularly hard race the day before, then keep the LSD to a shorter recovery long run, closer to ninety minutes.

Progress the long run in time or length from the Autumn and over the season, maybe adding five to ten minutes a month on long runs.

Hill Training : Strengthen & Resistance : 

There are many ways to strengthen the body including light weights, plyometrics, isometrics, conditioning circuits, core exercises, Asana yoga or natural resistance such as hill running, sand dunes, parkland, off road running, trails, as by being stronger, not only will you prevent injuries but you will recover better from hard runs and sessions.

Your balance and stability will be good on rough or muddy ground and technical courses, and will cope with change of pace.

It does not need to be time consuming, a regular run or session on hills, 5 mins for just a few exercises after each run (rotate different exercises), plus 20 mins once a week focusing on your own personal bio-mechanical limitations or issues. Glutes, sacroiliac joints, hip flexors, diaphram for good breathing rhythm, foot and ankle exercises for plantar region, Achilles, calves etc

Short hill sprints : 

The idea is to run for 10-15 seconds up a steep hill (7-10% grade) at maximum effort. They’re called explosive hill sprints because you power up the hill like a sprinter coming out of the blocks. After each rep, you take a full two minute rest so that you’re fully recovered before starting again. These types of hill sprints are designed to activate and improve the function of the neuromuscular system and increase maximal stroke volume in the heart. 

The neuro-muscular system is the communication vehicle between your brain and your muscles. 

A boost of “fitness” to the neuromuscular system allows your brain to increase the speed at which it sends signals to the muscles and, more importantly, allows your body to activate a greater percentage of muscle fibres (ie fast twitch) and fire them more forcefully.

Enhancing maximal stroke volume increases the amount of blood your heart can pump with each stroke. A greater stroke volume decreases the heart rate and makes the heart more efficient.

N.B. As a reminder, these types of hill sprints are not mainly a fitness-building exercise, but more an ancillary training component, much like strides and form drills. 

Likewise, the physiological benefits won’t make you hugely a better hill runner, even though they can help you improve as an overall runner, but when you are tired you will cope far better on reaching a hill, because your brain will tell you ," you can do this, I know this feeling, I can push on".

Hills also require a shorter stride and up on toes more, driving and working hard with your arms to propel you up to the top, where you keep pushing for a few seconds, before returning to your normal pace, having gained crucial seconds and places. 

Down hill sections you should let gravity work for you, no need to drive hard, but open up your stride a little and have a controlled free-fall effect. A good core helps this though. Also a widening of the arm action with hands a little higher , gives you better balance.

Long hill repetitions : 

These are the traditional type of hill sessions many runners want to do when they feel they need to improve their hill running skills. A good example of this type of workout is 10-12 x 90 second hill reps or 12-18 x 60 second, at a hard effort with a walk or jog back down the hill for recovery. Break them down into sets with a 4-5 min jog in between. Build up the numbers / volume over the season.

These types of hill sessions are fantastic for improving VO2max and increasing muscle strength. In fact, long hill reps are almost a form of strength training. As a runner, you can do squats, lunges, and hamstring curls until your muscles burn, but nothing compares exactly to running. The forceful contractions caused by the lifting of the hips, glutes and quads when you’re running up the hill utilizes the same principle mechanics as many plyometrics exercises. Also, because these long hill reps are often very intense and last anywhere from 30-90 seconds, they are great for VO2 max .

Unfortunately, doing lots of hill reps alone will not help you run faster over a hilly course, they are just one part of a range of training.  You can build general running strength and fitness when you integrate them into your training plan. I suggest sprinkling them into your training schedule in place of a VO2 max workout to help build muscle strength and enjoy a nice change of pace.

Rolling Hills :   

If you’re looking to improve your ability to tackle hills on race day, then incorporating rolling hills into your threshold and long runs is the best solution. This is how most elite training groups handle races contested over difficult courses. Incorporating rolling hills into your runs provides your muscles and physiological systems the specific stimulus that it will face on race day — improving form over longer and more gradual hills and maintaining pace up and over the hill.

