When the Fall season starts, every runner will be expected to run 5+ miles a day, six days a week.
DON'T PUT OFF GETTING IN SHAPE!

The foundation for success in cross-country is developing an aerobic base. An aerobic base is an extended period of training that improves your aerobic capacity-- the ability of your cardiovascular system to deliver oxygen-rich blood to your working muscles, and the ability of your muscles to use that oxygen efficiently. You develop this base by running almost every day for as much of the summer as possible.

The key is to begin modestly and increase your mileage gradually. No one develops an aerobic base by having one great week of training. Instead, you need to start slowly with steady runs at distances you can handle, and then increase the distance and intensity every few weeks. To avoid injury, you need to give your body time to adapt to the training you are doing. Pay attention to any unusual aches and pains and don't try to run through any pain that lasts for more than ten minutes of a run. Make sure your shoes are in good shape, or get new shoes. Run in the cool part of the day. Run with friends whenever possible. Most important, enjoy your training and the feelings of satisfaction that come with increased fitness.

Remember, your aerobic base is the sum of ALL the running you do this summer. The broader the base, the higher the peak.

I recommend a basic schedule with the following three components:

AEROBIC RUNS (With Occasional Kicks or Surges)
4-5 days a week (or as many days as you can), do a steady run at a "conversational" pace, that is, at a pace that allows you to converse with a training partner. If you haven't been training for a while, start with runs of about 30 minutes, and gradually increase the time (and distance). At the end of an aerobic run, if you feel like it, put on a burst of speed. It's fun to finish fast with a "kick" over the last 400-800 meters. Picture yourself breaking away from the pack to win the State Championship or Footlocker National XC Championships.

FASTER (TEMPO) RUNS
At least once a week, run fast, but controlled for about twenty minutes. Tempo runs should not be as hard as races, but they should be harder than your typical daily run. Precede the fast running with an easy warmup of a mile or two, then follow it with a cooldown of a mile or two. For variety, you can substitute other ways of running fast, including: low-key races, hill repeats, fartlek runs (doing fast surges in the middle of your aerobic runs), etc. Time yourself. Be creative.

LONG RUNS
After a couple of weeks of steady running, start doing a long run once a week. Start out at a distance that is about 50% longer than your average daily run. Try to increase your average (and the distance of your long run) over the summer. For experienced runners, the long run should last from 1:15 to 1:45. The day after your long run should be an easy day or a rest day. Make sure you have plenty of water for these runs. I recommend drinking-about a quart of water per hour of running.

If you do this simple, but steady training, you will lay the foundation for significant personal improvement. This training log is meant to help you stay motivated. Be sure to use it! Write down how much you run, how fast you went, and how you felt doing it. It will make for great reading when we're all celebrating in November.

What is a running log?

A running log is a daily record of your running. At a minimum, you use a running log to keep track of how far you run each day and how long it takes you. After that, the sky's the limit as far as what you choose to record. Here are some suggestions:

Weather conditions
What shoes you wore
How you felt during and after the run.
How much sleep you got
Unusual aches or pains

The real value of keeping a running log is that you begin to see connections between the way you train and your progress as a runner. Eventually, you begin to understand that training takes time -- but that if you look as the big picture, you are on a steady road to becoming a stronger runner.

One final thing: experienced runners who are running high mileage need a way to avoid doing too much, which puts them at risk of injury and illness. A good way to monitor this is to record "morning resting heart rate." Do this by taking your pulse first thing in the morning, while you are still lying in bed. If your pulse is elevated by 10% or more from normal, chances are your body needs more recovery than you are giving it. It's time to take an easy day.

Good nutrition is one of the building blocks of training

To engage in strenuous activity for an hour or more a day, you need to fuel and hydrate your body. Make sure that you eat breakfast in the morning, and not just Pop-Tarts! Have a real breakfast.

Have a light lunch, or a substantial snack during the middle of the day. Avoid eating a heavy or fatty lunch before an afternoon workout (avoid ice cream before running!). On the other hand, granola bars, sports drinks, and other easy-to-digest snacks are good. In general, you don't want to start a workout either too full or too hungry to do your best.

After your workout, make sure you rehydrate as soon as possible. Try to eat a substantial meal within two hours of finishing your run. If you can't do that, have a power bar or other high carbohydrate snack so that your body has the best chance of replenishing energy stores for the next day.

Avoid fad diets and crazy, unsupported extreme food prohibitions.

Make sure you have a good source of iron in your diet. If you don't eat red meat, you need to get iron some other way -- either by eating green, leafy vegetables (yeah, right), by taking a multi-vitamin with iron, or a cereal or other food with iron added. Iron is essential for runners and other endurance athletes.