Jess Rojas finishes the Rino 5K on July 29th, 2017 in Denver, CO So far, I’ve discussed planning, goal-setting, and racing frequency and distance. In this installment, I will discuss pacing as it applies to your overall season, conditioning runs, tempo runs, intervals, speed work, and racing. Underlying pacing and training are my core values, beginning with health, optimum training, and running career longevity. What do these core values have to do with pacing? First, my beli

7 Secrets for a Successful 2017 Cross Country Season 1. Secret #1: Plan Your Season - Plan your races for the entire season "Pencil-in" on a calendar your races for the entire season, including pre-season time trials and any other high level racing efforts. This will allow you to evaluate and prioritize key races for your season. It may turn out that you have too many races! This is often the case, as I listen to high school runners who face possibly unnecessary racing in the

I use the Jack Daniels VDOT chart for goal setting because of its accuracy in prediction future times, its applicability to a wide range of ability levels, and its simplicity. But, whether or not you use the Daniels Chart, be sure to document your goals and display them for easy personal reference. Racing Distance and Frequency: Bring Back the 2-Mile In this installment, I will discuss why restricting the High School cross country racing distance exclusively to the 5K and "ov

Last week, I presented planning as an essential component of a cross country season. Knowing when and where you are going to run will give you clarity on how to prioritize your races and training over the course of your season. The next essential step in planning your season is goal-setting. Most of us have have quite a bit of personal performance data, which can be helpful in developing our future goals. In addition to our “personal inventory”, Dr. Jack Daniels, PH.D, one of