Winter: Not The Off-season, It's The "Pre-season"

As a coach of high school track athletes, I am always dismayed by the near total lack of fitness I see in the majority of athletes who show up on the first day of practice.  But there's a way to use the time before the regular season starts the way professional athletes do to perform better -- and have more fun.  Consider that almost every pro sport has a pre-season.  The NFL, MLB, and NBA all play unofficial games before the real season heats up  We should do the same for spring track.

Every March, it's the same thing:  student-athletes seem to figure that since winter has just ended they can now begin to get into shape and have a successful track season.  They show up at the first practice without running shoes, without workout gear and somehow expect that they'll perform like Olympians once they put on the team uniform.

Some of them can get away with that.  And I love seeing new athletes come out for track, so don't get me wrong.  But I know more student-athletes would have a lot more fun if they did a little work during winter.  And I mean "little" work.

Those first couple of weeks of practice are inevitably spent on conditioning, which isn't much fun.  We lose the largest number of athletes those first couple of weeks as we try to "whip into shape" for the hard workouts of the season.  It would be a lot more fun to get the field events focused on technique and work on individual events in track than do a bunch of hard workouts that seem like drudgery to kids who'll be racing a mere half-mile or mile in the meets.

So, as you slog your way through another cold winter, consider that this is the pre-season warm-up that gets you ready to perform well during the regular season.

What should you be doing? Well, since most high school athletes won't race more than two miles, I see little reason to ramp up to longer than an eight-to-ten-mile long run of the week.  If you're starting in February, and you're reasonably fit, you can probably start with a long run of four- to six miles and add two miles each week.  That'll get your distance up to 8-10 miles by the first week of March.

The other days should include a short recovery run, one or two days of rest or cross-training (I think now's a great time to hit the weight room or get on a bike trainer or hit the indoor pool), and short, easy runs for the other days, ranging from three to five miles.

If you are a state champion in the making, your case is a little different.  I presume you are coming off a cross-country season, and continued to do a little running on your own after it ended.  If so, you will need to be committed to a long run of 10-13 miles with two days of rest, a fartlek and easy recovery runs the other days.

If you can't run outdoors or just can't tolerate the cold, then hit the hallways of your school after class and do drills like lunges, bounding, high-knee steps, lateral skipping and other exercises to get your body prepped for hitting the track later.

Look for running groups organized by your local running shoe stores or email me for specific training plans.  I will be happy to customize a plan to get you over the hump of winter and get you ready for track season training.

Remember, the pros work year-round to get ready for the seasons that we see on TV.  They have a pre-season to prepare them for the rigors of the regular season.  You should use the "down" time during winter to "up" your game, too.