Want to put some pep in your step or zip in your zapatos? Do you have fond memories of your days running cross country or maybe you feel like your running routine is becoming a bit stale? Consider supercharging your battery mentally and physically with one of these XC inspired workouts:
Unstructured Fartlek Run
I like to play with speed early in my training. A creative way I do that is through unstructured āFartlekāĀ runs! Swedish for āspeed play,ā itās a form of interval training that doesnāt have specific durations for your faster and easier efforts. You can decide to pick up the pace ātil the nearest lamp post or bench you find, and give yourself as much recovery as you need until youāre ready to take it out again. This is an effective way of experimenting with surges of speed without a complicated structure, and can be done anywhere you like to run!
-Brian
—
Uphill Pickups/Downhill Rests
One of my favorite workouts to kick off my fall training was fairly simple.
- Pick a moderately hilly route. (one that had some rolling hills, its not as applicable if you pick something that just climbs for 3 straight miles)
- Start off for 10 minutes easy
- Run every hill along the route at a moderately hard pace and rest at an easy run pace on the downhill or flat before I encountered the next hill. (some were 100m long, some were 400m long or more)
- Maintain this for as long as you want, or the whole route
I really liked doing this because the goal wasn’t to hit a specific pace on the track or the road. InsteadĀ the focus was getting a good effort and listening to my body as I was getting back into the rhythmĀ of training
-Kaleb
—
A Buddy Workout on the Track
My favorite workout from XC was partner 400 repeats. For the workout you need a running buddy that’sĀ a similar pace, and a track. The idea is that you alternate laps around the track with your partner until you’ve run 8 to 12 400s each, a little faster than 5k race pace. I always liked this workout because it was challenging but also really fun to share a workoutĀ with a friend!
-Laura
—
Ladder Workout
I enjoy doing a Tempo or 5k ladder as seen in the structure below with 1/4 mile recovery between each rep. Just focus on keeping the effort consistent, the form smooth, and the mind happy. Late summer and early fall is a beautiful time to be in Bellingham- get out on the trails and tear it up!
10-20min Easy Pace
1/4 MileĀ @ Effort of Choice
1/4 Mile Easy Pace
2/4 MileĀ @ Effort of Choice
1/4 Mile Easy Pace
3/4 MileĀ @ Effort of Choice
1/4 Mile Easy Pace
2/4 MileĀ @ Effort of Choice
1/4 Mile Easy Pace
1/4 MileĀ @ Effort of Choice
10min Easy Pace
Have fun out there š
-Chris
—
