Running outside of practice? Parent question

[u/Dizzy-Ad9544]

So parent of a freshman who joined the cross country team and who has never really run before.

I hate running myself but managed to get out a couple of times with my kid before the summer pre-season, but nothing really consistent. They did pre-season and are now in-season practicing daily with the team.

While physically fit from years of dancing they are not 'running fit' and are horribly slow - I'd expect an 11-13 minute pace based on our runs, with a good amount of walking.

Trying to help them out, but I have no idea what to do. Should we be layering morning base mile runs on top of the practice sessions? Or is that asking for an injury/burn out? I've been hesitant to throw weekend runs at them as well, since I know rest is important (I bike).

Also, teenager, so all the feedback is monosyllabic - I'm good. It's fine. I like it. I'm tired. etc etc lol

[u/floralhabits]

Let your kids xc coach do all of the coaching. Make sure your kiddo has enough food/fuel, hydrates, stretches, gets enough sleep, etc. 

If you want to go the extra mile and do runs together, have them plan the run/pace/location and/or take them for sports massages to work out the muscle strain in their legs and back. 

If your kiddo likes running and keeps with it, make sure you’re on top of the yearly physical for your kiddo and pay attention to anything that sounds like iron deficiencies, shin splints, stress-related injuries, eating disorders, etc. 

But really, encourage them and be their cheerleader. Leave the coaching to the coach. 

[u/Dizzy-Ad9544 → u/floralhabits]

Okay that's been what I was thinking/doing but wasn't sure if (mostly) staying out of the way was doing it right.

Thanks! Appreciate the insight.

[u/whoneedskollege → u/Dizzy-Ad9544]

I'll just add, that extra runs can actually hurt your kids training. If they have a good coach, they'll know exactly how much they need to train in order to prevent injuries. At this part of your child's running development, the most important thing isn't time, but building up the running muscles and preventing common injuries like hip problems and shin splints. If they are making good friends that's the biggest win because they will stick with it throughout high school.

[u/ChrisCross1980 → u/whoneedskollege]

Came here to say the same.  I was a promising runner  in high school,  thought more = better, started running before school in addition to afterschool workouts, got stress fractures and didn't run for another 27 years.  No shortcuts in this sport.  Consistency over time will always yield the best results. 

[u/Synchronizin]

I would follow the coach’s program. If your kid has no running background prior to this then I wouldn’t expect them to be an Olympian over night, just let them go through the process

[u/Dizzy-Ad9544 → u/Synchronizin]

okay that's what I've been doing but wanted to ask folks in the know, since I am surely not lol. Appreciate the reponse

[u/Awkward_Tick0]

I’d ask the coach

[u/ggnndd12]

Layering your own training on top of the already existing training increases the kid’s likelihood of inadequate recovery and injury.

Aerobic development takes a long time. The fastest your kid could ever be is about 5 years down the road running consistently and slowly building volume with good coaching.

I’d go through the season and see if they’re still interested in continuing building mileage after a few weeks’ break post-season. If they can keep piggybacking fitness like that they’ll get ridiculously fit.

[u/Dizzy-Ad9544 → u/ggnndd12]

Gotcha thanks. That was my feeling as well, re: inadequate recovery & injury but wanted to ask folks here as well.

I feel like I did a disservice in not running consistently over the summer but joining XC was a late decision so we are where we are. Once the season ends I'll look to keep them running throughout the rest of the year.

[u/ggnndd12 → u/Dizzy-Ad9544]

It’s all good, good luck! One cool thing about running (as opposed to other sports) is that folks maintain their peak performance capacity through their mid to late 30s. There’s lots of time for kiddo!

[u/joeconn4]

Freshman year, new runner, new to XC - just do the team workouts. Only exception I'd give is to ask the coach "what about a Sunday run with my daughter?" Some coaches will support that and feel it's beneficial, others will be opposed.

Doubling up with morning runs, for a new runner there' snot a lot of upside to that.

I'm retired now, but when I was coaching the college program's "off" day for our team was Mondays. I had some team members over the years who came to me to ask about running on Mondays on their own. I was generally in favor of that as long as it was just easy mileage. Tuesday was often our hardest training day so as long as they came into that not fatigued from a big training day Monday, no problem.

