The Next Gold Olympian? - Cross Country Running Training Advice
If you are looking to improve on your cross country running, then here are some helpful tips and advice to bring you one step closer to becoming the next gold Olympian. Its all about the training, hard work and dedication!
Distance Running - Improve your stamina
The whole purpose in cross country running is to run the fastest, the furthest and to beat your opponents to the finish line. One way to ensure this is by improving and increasing your stamina and running for long periods at a time.
During your training when running, keep track of the distance that you are running, and also the length of time that you are running for. Over the coming weeks, aim on increasing your running time by ten minutes for each session, then fifteen minutes, until you have increased your running time by thirty to sixty minutes per session.
Through steadily increasing and maintaining your running time, this will help improve your stamina and durability during the cross country run. This will then enable you to run faster for longer and be the first to the finish line.
Another benefit to this cross country run training is that you set your own personal goals. Aim to run the same distance each session in as little time as possible. Achieving this demonstrates that you are running the same distance, faster and in a shorter time period.
Invest in a heart Monitor - Time your heart rate
In order to ensure you maintain a steady pace, time your heart rate. Aim to count the number of beats per minute that you are running, and keep it at a constant. This will help you run at a constant pulse rate through out the race and maintain your speed.
Change your footing
Remember that during the cross country run, you may not always be running on flat smooth surfaces. It is therefore important to train on all types of surfaces that you may encounter. This includes running up and down hilly areas of land in preparation for the race as part of your training. Ideally, this should include a mixture of both short and long hill sessions.
If you know the rout of the path you will be running for the cross country race, then try and plan a rout as close as possible in terms of the distance and footing. Or run the actual rout if this is possible. This is an excellent way of practicing the run in preparation for the real race. It will help you to highlight areas of the rout that you may need to pay extra attention too, and also identify the time it takes you to complete the course. This is key in aiming for the shortest time possible that will help you take home gold!
