Hello high school distance runners and Happy New Year from RunBlogRun.
This is the fourth day of week 1 of our ten-week winter training program, which continues until the NIKE Indoor Championships (March 12-15, 2026, more info: vol. https://nikeindoornationals.runnerspace.com/) Our winter workouts will include a long run, tempo day, fartlek day, race day or rep day, plus 3 easy days per week.
The goal is to be in shape at the start of the outdoor season (March in most of the country).
It The NIKE Indoor Nationals will be held March 12-15, 2026 at the NIKE Track & Field Armory. We encourage high schoolers to race indoors, but always point out that the Big Season is outdoors.
Training Thursday, January 8, 2026
Fartlek workouts are one of the simplest workout ideas that can get as complicated as you want them to be. Gosta Holmer, an Olympian and former Swedish national team coach in the 1930s, developed Fartlek, Swedish for “fast play”, to use the interval system on Sweden’s wonderful trails. Holmer noted that in the 1930s, the Swedish cross-country team was a sucker and he used the fartlek to develop their strength, speed and endurance. You can too.
Thursday trainingwarm up, 45 minutes fartlek, First five minutes, run 3 minutes hard, 2 minutes easy, next 20 minutes, run 1 minute hard, 1 minute easy, then, fifteen minutes, 3 minutes hard, 2 minutes easy, 3 times, and finally in the last five minutes, five minutes hard, cool down 15-20 minutes. Hard should equal effort for current 5k pace.
Hydrate well, take time to stretch, keep running at a conversational pace and also vary your surfaces, perhaps some park paths and sidewalks.
Monday, January 5, 2026
Sunday, easy 60-70 minutes of fun with your friends. Keep it cool!
For this winter, I recommend two pairs of sneakers, such as 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 !!!! #crosscountryrunning, #trackandfieldtraining, #winterrunning, #wintertraining,
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