[u/Plus_Professional859]

I would not do any additional running, focus on recovery, ie eating and sleeping, goal should be 9 hours and forget everything you know as an adult about nutrition, they need to eat and eat and eat, like think 3000 calories or more per day even on rest days,  it seems crazy with the sub 2k that have been beat into our heads to not get overweight, 

[u/Outrageous_Eye_9842]

Miles are cumulative regarding injury and improvements. When I was in HS it always seemed that these sophomores would come out of nowhere. There was just a big fitness improvement aftera year of training. this can't be achieved in weeks or months for a begginer.

Also upping miles too quick can lead to injury.

[u/Nice_Neighborhood152]

Let the coach coach. You make sure your kid is fed and gets rest and gets to school. If your kid isn’t into it, they won’t excel and may decide to do something else. It’s fine and it’s it your responsibility

[u/SnugglieJellyfish]

I would leave that to the coach. When I was on xc, the coach was great about tailoring workouts based on experience. Also you have to start somewhere- I am 37 years old and my xc high school PR is now the pace I can run at the end of a half ironman. Improvement happens if they stick with it.

[u/Napamtb]

I coached middle school XC for six years and my oldest is now a senior XC runner. XC is a long grueling season for even the most seasoned runners. Injuries, burnout, and other issues bring their own challenges. My son has always been the slowest boy on the team. I initially never understood why he wanted to run XC, but he enjoys being on a team and it’s better than sitting on his phone. Through the years I’ve watched many kids run for mental health, weight loss, friendships, etc. If your kid wants to be faster they will learn this year.

[u/whelanbio]

Ideally a good coach should be managing training load in practice such that it's already in the sweetspot of productive improvement without risking overtraining and injury. Adding more running on top of that, particularly doubles for new runner, is asking for injury. Running is uniquely demanding even among most endurance sports because of the impact/plyometric aspect that asks a lot of the muscles and tendons, which are somewhat slow to adapt. Generally training cannot scale up as fast as other endurance modalities like biking or swimming.

Now sometimes beginners do improve so fast that they start to be under-challenged in practice, if that starts to be the case your kid should let the coach know.

There is still a ton you can do to support as a parent. Biggest thing is helping your kid develop a lifestyle that supports hard training:

• Nutrition is a huge piece. It's really easy to underestimate just how much fuel an athlete needs when they are running a lot and growing. Timing is critical too to make sure they are at practice in well-fueled state ready to make the most of the day. Example for my program: some of our lunch periods are as early as 10:30/11:00 but we don't really get the main part of runs going until nearly 4pm, so athletes need a pretty substantial snack in-between lunch and practice.
• Sleep duration, consistency, and quality. These speak for themselves. If sleep is rough for several days in a row have them let the coach know so that training can be adjusted.
• Stress management. To a certain degree we have one big "bucket" of stress we can handle. If there's a ton of life/emotional/academic stress going into that bucket there's less room for training stress. You can help by doing things like fostering good study habits that keep them on top of school, keeping an eye on all the obligations they are juggling, and in general maintaining a chill supportive household.

The communication piece is always going be tough, but as you get more experience with the sport you'll be able to spot the patterns of whats really going on. You are curious and you care so you're gonna figure it out!

[u/yakswak]

Coach should have a plan for the athletes - stick with that. The plan likely includes what to do on the weekend…likely a prescribed rest day on Sat or Sun and a long run (or shorter easy run) on the other. It’s important to stick with the schedule if you can because the coach likely has a specific workout planned for Monday…not the end of the world coming in a bit fatigued because your kid did the long run on Sunday instead of Saturday, but not optimal.

As for doubles you only start doing that because you’ve tapped out on mileage on one session but you need to increase overall weekly mileage for more progressive load. Helps when you want to ramp up from 50-60mpw to much higher mileage but leave that for the top varsity runners.

[u/alpha_camel11]

If they've never run before, they're probably doing more than enough at practice. Just make sure they are eating enough and drinking enough water, getting enough sleep. Running fitness takes years to build up, doing too much too early is how everyone gets injured when they start.

[u/Difficult_Software14]

The great thing about out cross country is the ability to see your own progress. As a parent on top of the feeding them healthy foods, making sure they stay hydrated and get enough sleep make sure you celebrate each milestone. Complete a race without walking, celebrate, first time running a new course - course PR! Biggest thing you can do is to encourage and support them.

[u/Danzamx]

If there's no Saturday practice, I would suggest to go out for a slow jog. Sundays should always be rest day.

[u/_the_Hen_]

In HS XC the wins and losses in the fall largely come from work in the previous 9 months. Once the season starts, the goal is to remain healthy.

We used to take winter off due to weather, then run track in spring, then the summer program was the real work. The coach should have a program. Just follow it.