Should Athletes "Train Through" The First Time Trial/Meet?

Published August 6, 2025

I've got two questions for you today.

Does your team make it to state every year, have you won a state trophy, or are in contention for one every few years?

If the answer to those questions is “yes,” then today’s email may not be for you.

But I hope you’ll continue reading and get value from my advice to coaches who are working hard to get to your level.

If you didn’t answer yes to that question, then consider this one:

Do you believe athletes should train through the first meet or time-trial?

I’m about to make the point that resting prior to the first competition—even a time trial—is the right move for many kids in many programs.

If you think this idea is nuts, feel free to stop reading or click below to read the first three emails in this series.

What I Mean By “Training Through” Meets

This simply means keeping the volume and the intensity at the normal level.

You might do a workout 48 hours prior to the meet to stay on your normal training schedule. Your kids won’t be fully rested, and their legs won’t be fresh.

The rationale is, “We want to run this meet (or time trial) but we definitely don’t want to compromise our training this week.”

I understand this approach. And I think this may be the right approach for programs that have a history of making the state meet, and have upperclassmen that don’t need affirmation that they’re fit.

I also think it’s the wrong approach for most athletes in most programs.

Deep Empathy

We serve athletes best when we have deep empathy for their experiences.

We’ve discussed the three types of runners you have at practice this month - read about them ​here​.

For the Summer Runners – the kids who trained all summer – we should empathize with the fact that they’ve trained all summer with no races.

Let’s give them a chance to show off their fitness, even if the first race is a time trial or a small meet.

This first meet may be the least important meet of the year.

For ​Summer Runners,​ this is their first chance to affirm that the work they put in for weeks and weeks - in hot weather, and early in the morning - was worth it.

(I'd read that last sentence again...)

Again, you may have upperclassmen who are fine running on tired legs and running well, but not great in this first meet. But have you asked them what they want to do? Do that and you might be surprised that they decide resting up for 48 hours and trying to run fast will be fun.

Here are three possible training weeks you could use to prepare them for a successful race.

Thursday Meet

Mon – Workout that’s hard, but not killer.

Tue – Super easy day with strides. Ease up on the post-run work.

Wed – Normal pre-race day and nothing more. I’ll explain what this is later this month.

Thu – Race! Can you do more post-run work? Yes, but I don’t think that’s wise. They just ran harder than they’ve run in months. You can do that on Friday, and then do even more on Saturday.

Friday – Normal easy day. I’d lighten up the post-run work as they’ll be sore

Saturday – This can go either way. While it’s realistic to do a longer run, that may not be the best choice. I think doing their normal long run – which should be one of your two hardest days of the week – is too much today.

I’d rather see them do a gentle progression run where they have fun, then do some “medium” post-run work.

And just ask them how sore they are – if they’re sore then an easy day with strides and normal post-run work is best.

Friday Meet

Mon – I’d practice your pre-race day rather than do a normal easy day. They need to dial in this day by mid-September so let’s start that process now.

Tuesday – Hard race pace workout. Full post-run work. They should be a bit intimidated by this, and ready to run hard.

Wednesday – Super Easy. I highly recommend you lighten up on the post-run work today. Yesterday was hard.

Thursday – Pre-Race Day. Again, no extra post run work.

Friday – Race! Again, no extra post-run work.

Saturday – Just a normal recovery day. No long run. Yesterday should have been the hardest thing they’ve done in months, so it makes no sense to come back with one of the hardest days of the week. They got in two hard days this week.

Saturday Meet

Mon – Pre-race day. Again, they need to dial in this day.

Tuesday – Hard race pace workout. Full post-run work. They should be a bit intimidated by this and ready to run hard.

Wednesday – Super Easy. Consider a lighter post-run assignment.

Thursday – “48 hours prior” workout that ​XC Training System coaches​ use.

Friday – Pre-Race Day. Again, no extra post run work.

Saturday – Race! Have them do a brisk walk that night – just 10-15 minutes – assuming they won't run on Sunday.

Today’s Key Sentence

For ​Summer Runners,​ this is their first chance to affirm that the work they put in for weeks and weeks - in hot weather, and early in the morning - was worth it.

Talk to your summer runners and see what they want to know, knowing that if they have a poor showing on tired legs, you’ll be doing some damage control.

Peaking At the Right Time

A coach joined the XC Training System yesterday because a coach in their area “peaked at the right time last year and avoided major injuries.”

It’s as simple as that. If you join the XC Training System, your team will run their best at the end of the year, and you’ll get your best runners from the upcoming meets to the start line of the most important meets.

It’s not too late to join (coaches are joining daily) and take your program to the next level.

You enroll once.

You own it forever.

You get lifetime updates.

​XC Training System​

Let’s go

Jay

PS – I got a text this morning in a group chat (guys I ran with in college, plus some guys on the University of Colorado team who were athletes when I coached there).

Guess how many girls broke 2:10 this year?

117

Guess how many HS boys broke 1:50 this year?

31

In the 1600m/Mile...

127 girls broke 4:50 in the 1600m and 605 broke 5 min

155 boys ran under 4:10 in the 1600m.

Five young men broke 4 minutes in the mile.

Yes, the shoes matter. But a huge part of this story is the sophistication of coaching at the high school level.

The coaching that worked 10 years ago won't cut it today.

Don't get outcoached in the 2025-2026 school year.

Let me know how I can help you.