Long Runs vs. Progression Runs: What to Focus on Late in the Season

Published October 2, 2024 

The long run is a staple workout for cross-country runners during most of the year, providing significant fitness benefits from a weekly or bi-weekly long run.

However, in October, this workout should be scaled back or even eliminated. Here's why.

When to Scale Back on Long Runs

When an athlete only has three or four weeks left in their cross-country season, however, the long run should not be a key workout.

“But don’t we need to stimulate the aerobic metabolism in these last few weeks?”

Absolutely!

But a long run isn’t the most effective way to do this when you consider the stresses from races and race pace workouts. Your kids have a limited number of hard days they can complete in a week, and this work, which beats up their legs, often isn't the way to go, especially if their season ends this month.

What Can You Do Instead?

Progression Runs!

I love progression runs for three reasons.

• Athletes have fun with them.
• Athletes gain confidence when they run 20-30 minutes and feel fast at the end of the run.
• A controlled progression run advances the athlete’s fitness.

Adjusting the Duration For October

While I think older kids can handle 30-minute progression runs most months of the year, I’d consider just 20 or 25 minutes as the appropriate assignment this time of year.

The workouts both start with 10 minutes steady, then 5 minutes a bit faster, then 5 minutes fast but controlled for the 20-minute version.

For 25 minutes, simply tack on one more 5-minute segment in the middle, but again, that last segment must be controlled. The workout is 10-5-5-5 for 25 total minutes.

For both assignments, the athlete needs to be able to say: “I could have run 5 more minutes at that pace without any problem. And, if you told me I had to do 10 more minutes, I had that in me, but it would have been a race effort.”

Post-Run Work

Then you have them run easy for 3-5 minutes, before immediately going into the post-run work, to extend the aerobic stimulus. If the concept is new to you, read about it in ​A Comprehensive Cross Country Training Plan​.

"What About Strides?"

Great question.

When I assign this workout, the athlete would have done 3 x 20-second strides at 5k pace in the first 15 minutes of the run for a bit of “engine revving.” (see full workout below)

Yet, if athletes are doing strides every other day that they run, then this is a day where they can go right into the challenging post-run work and get a longer aerobic stimulus, rather than changing into spikes and having their heart rate dip.

If you're not familiar with strides ​check out this article​.

The Bottom Line

The long run is the cornerstone of my coaching in June, July, August, and some of September.

But in October, our focus is on racing and race pace workouts, with easy days that include strides and strength and mobility to maintain aerobic fitness and musculoskeletal strength.

When kids have just a handful of weeks left, keep the easy days easy, so they recover from races and hard workouts.

...and if kids love long runs, remind them that December will be here before they know it...

Boulder Running Clinics

The ​2025 clinic​ will be held January 17-18. I have the speakers lined up and I'll have tickets on sale within two weeks. Please purchase your ticket before you book your flight. There will be a deeply discounted room rate at the clinic hotel, so wait until tickets are sale to book your room.

As always, it's going to be a great weekend of learning and fellowship with coaches from dozens of states.

The clinic sold out last year and likely will again this year.

Next week I'll give you 10 short tips you can use with your athletes to insure their best racing of 2024 comes in the final three meets of the year.

Let's go!

Jay

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Progression Run Workouts

NOTE: Don't assign this work this month, but rather study it to see how you can use it this winter in preparation for the track season.

Here’s how I assign this workout.

1.  ​Dynamic Warm-up​ 
2. 7 min of easy running, followed by 8 minutes with 3 x 20 seconds at 5k pace.
3. Then 20 minutes with 10 minutes steady, 5 minutes a bit faster, then 5 minutes faster but controlled. Run easy for 5 minutes then go directly into post-run work. Total run time is 40 minutes. (If doing a 25-minute progression run, then the total run time is 45 minutes).
4.  ​Post-run work​ is “Hard” day. Use color progression or do the SAM phase.

One thing to remember with this is that if there is no break between the dynamic warm-up and the running, and no break between the running portion and the post-run work. 

The total time moving is:

13 minutes – Dynamic warm-up

40 minutes – Running portion

20 minutes – Post-run work

With just a 20-minute progression run the total time moving is 73 minutes.

Finally, if an athlete can handle a 25-minute progression run, then they are likely doing 25 minutes of post-run work on their Hard post-run day. Thus, they get in 83 minutes.

“We measure stress, not mileage.” - John O’Malley at the 2018 Boulder Running Clinics. I encourage you to think along those same lines, and view the workout above as a significant workout, even though the amount of running is modest.