Winter Training: Build Fitness, Prevent Injuries

Published November 27, 2024 

One of the most crucial concepts I’m going to share in this newsletter is about extending the aerobic stimulus - a principle that has the power to transform your winter training.

Simply put: if you change your approach to training in December and January using this principle, your athletes are going to stay injury-free this winter and run huge PRs in April and May. Make sure you read the entire newsletter to understand this key element of my training system.

In many ways, this email and the resources it contains are my gift to you as we approach the winter training season. I'm grateful for your time and attention.

I’ve included links to numerous free videos on YouTube that can help you prepare your athletes for success. When time allows over the holiday weekend, brew yourself a coffee (or reheat some leftover turkey), and dive into these resources at your own pace.

Now, let’s look at how to make December and January count for your track athletes.

But first, make sure that you check out the ​Boulder Running Clinics​ website to read how the 2-day clinic has changed programs, and impacted coaches.

The clinic is January 17-18. There are plenty of tickets available. Last year we sold out, so now is the time to get your tickets.

Warm-Up for December and January Track

Your athletes’ success in track begins with proper preparation. Jeff Boelé’s ​dynamic warm-up​ is a game-changer for competitive runners. While it requires just over 10 minutes to complete, the investment in this warm-up routine pays tremendous dividends in your athletes’ training quality and injury prevention.

This isn’t just another warm-up routine - thousands of high school cross-country runners have made it their go-to preparation for both training and racing. What sets it apart is its comprehensive approach to movement preparation, deliberately working through all three planes of motion:

• Sagittal plane (forward/backward movements)
• Transverse plane (rotational movements)
• Frontal plane (side-to-side movements)

Aerobic Workouts

December and January provide a crucial window for developing your athletes’ aerobic fitness...aka, "​Building the Aerobic Engine​." During these months, you’ll want to focus on five key workout types that progressively build fitness while teaching proper pacing. Let me break down each one:

Long Run

The cornerstone of aerobic development, long runs are essential for building your athletes’ engine. Here’s a key coaching tip: assign these runs by minutes rather than miles. This approach helps your athletes better tune into their bodies and run by feel rather than chasing specific distances. Make these runs special by incorporating strides in the final 20 minutes - I’ll explain more about why this matters in the strides section below.

Fartlek Run

Swedish for “speed play,” fartleks are one of your most versatile training tools.

These runs challenge your athletes’ aerobic engine by having them oscillate between an “on” pace and a faster “steady” pace. Structure these workouts using set time intervals - I recommend starting with 2 minutes “on” and 3 minutes “steady.” This format helps athletes develop pace awareness while building fitness. We’ll dive deeper into fartlek specifics in the next section.

Progression Run

If you’re looking for a straightforward yet powerful workout, progression runs are your answer.

These runs are simple to explain but challenging to execute: your athletes gradually increase their pace over set time intervals. What makes progression runs particularly valuable is their versatility - they’re an excellent alternative to long runs when you want to reduce the time your athletes spend on their feet while still getting quality aerobic development.

Aerobic Repeats

Once your athletes have mastered fartleks and progression runs, introduce them to aerobic repeats.

These workouts consist of 4 to 6 minute repetitions at a challenging but controlled pace - the key is staying just below the lactate threshold. Athletes recover with easy jogging between reps.

Important note: make sure your runners have experience with fartleks and progression runs before advancing to this workout. Think of it as building blocks - each workout prepares them for the next level.

30-90 Fartlek

This workout puts a unique spin on the traditional fartlek format.

Your athletes will alternate between 30 seconds at 5k goal pace and 90 seconds of easy running. After a few repetitions, stronger runners can optionally increase the pace of the 90-second segments.

This workout is particularly effective when you want to give your athletes a shorter, more engaging alternative to other aerobic workouts. It’s also excellent for maintaining their connection to race pace during base training.

How to Run a Fartlek

Structuring fartleks properly during December and January is crucial for your athletes’ development. Here’s how to implement them effectively:

Structure your athletes’ fartleks in 5-minute chunks with: - 2 minutes at an easy “on” pace - 3 minutes at a challenging “steady” pace

Key coaching points for early-season fartleks:

1. Keep the “on” pace modest - think August 5k effort level
2. Use “steady” rather than “slow” or “off” for the recovery portions
3. The “steady” pace should provide an aerobic challenge without being overwhelming
4. Watch for athletes running the “on” portions too fast - a common mistake
5. Use December as an experimentation period to find the right balance of paces

Video - "​Here's how you structure a fartlek workout​"

Video - "​How to run the recovery in a fartlek workout​"

The Importance of Strides

Incorporating strides into your athletes’ training plan, particularly during easy runs and long runs, serves multiple crucial purposes.

Three key benefits of including strides in long runs:

1. Pace Internalization
   • Gives your athletes practice at race-relevant speeds
   • Helps them develop an internal sense of pace
   • Makes race pace feel more natural when it counts
2. Gear-Changing Ability
   • Develops the critical skill of acceleration when tired
   • Builds confidence in being able to make late-race moves when track starts
   • Improves racing tactical abilities
3. Fatigue-Resistant Form
   • Teaches proper running mechanics under fatigue
   • Builds muscle memory for maintaining form when tired
   • Translates directly to better late-race performance

Video - "​Strides during a long run? Yes!​"

Extending the Aerobic Stimulus

Extending the aerobic stimulus is one of the key reasons why my training systems are so powerful and effective at developing young athletes. Let me break down why this approach is a game-changer for your program.

