Track and Field Off Season Training.

Cross Country is over and Track still seems like a distant oasis on the horizon.  As we head into this season or rain, wind, and school holidays, remember this.  There is almost as much time off during the winter as there is during the summer.  This means that

Winter is the yang to summer's yin

If you believe that your success was due to the work you put in this past summer, then you should be excited about having a great winter of training and then following it up with a great track season.  The following will be a general template for how to structure your off seaosn so that you will be the most ready for track season.

1. Right now, there is no need to differentiat groups (distance, mid distance, long sprints)  Right now, the main goal is to start back with some easy running and light workouts at CV (90% vVO2 max) pace.  You built tremendous fitness during cross.  Re-introduction of running now will keep you from losing that fitness and having to start all over again in February.
2. Go to the team's Summer Mileage spreadsheet.  Find you highest 3 week block of training mileage and take the average of those three weeks.  Then add 5 miles to that average,  Boom!  You've got your goal for peak volume during this upcoming off season.
• For example, Rene's highest 3 week block was week 11 through week 13 with totals of 63.7, 55, 64.1.  This gives us an average of 61 miles per week.  Add 5 miles to that, and Rene's goal for peak volume during the winter will be 66 miles per week.
3. Do either 1 capillary run or one long run per week.  Don't go crazy on these.  Right now, your goal is to re-establish peak training volume.  Tinman recommends adding some 20 second striders during the last few miles of an easy paced long run, just to shake the legs out a little 
4. Throw in a small amount of CV work.  You can do this on the track or as a fartlek run.  Don't exceed 15 minutes of total CV work until after New Year.  Don't go crazy on these.  Right now, your goal is to re-establish peak training volume.
5. You don't need to run peak volume every week, as a matter of fact, back off from it periodically.  If you see an 80% week, that means that you should only do 80% peak volume. so for Rene, that would equal 52-53 miles

Put it all together, and you might have an off season that looks like this (for an athlete that just finished the season at the State Meet) I've listed the two main sessons for each week.  Fill in the rest of the week with mileage, strides, accelerations, weights, core, etc....:  

Week 1 - Dec 2: 0%-50% Off or very easy shake out runs.

Week 2 - Dec 9: 50%, no long run, 3x3 min fartlek

Week 3 - Dec 16: 70-80%, 1. 70 minutes easy with striders included, 2. 3x3 min fartlek

Week 4 - Dec 23: 90%, 1. 80 minutes easy with striderers included, 2. 4 x 3 min fartlek

Week 5 - Dec 30: 100%  1. 90 minutes easy with striders included, 2. 5 x 3 min fartlek

Week 6 - Jan 6: 80% 1. 70 minute capillary run, 2. 6 minute test

Week 7 - Jan 13: 100% 1. 90 minute easy run with striders included, 2. 6 x 3 minute fartlek

Week 8 - Jan 20: 90% 1. 70 minute capillary run, 2. 6 x 400 @ 6 min test pace,  90 seconds recovery

Week 9 - Jan 27: 100% 1. 90 minute easy run with striders indluced 2. 7 x 3 minute fartlek

Week 10 - Feb 3: 100% 1. 70 minute capillary run, 2. 8 x 400 @ 6 minute test pace 90 seconds recovery

Organized practice would start on Week 11, just like it did after 10 weeks of summer.  The first week of organized practice will probably be only a 70% week.

If you didn't run the state meet, you can jump right in on week 2 or 3.