Track Conditioning

As cross country comes to a close for the year, track season is only beginning. The cycle of running continues. As the winter months draw nearer, indoor track is drawing closer as well.

Switching from the slower paced, endurance-based miles to the quicker rate sprint, is not an easy task. From change in technique and form, to use of different muscle groups, transitioning from long distance to sprinting is something that takes time. Though, for non-cross country members who have not ran since track season, this is the perfect time to start conditioning before the season begins.

With workouts reduced to be within a novice’s ability, this is the best time to come try out track and field to see if it is your sport. If so, this is the best time to get back in shape before the season starts.

For those who are doing indoor this year, this early conditioning is vital. Many cross country runners can use the endurance gained from their season and transfer into speed early in the track season as to not lose any of the stamina.

During the off-season, practices are reduced to only twice a week on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s. Tuesday’s focus on shorter sprints– two hundred meters or below. Thursday works on building up and maintaining speed unto 400 meters.

All practices start with a 600 meter run and followed by two 100 meters dashes as a warm up.

Practice Tuesday (11/12/15) consisted of a stride cone drills. These are drill  cones are set an even distance apart of about 12 feet, and one must run a certain amount steps between each set of cones. This workout focuses on extension of stride and control.

For the main workout, the runners was split into two groups. One group ran 75’s, and the other 150’s. Slower than what the track season would withhold, the workout focused on maintaining speed consistently.

To end the day… cone drills. Jumping, sprinting, and doing agility workouts–the day was ended on a hard note, but workouts are only worthwhile if one is pushed to his or her boundaries.