Important notes on reading the schedule
OK, I'd like to introduce you to a few terms I've not used with you yet. The terms: Microcycle, Mesocycle, and Macrocycle all describe different amounts of time in the training year. There is not a hard and fast unit of time assigned to each term, rather, each term describes a specific period of training where we will try to accomplish a specific goal.
- Macrocycle - This describes a long period of time with a major goal race at the end of the cycle. For most high school and college teams, a macrocycle would be a competitive season. This means that most of us would go through 2 macrocycles each year: Summer and Fall for Cross Country and Winter and Spring for Track. For a world class athlete, aiming for an Olympic medal, a macrocycle might be a 4 year period of training designed to earn gold at the end.
- Mesocycle- This describes a specific block of time within the macrocycle. Most competitive seasons are broken up into 3-6 mesocycles, each with it's own training emphasis. If you read through the plans I put up for the track season, I used the term "training phase" to outline the different mesocycles of the season. I outlined 5 different mesocycles for the track season. I have 6 mesocycles planned for cross. One difference that you will notice from track to cross this season, is that we will have a pre-programmed rest period during each mesocycle. The rest period is not a time to sit around and do nothing, it is a period of easy running or cross training, or in extreme cases, complete rest.
- Microcycle - A microcycle is the day to day, nuts and bolts of a training schedule. Microcycles are usually from 5-14 days in length, but for practical purposes and because our calendar has 7 day weeks, most coaches write their microcycles so that they last one week. During the summer, I will be writing microcycles
2016 Cross Country Macrocycle
(This is aimed at our experienced runners with a number of miles under their belts. If you are just starting out, you can follow along with this template, but just do less of everything.)
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| Ian and Jonah at the 2013 camp |
Mesocycle #1 - (May 30-July 3)
Build Aerobic Endurance. Because of the timing of camp this year,
main emphasis during this mesocycle is to build aerobic endurance through a high volume of steady mileage. The
two minor emphases during this period are to
1. build low end aerobic power through tempo running and CV intervals and
2. Develop biomechanical efficiency through drills and short repetitions. At camp, we will likely do one or two very intense workouts to help us transition to the second mesocycle.
I want to make the first mesocycle of the summer higher mileage than normal. For you varsity athletes hoping to hit 700 miles, this summer, you should aim to hit close to 250 miles during this 5 week period (you will have an easy week after camp, so don't worry about burning out early). You are still in very good shape from track, so you should be able to jump right back in with 35-40 in the first week then build to 50-60 for the last 2-3 weeks of the cycle. The
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| Anthony and Zach Finishing Rock River Ascent |
Mesocycle #2 (July 4-August 7)
Increase Aerobic Power and Biomechanical EfficiencyThis second
major emphasis of this cycle is to put in a large volume of steady miles. However, we will put a little more emphasis on our two
minor emphases from the first mesocycle:
Aerobic Power and Biomechanical Efficiency. During mesocycle #1, we might do a 5 mile easy run followed by 2 x 1k @ CV. For the same stimulus during mesocycle #2, we might do a 4 mile run followed by 4 x 1k @ CV. Toward the end of this cycle, I have it in my mind that we will do 8 x 800 on a 4 minute cycle followed by 4-6 x150 fast uphill. If you are aiming for 700 summer miles, you should probably run 280-290 miles during mesocycle #3
mesocycle will start with a few days of easy running or cross training after we return from camp. If you chose to run the 4th of July race in Atwater, your easy days will come a couple of days after everyone elses'. Either way, the first week of July will have a low overall volume and intensity. The second mesocycle will be much like the first. The
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| 2010 Team Members Meeting Early to Beat the Heat |
Mesocycle #3 (August 8 - September 4)
Transition to Race Pace Work. The start of the school year and the start of official after school practice is a time of transition for us. For most of the summer, you probably are will do your runs in the mornings when it is cool. As we transition to afternoon running, our mileage will drop for at least 2 weeks. Because our mileage will drop during the beginning of this cycle, we will begin to do more interval type running. Thjs includes the tempo intervals in the arboretum as well as hill repeats out at the Nazareno Ranch. We will also begin to bring in a very small amount of
race pace training in order to prepare for the stresses of racing. We have 2 time trials planned during this period as well. Also, because the first part of this mesocycle has such low volume, we will not take a tremendous amount of rest as we transisiton into mesocycle #4. Mesocycle #3 is also the
end of the summer mileage period. It is difficult to run big miles the first few weeks of this cycle, so if you have a mileage goal, you should be ahead of pace going into cycle #3.
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| Early Season Races are Fun and Build Fitness, GG Park 2014 |
Mesocycle #4 (September 5- October 2)
Early Competitive Season. The training during this period will look a lot like the training during the previous period with one main difference.
We will get our race pace training by actually racing. This period begins with the TVL opener meet and ends with 4 days off from training after TVL meet #2. During this period, the weather will start to cool a little bit and we should be able to ramp our mileage back up. Workouts and training runs during this period will be very high volume. Varsity boys can expect sessions such as 6 x 1200 (girls will do 5) on a 5:30 or 6:00 cycle or a 6 mile continuous tempo.
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| Victory at Supercross! Adam and Lucas Celebrate. |
Mesocycle #5 (October 3- November 2)
Main Competitive Season. This is the time of the year where races start to become more important. The varsity teams will be traveling to Fresno for the
Clovis meet (where the girls will be looking to improve on their 5th place finish from last year) and we will be trying to run well at our own
Supercross meet. The main meet of this period, however, is the
TVL finals meet on October 26th. Last year we were 2 points away from sweeping to victory in all 4 divisions. Let's go get those last 2 points this year! The overall volume of running will stay high during this period, however the hard sessions will become shorter and faster. Everbody's favorite session,
10x400@ mile race pace with 1 min recovery will make at least one appearance during this mesocycle. If you are looking at the calendar, you will note that this mesocycle ends in the middle of the week before subs. There is a good reason for this. I want all of our hardest training to be completed 10 days prior to the section meet.
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Medals at Section and Berths to State are Great Goals
to Set for Yourselves |
Mesocycle #6 (November 3 - November 26)
Peaking/Championship Season. This cycle could be
Section Meet on November 12th. During mesocycle #6, our volume will finally drop. During this period, the hard sessions will be designed to maintain the fitness that we've built over the previous 5 months, but at the same time allowing our legs to recover. Mileage during this period will likely be between 60-75% of peak volume from earlier in the season. The total volume of our hard workouts will probably not exceed 3 miles, whereas earlier in the year, the volume of hard workouts might have been as high as 6 miles. If all goes well, both varsity teams will toe the line at the
California State Championship on November 12th in Fresno, and bring home top 10 finishes.
only 10 days long if things don't go well at the
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| Leo, Brigham, Mason, and Pablo run as a pack at the 2010 State Championship |
