2025-2026 Active Recovery from Cross-Country, December 21, 2025, Week 1, Day 7, First Week of Rest, Sunday Run
Well, for most of the 556,000 high school runners in the U.S. and Europe, the cross country season ended over the weekend.
The next 3 weeks will be easy running, relaxing and enjoying the company of family and friends.
Some people like to race at the end of the season (there is a race at the WA Cross Country in Tallahassee, FL on January 10th and we wish them luck and good luck).
We’re keeping it cool, sharing some fun pictures and keeping it cool.
Your body needs to recover. Three easy weeks, light jogging, exercise, but most importantly, three weeks of no running gives you the spiritual, physical and mental break you and your athletes need.
Sunday, December 21, 2025
Sunday runs and Tuesday nights were my two favorite workouts of the week. On Sundays, most of the year in college and post-college, I ran 15-22 miles (1:30-2:35) on a hilly course. On Tuesdays, in the winter, Paulie trained with Gore on the Los Gatos track, such as 20 x 400 meters, 6 x miles or 3 x miles, 1200 and 800.
Those workouts set us up for the winter.
It’s now three weeks off. This first Sunday, if you want to run 60 minutes, go ahead, but take it easy and run with a friend. You can also just go for 30 minutes and really enjoy the break, it’s up to you.
For fall, I recommend two pairs of athletic shoes, for example: a NIKE Pegasus PLUS and a NIKE Vomero 18 or Vomero PLUS (shown below) for easy days and long days. The Pegasus PLUS is well built, can handle dirt and mud, and provides a stable, comfortable ride without overdoing the cushioning. As always, we don’t recommend buying your running performance shoes remotely, but rather going to an actual live running store.
If you need a little more cushioning, try the Vomero 18 Vomero 18:00 has more cushion than Pegasus PLUS. If you like NIKE, I would suggest high schoolers use the NIKE Pegasus PLUS on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. I would suggest Vomero 18 on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I always recommend two pairs of sneakers. Learn more www.nikerrunning.com.
Want to be a better runner than you were before? Focus and follow our training. It’s all about consistency.
For winter reading. By Self-Made Olympian Ron Dawes, Clean Heels by Murray Hallberg, First! by Tom Jordan, Quicksilver, Mercurial Emil Zatopek, Pat Butcher, The Fate of Allen Mimoun, Pat Butcher (monograph)
Remember, one day !!!! #cross-country running, #running,
