Cross-Country: 5k Intra-Squad Race (Time Trial)

 

The end of the summer marks the start of the cross-country season! July 31st was when the cross-country season “officially” started, while schools around the state start the first day of school on different dates. The first day of practice included runners of different abilities, talents or reasons for running. Hopefully you put in a good base over the summer and got acquainted with your coach and teammates. If you haven’t heard it before, then I guess now is good as any “CHAMPIONS ARE MADE IN THE OFFSEASON.”

Now that school is starting back, this part of the season is a great time to see where your runners are at with their training. I recommend that 10 to 14 days after the first practice begins that you have a 5k Intra-Squad Race (Time Trial). Choose to do this under the stadium lights at 8 pm with an announcer and a good script. I encourage you to invite parents and alumni.

 

What’s the benefits of having an Intra-Squad Race?

Not only are you getting to see what kind of work your athletes put in over the summer, but this is an excellent opportunity for newcomers to get to simulate a race day. Plus, as a bonus, parents get to see what goes on behind the scenes leading up to race time. Who knows, they just might want to help at future meets.

 

5k Intra-Squad Race (Time Trial):

If you do want to simulate a cross-country race by using the 5k Intra-Squad Race as a trial run, then the minute by minute planning really comes into play during the pre-race warm-up, so tell your runners to plan on arriving 90-minutes before their race.

 

My recommendation for a warm-up routine is the following:

Their warm-up should begin 75 minutes prior to the race. (It’s important to stress to them that the race distance equals the warm-up distance, while the cool-down distance equals half the race distance). So, they will begin to do a 3-mile race day active warm-up. After their warm-up run, do very light stretching (working out from the big muscles to the periphery). Then do 4 minutes of stationary active (jumping jacks, burpees, front jacks). Then we usually do our drills (A-skips, B-skips, side slides, high knees, butt kicks, tinman, running backwards, lunges, carioca, etc.), which takes about 8 minutes to do. Twenty-five minutes before the start, take 15 minutes to do all of your "housekeeping chores" like changing into racing flats or spikes, going to the Porto Potty, pinning on your number, taking off or at least unzipping your sweats, etc. Ten minutes before the start, have them report to the starting line and begin to do a series of 50 to 75-yard strides with a jog back recovery. And if it were an actual race, we would huddle in the center of the field to have prayer and then do our team chant. I thought I would throw that in there, since that was one of my favorite parts of being on a cross-country team. Then they will be ordered to the starting line. Once again, if it were an actual race, we then would line up in our starting box, which is usually four in the front and three in the back. The line-up depends on the starter. So, after their pre-race routine, they will do a 5k Time Trial on the track (which is 12 ½ laps). Then after the time trial, I would introduce the coaches and then the top 7 returning runners, while announcing their PR times. At this point, you could say a few things about your program, talk about the importance of team harmony, and stress self-improvement for athletes. When you finish your announcements, have your runners then do a Race day cool-down protocol (See below).

While your runners are cooling-down, this is an excellent time for the coach to meet the parents and give out handouts, such as team schedules.

 

Suggested Post-Race Procedure and Protocol:

• Follow race with gradual 8 to 10-minute cool-down run.

• Take in 16 ounces of water immediately from your water bottle not the fountain.

• Follow with 4 to 5 minutes of general leg stretching.

• Elevate legs 6 to 10 minutes.

• Take 12 to 16 ounces of glucose polymer/electrolyte drink.

• Massage stick, then 10 minutes of ice therapy.

• Eat proper meal within 2 to 4 hours.

• Drink 24 ounces of additional fluid.

• Sleep 8 to 9 hours, in bed normal time.

 

To the coach, a 5K Intra-Squad Race (Time Trial) allows you to see what fitness level your runners are at, so that you can make an assessment and implement a proper training plan for each individual and the team. Also, the time trial let’s your athletes get familiar with a pre-race routine. This not only helps their performance, but also helps their focus and preparedness before they take off.

For the athlete, getting into the habit of performing the same race day routine will help to get you into the right frame of mind, and reduce the chances of something throwing you off in the hours leading up to the event.

 

Personal Advice if You’re Ever Late for a XC Race

When I first started coaching a USATF youth running club, we were walking the course when we heard the gun go off. My runners frantically stripped off their warm-up suits and tried catching up with the runners who were already 100-yards down the course. What went wrong, I looked at the start times for the National race instead of the qualifier race. Also, when I was coaching at the high school level our bus broke down, so we had to transfer buses, which in turn caused us to be late.

So, if you ever arrive late for a race and don't have time for all the above, spend as much time as possible doing the strides with the recovery jogs. Those are the most important parts of an emergency warm-up. Don't waste time stretching. Just be prepared to Run!

There you have it. My suggestions for having an Intra-Squad 5k. Good luck!

 

Submitted by Coach McMillion (08/04/17)