Furthermore, throwing some hills into your road runs teaches you how to pace yourself up and over hills so you can keep the effort within your target pace range during the race. Many runners attack hills too hard during a race, and as a consequence they go anaerobic and have to slow down considerably once the hill is over. The appropriate way to approach hills during a race is to maintain the same effort up and down, which will even out the pace over the long run. By practising this tactic in training, you can become an expert at it on race day and save yourself from exerting too much energy.

Finally, rolling hills are a great way to prepare for a hilly race because they don’t require a change to your normal training routine. You can still execute all the threshold and long runs you need, but by changing your route to include a few hills, you’ll be specifically preparing yourself to handle the hills on race day. When you’re putting together your training plan to prepare for a hilly race course, consider adding rolling hills to your long runs and threshold runs and sessions, to prepare for the specific demands you’ll face on race day.

Tempo / threshold running or High-End Aerobic Training 10k to Half M and down to Low end tempo Aerobic training  –  Covering the range of tempo ventilatory  levels a key component of any serious endurance training plan and should make up 5 -15% of weekly total training volume for optimum benefits, on average 10%, including all the various types runs / reps. Tempo training is important for improving the speed or power that you can sustain during an endurance race, but all depends on what foundation building or competition phase you are on.

This is training at the very upper edge of aerobic running.  Includes (LT),Lactate Threshold running, or (OBLA), on-set of blood lactate accumulation, lactate turn point, others use various names for this. So the faster you are able to run at your turnpoint, the faster you'll race.

What is usually called the lactate threshold / turnpoint, is at a pace approximately  10 - 30 seconds per mile slower than your current 10k race pace, dependant on how fast you are and current level of fitness. And you should be able to hold that reasonably comfortably for up to an hour, ie roughly your 15k/ 10 mile race pace or ½ marathon pace for real fast guys. This can be a straight run, progressing the time from 15 to 40mins, over the weeks.

Or AT (Aerobic Threshold) which is essentially steady state aerobic running performed at your marathon pace for longer runs of 40 to 60mins, although marathon runners could periodically take this up to 75mins .

It’s faster and harder than your normal day to day steady maintenance running, but usually slower than your half marathon racing pace, out and back tempo’s, acceleration runs or progression runs.

For cross country It can be broken down into, long cruise repetitions, sub tempo, nearer to 10K pace,

preferably on grass and can include hills. Build up volume and number of reps over the season.

eg 3-5 x 6mins, 6-10 x 3mins, 2-4 x 8-10mins, etc

These can be run on good roads or paths also.

High Repetition Intensity Repetition & Interval Training : 

a vital ingredient for improving neuromuscular co-ordination, or running speed at VO2max. It can make up 5-10% of total training volume but should generally be limited to one and at most two training sessions per week and part of a maximum total of 10% speed training per week.

Raising your performance threshold over the long, nearly six months cross country season of late September /early October to early March.

N.B. Not forgetting that these days there are many, many trail and fell races that require cross country skills for all year round.

BELOW IS A BRIEF BREAKDOWN OF THE AUTUMN / WINTER PROGRESSION TO MAIN GOALS / CHAMPIONSHIPS FOR CROSS COUNTRY, BEFORE THE SPRING

If you have a major goal or annual goal as opposed to goals for different periods of the year or seasons, then  your racing and training structure of phases, cycles and peaks will vary somewhat. And along with that will be the intensity and purpose of various training runs or races. Whether you ease down, taper or train through some of them, also what distance for any build up races.

But like all endurance athletes, particularly for long distances, you distinctly need to have your endurance base building where 80 - 85% is easy / steady runs, 10% are tempo runs and 5 -10% speed. Later these percentages change as more tempo running is carried out, repetitions and interval running varied, hills introduced and races are run.

Speed would not change from approx upto 10%, even when at peak race goals, for most runners, but tempo running in it’s various levels or forms, could go to 10, 15, 20 or 25% of your weekly total, depending on what stage in a competition phase you are at and your experience, goals and race distances.

