Sportshuddle.com's Cross Country "Ask the Expert"
What is the best way to boost my confidence as I adjust from running a 5K in high school to the 8K in college? -----Steve Brandon, 18, Osseo, Minnesota, Hamline University

Arbogast: Competing in 5K distances in high school is actually quite similar to 8K in college; the tougher challenge will be moving to 10K for collegiate championships and district/conference meets. The 8K distance is an easy adjustment, but the 10K requires a different racing strategy altogether.

The preparation is twofold -- physical and mental -- although preparation in both areas can be done simultaneously with properly constructed workouts.

The easiest way to prepare is to break up the event into composite segments. In this case, think of an 8K race as eight 1,000-meter sections. In high school, we approach the 5K as five 1,000-meter sections. In each scenario, the first 1,000 is an easy, tactical, positioning section in which lactic acid buildup and fatigue are not factors. Conversely, the final segment requires complete fortitude and determination. So we look at the middle six 1,000 meter sections (three in high school) as the central focus of training.

Run repeats/intervals/fartlek bursts of 1,000 meters with short recovery work on both the physical and mental conditioning. Your 1,000 meter sections should be run substantially faster than race pace to build confidence. The transition in this type of workout to 8K is only three additional 1,000-meter sections over the normal confidence-building 5K high school workout. This core workout helps tremendously to develop the pace, feel and mental drive necessary to hold pace at collegiate distances for 8 to 10K events.

However, the true test in collegiate races comes in the 10K events, which push the athlete beyond normal pacing, both in retraining and recovery. Although an athlete may run a 5K fairly hard more than one time a week if necessary, a 10K requires a full week of recovery/retraining prior to a new full race effort.

The first critical step to ease the transition is a summer preparation phase emphasizing increased mileage and intensity required for the distance. A high school male athlete typically averages 30-50 miles a week, and a typical prep female 25-45 miles. The total will increase by an average of 20-40 percent in college. Spend the summer building phase-in, and aggressively attempt to log the miles necessary for success!It is imperative for an athlete to follow a college coach's instructions for the summer and to increase the duration and intensity of runs in order to accommodate the increased distance. Once an athlete has developed the additional strength-base to handle increased distance, the longer speedwork will not create difficulties.

Power runs of 35-50 minutes in duration (six to eight miles for men, five to seven miles for women); step-down runs of 30-40 minutes (with a drop pace of 15 seconds per mile for every 1,000 meters in the run, starting at 75 to 85 percent race pace); and resistance runs (sand/hills/altitude) of 45-plus minutes will help develop the aerobic conditioning to hold pace at 8K and 10K. In addition, the focus and concentration required to keep pace at the target level will be evident on race day.

Follow the instructions of your college coach! If you are about to make the transition to college running, communicate often with your future coach. Spend time discussing your goals and training cycles. After all, they have your best interest at heart, and the future of your team rests upon your diligence.