📌 KEY TAKEAWAYS

• 95% of 5K energy comes from aerobic metabolism — train accordingly
• The 5 key workouts in order of difficulty: Long runs → Fartlek → Progression runs → Tempo → Race pace
• All workouts should finish with athletes saying "I could have gone farther" OR "I could have gone faster"
• Running by feel is crucial — cross country has no accurate mid-race splits like track
• Rotate through these workouts for months; couple with "revvin...

📌 KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Day 1 for new athletes: 5 minutes of running. That's it.
• Justin Leonard (Southlake Carroll, NXN teams): Starts new athletes with ONE MILE for three days
• Athletes who haven't trained can build engines faster than chassis — that's why injuries happen at 2-3 weeks
• Circuit workouts build aerobic engine while strengthening chassis with minimal pounding
• By extending the aerobic stimulus, a 5-minute run becomes a 25-30 minute...

📌 KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Excellent cross country races in October and November are directly tied to intelligent summer training that keeps athletes injury-free and builds their aerobic fitness.
• Think of the runner’s body as a car: build the aerobic engine (long runs, fartleks, progression runs), strengthen the chassis (post-run strength and mobility), and rev the engine (strides).
• The aerobic metabolism fuels the vast majority of energy in a 5k cross...

📌 KEY TAKEAWAYS

• A stride = quick, short, controlled sprint (70-150m) faster than race pace but not all-out
• Two reasons for strides: (1) Make 5K pace feel comfortable (2) Practice speeding up/changing gears
•  Three common mistakes: Not doing strides Day 1, no progression planned, fear of "peaking early"
• You will NOT peak too early by doing strides the first day of practice
• Progression: Start with 4x20sec at 5K effort → build to longer/fa...

📌 KEY TAKEAWAYS

• After the state meet, athletes are emotionally drained from 3–4 weeks of high-stakes racing — give them an easy first week before introducing hard workouts.
• The two biggest post-season training mistakes are (a) not giving athletes easy days the first week and (b) not practicing at the faster goal pace they’ll need for NXR/Footlocker courses.
• Use short progression runs (20–25 minutes) for fun aerobic stimulus, and ensure at le...

📌 KEY TAKEAWAYS

• You don’t need an A+ race — solid B+ performances will produce a great team score, especially since much of the competition will falter by aiming too high.
• Trust running less: the aerobic fitness is built, the “hay is in the barn,” and now is the time for fresh legs and mental readiness.
• Focus on what’s in your control — weather, course conditions, and other people’s energy are not. Bad weather is actually an advantage for we...