Summer Training: Don't Burn Out

The heat is a given in summer running. But sunburn aside, there’s another burn that cross-country runners have to avoid: the dreaded burnout that comes from overtraining in the summer.

It’s a common story: The high school star still riding high from a stellar track season finish is excited by the possibilities the next season holds and—with the long summer ahead—is left with endless days of anticipation. This is the year to be All-State; to qualify for Foot Locker nationals. The athlete begins a grueling, too-intense training plan to get fit for the fall, but is left flat—or worse, injured—before the first race of the cross-country season.

It’s the opposite of the runner who shows up for the first day of practice having not run repeats since track season. Neither case is ideal; the overtrainer and undertrainer both run the risk of injury and set themselves up for racing frustration. If done correctly, however, summer training divides the good from the great in cross country. 

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1. Take a break from running.

Breaks are critical for a runner's physical and mental recovery. “Take at least two weeks away from training [between racing seasons],” says David Honea, distance coach at A.C. Reynolds High School in Asheville, North Carolina. “Don't ever run two days in a row,” he says, “and don't go more than half as far as your longest run of the past month.” He tells his runners to run no more than 100 meters at a pace that would count as any kind of workout pace, including tempo pace, in that time.

Honea highly recommends low-impact cross training. Summer allows for endless activities: swimming, cycling, rock climbing, and hiking are right outside the door and they can help strengthen muscles that running ignores.

Don’t worry about losing fitness in those two weeks—staying active keeps you in shape. When Anna Vess of A.C. Reynolds broke 5:00 in the mile for the first time at a postseason race on June 6, winning in 4:59.96, she had already switched her training over to full-time swimming four weeks earlier. “Running burnout isn't an issue because she has big breaks during the year for swimming,” Honea says. “It protects from the pounding of running and gets some variety into her schedule.”

If you've already started training for summer and didn't take your break, don't be afraid to take a down week or two—it's fine to cross train for a week while you're on a family vacation. 

2. Make it all about that base.

The phrase “building a base” is familiar, but that base varies for everyone. While it’s true that weekly mileage tends to increase with a runner’s age and ability, there is no magic number of miles that will secure a place at Foot Locker. Colleen Quigley, a member of the U.S. team at the upcoming world championships in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, was encouraged to hold back in high school. “I saw a lot of other runners make [mistakes], like running 70 miles a week,” Quigley says. Standout high school runner Ryen Frazier, headed to North Carolina State University this fall, says she runs just 40 to 45 miles a week, focusing on quality miles rather than “filler” miles. 

Most experienced runners have a general idea of what mileage works from past summers. This should be the base goal. If you don't know what this is for you, talk to your coach or another runner about what type of mileage you should be hitting. If it's your first summer of running, a goal of 30 to 40 miles is great (and check out a beginner's guide to cross country). 

Honea advises starting back to training at no more than half your previous maximum mileage. Don’t add more than 25 percent to your mileage each week until you get back to where you were the previous season.

If your maximum weekly mileage was 40 in the past, the first week should total 20 miles, the second 25 miles, and the third week 30 miles.

After three weeks of building, take a down week, decreasing mileage back down to 25 miles before building back up again. In six to eight weeks, runners will reach their base goal with minimal physical or mental strain. That is, if they run the right pace.

“When you are focused on building mileage, don’t go faster than tempo pace for more than 150 meters at a time,” Honea says. “This will improve lactate threshold pace, but avoids workouts that leave you so worn out that you feel it on next day’s run.”

3. Build turnover with strides.

Turnover work in summer training is tricky. Runners must find a balance between maintaining fast-twitch muscles and not going too hard, too fast. Andrew Hunter, a rising senior at Loudoun Valley High School and a favorite to win at Foot Locker nationals this fall, refrains from all-out efforts.

“A lot of kids are burned out by the end of the year from doing a lot of that,” Hunter says. “I really never do hard, all-out speed, like on 200s or 300s.” Instead, Hunter builds strength from shorter strides of about 100 meters on grass, about four to 10 reps, depending on the length and effort of his run. After a five-mile tempo run, he will do four strides. Though Hunter does strides daily, most coaches recommend doing them two to three times per week.

4. Turn up the tempo.

You can add tempo runs to your summer training about three to four weeks into your training. The beauty of tempo runs is that they aren’t as physically and mentally straining as hard interval training, which is critical to avoiding burnout.

What qualifies as “tempo”? Sessions take many forms, from timed segments (4x5 minutes, with 2:00 easy jog between segments) to long, controlled runs (four to five mile tempos). Like weekly mileage, the type and pace of tempo varies by the runner. Honea describes the pace as “20 to 30 seconds per mile slower than 5K pace,” so for a runner with a 5K time of 20:00, tempo pace should be about 6:50 to 7:00 per mile.  That said, it is crucial to remember that tempo is about feel: even if you’re hitting the right splits and going the instructed distance, if it feels like an interval effort, it’s not tempo.

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Marc and Joan Hunter, parents of Hunter and coaches at Loudoun Valley, implement a tempo-heavy training program. “We run our tempos on a trail that’s flat and downhill on the way out, so the way back is a gradual uphill and sometimes windy,” Hunter says. “A five- to six-mile tempo can be either really easy or really hard, depending on the day.”

Tempo runs on undulating routes—especially on hills or grass—are an excellent way to build strength and endurance. Remember to factor in the terrain when calculating pace. Go more by feel than pace.

5. Be consistent.

The key component to avoiding running burnout is consistency. This doesn’t necessarily mean running the same workout, day after day, week after week—overly literal consistency can land runners in a rut. Consistency in training means making gradual improvements and resisting temptations to overtrain.

It also means staying dedicated to your goal, whether it’s to make the varsity team or qualify for Foot Locker. “I have people come up and ask me what the key is to getting fast, and my parents always preach consistency,” Hunter says. “If your goal is to run 20 miles a week, you need to get out there and stay at 20 miles a week for as long as possible. If you run 40 miles one week, then 10 the next, then 50 the next week, it won’t be good.”

Summer training should be that: training. Its primary purpose is to bridge the transition between track and cross country by building strength and endurance, giving a runner a foundation for races to come.

“I try hard to communicate that the most important thing is how often you run, not when or where,” Honea says.

Mental consistency can be as important as physical; if you’re taking a long road trip with your family, plan to do your tempo workout in a familiar place before leaving.

And trust in your training. As Hunter puts it, “The greatest advice someone gave me is to keep doing what I’m doing, because it’s working. If you’re consistent, not fluctuating your mileage too much, you’re going to stay healthy and do well.”