Club Training Monday 25th September - Brancumhall

Monday is the first of our winter cross country training sessions which take place at Brancumhall football pitches. The cross-country season is a key part of the training year for many runners of all standards whether they are training specifically for cross country or training for road (or track) races later in the season. Running on soft, heavy ground requires more active muscle recruitment than running on a paved road as (except if the ground is baked or frozen hard) the ground absorbs energy and requires the muscles to drive you forward rather than relying on at least some of the energy coming from elastic energy stored in the muscles and tendons. Therefore, cross country training (and racing) is strength training for runners. Cross-country races also provide the opportunity for us to compete together as a team either in relays or in league matches where every position made up helps the team score, no matter whether you are near the front, in the middle or near the back of the field.

The type of sessions we do on the cross-country nights are the same as those we would do on the roads, the only difference being that the speed may be a little less despite the level of effort being the same. So Monday's session is a 400's and 200's session along the lines of what we have been doing in the past month. The session is:

8 x 2 sides @ 4k/5k XC effort, 1 min jog recovery + 8 x 1 side at faster than 4k XC effort, 1 side jog.

For this session we will use only two sides of the full lap, starting from our usual start point at the corner, running the first side (towards the main road), turning left behind the goal posts and up the touch line (parallel to the main road) and stopping at the end of the football pitch, just before the short sharp bank onto the upper level pitch. Stand/jog recover at that location and then run the second effort (2 sides) in the opposite direction back to the original start point. The second set of shorter reps will be just the first side of the above, heading from the usual start to the corner at the main road. Turn around and jog back along the same side to the start point as the recovery.

Use the first couple of reps to get your eye in and to identify any dodgy bits underfoot and stick to the same line for all the reps so that there are no surprises underfoot.

For those who have not done the Brancumhall XC sessions before, we usually bring our road shoes and XC shoes (either trail shoes or spikes). We warm up from the club to Brancumhall in our road shoes and some kind "sole" usually takes a car down to Brancumhall with all the XC shoes in it. We do the reverse for the cool down.

As the weeks go on, the strength develops in the legs and running efficiency improves but, as with all training, the sessions need to be done consistently over many weeks and months to make a difference.

Alan