Think about the math: When your athletes do a proper warm-up (13 minutes), immediately transition into their run (45 minutes), and then move directly into post-run work (15 minutes), they’re maintaining an elevated heart rate for 73 total minutes. Here’s where it gets interesting - if your athletes typically run at an 8-9 minute mile pace, consider this:

• A traditional 6-mile run (at 8-9 minute pace) would give them about 45-50 minutes of aerobic stimulus
• But our integrated approach provides 73 minutes of aerobic development
• The aerobic benefit is similar to what they’d get from a 7-9 mile run...
• Yet they only experience the impact stress of running for 45 minutes, roughly a 6-mile run!

This is why this approach is so effective at keeping your athletes healthy this winter. They’re building their aerobic engine in a meaningful way, but the actual running volume early in the season stays low. It’s the perfect balance of stimulus and stress.

Think of it this way: You’re getting the aerobic development of a longer run without the added pounding on your athletes’ legs. This is especially crucial during December and January when you’re laying the foundation for the season ahead.

Next week, I’ll be sharing testimonials from coaches in the ​Track Training System​ who are seeing tremendous results with their teams using this approach. But if you’re eager to learn more now, you can learn move at the link above.

"Extending the aerobic stimulus" isn’t just theory - it’s proven to work with high school athletes across the country. When you eliminate the breaks between workout segments and maintain that elevated heart rate, you’re maximizing every minute of training time while minimizing injury risk.

Post-Run Work

Transitioning directly from running to strength and mobility work is crucial for your athletes’ development. This post-run work delivers two essential benefits:

1. Chassis Strengthening
   • Helps with injury resistance
   • Develops overall athletic durability
   • Creates a stronger foundation for handling the impact of running
2. Building Mental Capacity for Hard Work
   • Extends attention span for hard work
   • Builds capacity for sustained effort
   • Gets them ready mentally for the race pace workouts they'll be doing when outdoors starts - they'll be able to focus when they're uncomfortable in those workouts

Accessing the Warm-Up and Post-Run Work

To implement these training elements effectively with your team, you’ll want to access our complete library of workouts through our app system. Here’s how the workout access works:

• Red and orange workouts: Available free to all coaches
• Yellow and green workouts: Exclusive to coaches enrolled in my ​Track Training System​ or ​XC Training System​ 

To get started, simply share your email for immediate access to the warm-up and post-run work.

 ​Get It Here​ 

The color-coding system helps you progress your athletes systematically through increasingly challenging workouts while maintaining proper training principles.

Avoiding Common Pitfalls

Now that you’ve read this far, I want to help you sidestep the three most common mistakes I see coaches make when implementing this training approach. Being aware of these will help you get the most out of your athletes’ winter training.

1. Not Doing Strides on Day One

Many coaches wait too long to introduce strides, thinking they need to build a base first. Don’t fall into this trap - your athletes should be doing strides from day one of training. It’s a crucial element that sets up everything else.

I talked about strides in last week's email - ​read it here​ if you missed it.

2. Missing the Stride Progression

The second mistake is not having a clear progression that moves athletes toward 800m pace (and eventually 400m pace) as quickly as appropriate.

Check out my ​Progression of Strides PDF​ for a detailed guide on how to implement this effectively. You’ll be surprised - within just a couple of weeks, your athletes will actually look forward to running their strides.

3. Not Maximizing the Aerobic Stimulus

This is perhaps the most crucial mistake to avoid.

Remember that math we did earlier about the 73-minute aerobic stimulus? That only works if you maintain continuity in your training sessions.

I know it can be challenging to get athletes to tackle post-run work when they’re already fatigued from running, but this is where your coaching leadership makes all the difference.

Set the expectation early that post-run work happens immediately after running. Yes, your athletes will be tired, but helping them understand the “why” behind this approach will increase buy-in. Mental preparation is key - when athletes know what’s coming, they’re better equipped to handle it.

A quick note about reality: There will be times when weather or other circumstances prevent immediate post-run work - that’s fine. The goal isn’t perfection; it’s consistency.* Embrace this approach and implement it as often as possible. This is one of the key reasons why my system helps athletes stay injury-free while preparing them to run PRs.

Remember, these aren’t just arbitrary rules - they’re proven principles that work together to create stronger, more resilient athletes. By avoiding these common mistakes, you’ll be setting your team up for success this winter and beyond.

Now...

Let's Go Eat!

Jay

PS - If you're already getting fired up about watching NXN in a couple of weeks here are some free videos from coaches who have not only made NXN, but have had teams on the podium.

Jonathan Dalby - Mountain Vista Girls and Boys - "​Training Freshman​" and "​Coaching Multi-Sport Athletes"

Timo Mostert - American Fork Boys - "​Coaching Milers​" and "​Capillary Runs​"

Dan Iverson - Naperville North Girls - "​Developing Your Coaching Philosophy​"