HAVE A FIELD DAY WITH CROSS-COUNTRY

by DEREK PARKER (CLUB COACHING ADVISER)

THE cross-country season is now well under way and athletes of all levels from international class to novice want to improve their performances.

This is achieved by a combination of diligent training and intelligent planning. A mixture of brain and brawn if you like.
This article provides you with information about how to maximise your potential and get the very best out of yourself when you set off on gruelling race odysseys through the clinging mud of our increasingly wetter winters.

First of all you must be fit to compete well over distances of up to 7.5 miles (men) or 4 miles (women) of testing terrain. The high aerobic demands of running these distances mean you will have to put in the miles to do justice to yourself.

This will include lots of steady running over distances of between 8 and 12 miles at around 130 to 150 heart beats per minute to develop maximum oxygen uptake, assist capillarisation (the oxygen-carrying capacity of tiny hair-like blood vessels in the cardiovascular system) and train the body to convert chemical energy in the form of stored glycogen in the muscles and liver into the mechanical energy which stimulates the efficient, rotational movement of the arms and legs round the shoulder and hip axes (plural of axis).

Aerobic running can also be developed by running long intervals at 5K/10K pace. This is around 90 to 95 per cent of maximum heart rate or around 150 to 170 heart beats per minute, depending on your age. It is important not to run too quickly during these repetitions otherwise you will defeat the objective of the session by accumulating unwanted lactic acid.

It is recommended that athletes cover at least three minutes during these longer repetitions as this is the minimum amount of time required to develop maximum oxygen uptake - the ability of the body to take in, process and distribute oxygen to the working muscles via the lungs, heart, blood, arteries and pulmonary vein. Maximum oxygen uptake is also known as VO2 Max.

Typical sessions include 5 x 1000 metres at 5K pace with 90 to 120 seconds recovery OR 6 x 1600 metres at 10K pace with 90 to 120 seconds recovery. Note that repetitions at 10K pace are run at about four seconds slower per 400 metres than the speed of repetitions run in 5K pace sessions.

Your weekly sessions will also require shorter steady runs at a pace just below the lactic acid threshold. These runs will be about 4 miles/ approximately 20 minutes in duration at between 5K and 10K pace. The objective of this type of work is to improve your capacity to run at a fast steady pace without incurring too much lactic acid which is caused by the oxygen requirements of a given effort being greater than the oxygen supplied from the air inspired by the lungs.

Another important element of cross-country training is hill-running. As well as benefiting the cardio-vascular system, this develops leg strength and the muscular endurance required to keep going in races when muddy going and steep inclines start to take their toll in conditions of increasing fatigue and energy expenditure.

Over a three-week cycle you could run long hills eg 6 to 10 x 2 minutes sustained uphill with a brisk jog down recovery OR short hills eg 10 to 20 x 50 to 100 metres fast uphill with a slower jog down recovery OR an 800 metres uphill/shallow downhill circuit x 6 to 8 repetitions with 1 to 3 minutes recovery. The circuit at Kings Road/Auchenlodment Road/Douglas Avenue (which I shall mention later) is ideal - or find one nearer your home.

Try to do some of your running in an off-road environment. At one time, Kilbarchan AAC runners ran for between two and three hours in the local countryside at places like Marshall Moor, the Gleniffer Braes and Linwood Moss. When I worked with younger female athletes like Andrea and Karen Fisher, Ria de Jaeger, Julie Cochran, Lorna Shaw, Anne-Marie Fallon, Carole Lunney and Audrey McKeever back in the late 1980s, these girls ran up to 2 hours cross-country in training runs. No wonder they were defeated only twice in four years of team competition which saw them win dozens of national cross-country and Scottish league titles.

The precise programme will depend on your age, fitness, health, experience and stage of training and racing cycle, I append a typical training week in the life of Robert Quinn of Kilbarchan AAC, who won four Scottish senior cross-country titles and is one of just a handful of athletes who have represented Great Britain in cross-country, road, track and mountain races.

Sunday; 12 to 15 miles cross-country.
Monday; 90 minutes fartlek eg 10 x 3 minutes at 10K pace with 90 seconds jog recovery.
Tuesday; 20 to 30 minutes lactate threshold run
Wednesday: 10 to 12 miles steady road run.
Thursday; Track session eg 16 x 400 metres at 5K pace with 25 to 30 seconds recovery.
Friday: 30 minutes steady.
Saturday: 6 to 8 x 2.5 minutes uphill running on road or country with brisk jog down recovery, plus 2 miles warm-up, 2 miles cool down.
In addition, Robert ran for 30 to 40 minutes on six mornings per week.

A suitable programme for younger athletes is illustrated by a typical week in the 1998 training programme of Claire Gibson, Heather Gordon, Jennifer Queen, Lindsay McIntosh and Susan McGrenaghan who won the under 15 event at the 1998 UK final of the Nile 4 x 2000 metres cross-country relay races at Durham and were second in the McDonald's young athletes 3 x 2000 metres road relay at Birmingham the following year.

Sunday; 60 to 90 minutes cross-country run.
Monday: 4 to 6 repetitions of the 800 metres Kings Road circuit with 2 minutes recovery + gymnasium indoor circuits eg press ups/sit ups/squat thrusts x 3 x 20 seconds work/20 seconds rest with 2 minutes between exercises.
Tuesday; Rest.
Wednesday: 20 t 30 minutes fast steady road run with circuits as on Monday.
Thursday: Track: 8 x 400 metres at 3K pace with 45 seconds recovery or 10 x 300 metres at 3K pace with 100 metres brisk jog recovery.
Friday; Rest.
Saturday: 5 miles off-road run eg park, golf course, country park trails,