The 6 x 1000m Workout Applied to Coaching Energy

Published September 18, 2024 

I’d like to propose that when it comes to your “coaching energy,” you break up the rest of the season in the same fashion. Specifically, a hard push for 5-6 days, followed by a 24-hour break from XC.

Let’s start with the recovery period.

Saturday Afternoon to Sunday Afternoon

Even if you race on Saturday, most of the time you’ll be home by late afternoon or early evening.

Up to this point, you’ve been focused on XC since Monday, and now you could use a break, so take one.

I’d tell the athletes and their parents that they can’t reach you after the meet, and I’d tell your spouse and kids, or significant other, that you’re looking forward to time with them on Saturday night.

Specifically, from the end of XC on Saturday to Sunday evening, take a recovery period with no XC-related work, just like you’d give kids a short recovery between 1ks.

Sunday Evening 

After your recovery period, consider these two questions:

• Would your athletes be well served to have a short email explaining what the plan is for the coming week?
• Would the parents appreciate a recap of the week, with possible shout-outs to kids who deserve them?

If you have the energy, then compose a concise email Sunday evening and send it to the team. I fully understand that these emails take time. And I can say with certainty that the programs that do this have a deeper buy-in with parents.

I also know that when coaches share these documents with me, I have little doubt that they are worth the time the coach spends writing them.

It’s Go Time! 

Fourteen weeks ago was June 12, a time when you may have been having practice, or at least thinking about XC.

In my state there are a bit over six weeks left in the season. If the season were a 5k race, you’d be at about 4k, with 1k (or less) to go.

I know you’re likely a bit fatigued... 

...and...

I know you can do your best coaching from here to the finish. 

You’ll get a break at Thanksgiving – and you have more weeks from the end of XC to the championship season in track. You’ll get that well deserved break after XC.

While You’ve Heard Me Say This Before... 

For better or worse, your athletes will often mimic your demeanor, and your level of both centeredness and confidence, in the final weeks of the year.

This is another reason to take the 24-hour break, so that when you look them in the eye next Monday, you’re all ready for a great week of training and racing.

Let’s Go!

Jay

PS – I've been doing the barefoot exercises in ​this video​ just 2-3 times a week in the past four weeks. When I’m running around XC courses to cheer on my daughters, I’m not suffering from calf and lower leg issues the next day like I have most years 😀

BUT... 

I don’t think you should add this routine to your practices now – this isn’t the time of year to be adding new things.

Yet make sure that when you resume training after the XC season, you do this routine on day one (or at least week one). It’s a game-changer!