Sometimes students who are not student athletes underestimate or just have no idea how much time and energy student athletes are required to dedicate to their respective sports. For example, while a cross country meet might only take a couple of hours, it can be an all-day event for the athletes, especially for away meets.
Another aspect of sports which students who are not athletes may overlook is the amount of time practices take out of a student’s schedule. Many teams meet at least five times a week for a two-hour practice. However, these practices take upwards of three hours out of a student’s schedule after preparation, a meal beforehand and a shower afterwards.
For a sport like cross country, many individuals might think athletes simply go for a quick jog every day in preparation of their meet on the weekend. After all, cross country is just running, right?
Well, an athlete might only run a few miles at a cross country meet, but in preparation for those few miles they do a whole lot more than just go on a daily jog.
For junior Matthew Fick, a typical practice week on the team consists of one long run, three base/recovery runs, one workout at practice, two lift sessions and four double runs.
A long run for Fick is usually between 10 and 13 miles at a quicker pace. A recovery or base run is at a more comfortable pace and ranges from seven to eight miles. Typically, a recovery or base run happens on the day following a more intense practice such as a long run.
At practice workouts can differ from week to week, but the example Fick gave was a tempo run. In a tempo run, athletes typically run around 3.75 miles. The first portion of the run is at a very quick pace followed by a section at a much slower pace. Finally, the end of the tempo run is again at a much more rigorous pace.
What has been listed above is what athletes are required to do at practices and with the team. However, there is a lot more involved than just that.
According to Fick, athletes also have a large amount of training they are required to do on their own in addition to what they do at team practices.
Twice per week Fick is required to do a workout and four double runs. Typically, his workouts consist of a small amount of many different things to work out his entire body. As for double runs, these are slower paced 30 minute runs that Fick does on his own in the mornings. They are called double runs because he runs in the morning and then again in the evening at practice.