Easy recovery runs and steady maintenance runs, are slower than marathon pace, and with a regular long steady run (LSD), tempo running in it’s various ventilatory levels, (lactate turn-point LTP) threshold pace to just below marathon pace (steady state), or broken into blocks with a shortish interval recovery, (1 - 3 mins depending on stage of training ),then run at sub tempo or your 8-10k pace

Obviously if you are training for a spring marathon, this dictates how far you eventually go up to for time or distance at LSD & long tempo, also leading up to the competition phase, then you can be nearer to (LTP, but also nearer to marathon pace means that you can fit more in at faster tempos and recover more easily.

The speed training would usually be at 5k pace in the early stages, but include repetitions on grass or track, fartlek, strides, short hill sprints etc. But also include sessions with 3k and 1500m pace.

The next phase or smaller mesocycle, approaching the main competition / championships / League Finals etc, would introduce more faster running at tempo paces and strength or resistance, so would involve more hills and an increase in running at various tempo ratio’s, but also some faster short distance sharpening or fartlek.

When you get into your main competition phase the ratio could be nearer to :-

70-75% : Aerobic, LSD, Easy, Steady or recovery runs, slower than marathon pace. 

15-20% : High end aerobic, Tempo @ LT, 1/2M, Marathon, Cruise Reps, Progression runs, OBLA.    10% : Anaerobic, Speed, reps / intervals, fartlek, hill sprints, strides etc below 10k pace

STRENGTH and Conditioning circuits : strength exercises, hill training, dynamic mobility stretching, yoga, pilates and exercises are an important component of all running training programmes, if you have particular imbalance problems, but keep it simple. Such exercises assist the cross-country runner in developing optimal range of motion, especially in the hip and leg joints, which assists the athlete in countering the effects of uneven terrain.

Mobility drills also assists the cross-country runner in both warm up and cool down periods when training or racing, especially  when the weather is cold and the muscles are more prone to becoming tight as well as giving you greater proprioception, balance and a spacial awareness.

Below example of a regular club runner, progressing to a 50 Mile weeks winter cross country season peak, leading to main competition phase, below are totals. 

Long LSD Run 25% 12.5mls or more; 

Medium LSD Run 20% 10mls;

Recovery, Easy / Steady RUNS 35% 17.5mls, 

Tempo pace Runs / rep sessions 10% 5mls; 

Speed, VO2 max, reps / intervals, fartlek, strides, short sprints etc 10% 5mls, 

Weeks Total 50 miles.

Below example of an experienced top end, club racer or International, 

progressing to a 100 Mile weeks winter cross country season peak, 

leading to the main competition phase, below are typical totals.

Long LSD Run 18 - 25% 20mls; 

Medium LSD Run 15-20% 15mls; 

Recovery, Easy / Steady RUNS 25% -30% 30mls;  

Tempo pace Runs / sessions 15%-20% 20 mls; 

Fast running, VO2 max,intervals, reps, fartlek etc 10% -15% 15mls, 

Weeks Total 100 miles

N.B. There is a general guide of 80% low end aerobic, 10% Tempo range aerobic and 10% Fast running or anaerobic. Mainly for less injury or chances of overtraining risks.

There will be individual variations leading up to that peak, depending on your circumstances, you will have to be smart in getting your personal balance correct for optimum performance and peak goals. This time of year don’t overdo the fast running, unless sharpening for a specific race.

N.B. Many will have a spring Half marathon or marathon goal, so will have a certain element of event specifics there and XC training / racing in general, gives you  the ability to race a good half marathon, even without HM event specifics.

The increasing intensity of the speed and tempo training will sharpen you for your peak, but too much cannot be maintained for too long because it brings you on and sharpens you quickly, so peaking before your goal race, but also can risk something breaking down, lowering immune system or over-training, if prolonged.

So smart training and common sense decisions have to be made, to get YOUR PERSONAL optimum level.

N.B. Long runs are progressed over a season or 13 week period with a goal end.

Tempo runs are progressed for length of time & tempo pace( whether LTP, H Mara or steady state & marathon).

Interval Sessions of long reps or short reps, shorter recovery times are progressed, before peaking with longer interval recoveries, so maintaining your quality.  Intervals / reps for most of the time, I favour quality over quantity, 

N.B. But one day does not make you a better runner, it is the consistency of a whole week > month > quarter > and  year.

Dave Rodgers 2014