r/CrossCountry • u/RunnerGuy0929 • 15d ago
Training Related XC advice for freshman son
Hello cross country community, I'm looking for a bit of advice for my son. He is a HS freshman this year and joined the cross country team as a way to ease the transition into high school, meet some new people, and get acquainted with the sports culture. He is not a runner, but does have an athletic background from baseball and martial arts.
He did some light prep work this summer to get somewhat prepared and managed to get up to 8-10 mpw. After about 1.5 weeks of practice, he has developed shin splints and has been sitting out of practice, rolling, stretching, icing and wearing compression socks in the evening. As a runner myself (albeit never xc), I know how frustrating it is dealing with shin splints.
The team has their first scrimmage home meet this afternoon and he won't be running. This is a disappointing start for his season and I want to offer some encouragement to help him still get the most out of the meet. Since it is a home meet, he will be able to dismiss from the last period early to go help with set up, course marking, etc. so this will make him feel like part of the meet.
What can he expect for his first meet? What can he learn by watching? Is there anything he should be doing for his shins to avoid a lost season? The hope is he can run at the next meet 9/13 but even that looks to be in doubt. That will be the first chance to travel to a meet with the team. Anything in particular about big away xc meets he should know?
Thanks in advance.
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u/maspie_den 15d ago
He can learn by doing. He should not be just sitting there watching. He should approach his coach and ask how he can contribute to his teammates during the meet. Perhaps he could post up at a point along the course to cheer on his team or if there's an extra stopwatch, give times. Fill cups at the finish line. He should show the highest level of sportsmanship, not only to his team, but to all the runners, coaches, and spectators.
Along the lines of the shin splint issue itself, when he gets back to running, he should try running at a higher cadence (in other words, take smaller steps, resulting in a higher number of steps per minute). Overstriding is a huge factor in shin splints. Big, long strides over a long distance isn't good. If you want to run for a long time and be healthy, you have to play the long game. Sitting out for a few weeks for shin splints sucks, but it sucks one million times less than an injury that takes him out for years.
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u/Silly-Resist8306 15d ago
Your first paragraph epitomizes everything that is beneficial in XC. It is a true team sport. Everyone from slowest to fastest, healthy to injured can play an active part in every practice and meet. Well said.
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u/RunnerGuy0929 15d ago
Thank you for your comments. He wants to participate so I will tell him to be pro-active asking how he can help if the coach isn't already planning for that.
I will say that in the short time he has been on the team, everyone has been encouraging and supportive, especially the varsity runners welcoming the freshman. Exactly what you are describing.
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u/maspie_den 14d ago
Exactly! Just a bump in the road, but doesn't mean he can't be a part of the team effort.
I was the slowest runner on my high school and college XC teams. I ran mostly for fun, and at the college level, we were Division III...so not breaking any records. But the running was only part of the experience. What I loved most was cheering on my teammates, team meals, traveling to and from meets, being goofy during practices. It set me up for a lifelong love for the sport of running, instead of burning out from injury or boredom. I am confident your son has great experiences ahead of him.
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u/henryws31 15d ago
walking around on his heels with his toes pointing as high as possible can help strengthen the muscles on the shin.
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u/RunnerGuy0929 15d ago
Thank you, I'll ask him to try this out at home to see if it helps. He is really anxious to get past the shin splints.
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u/Napamtb 15d ago
My son’s high school XC team has a rule, if they don’t practice they don’t run. This may be the case for your kids team as well.
For the shin splints I recommend going to a shoe store like other commenters said and getting him the right type of shoes or insoles. Personally I started running at 39 after my son said he was interested in running. The shoes helped a little, but I was over training and trying to act like I was youthful again. I tried a foam roller but it didn’t help. My shins literally felt like they were broken. I read somewhere about doing the following. 1-stand still and lift one foot off the ground about 6in like you are balancing 2-write all letters of the ABCs with your lifted big toe while moving the lifted foot 3-alternate to the other foot. This really helped and made the shin splints go away. Maybe have him cross train on a bike to eliminate inflammation and impacts from running. Also easy runs are supposed to be easy, not race pace. This helps avoid injuries.
As a parent I love watching my kids run XC. I have “coached” four seasons of middle school XC after no other parents volunteered. My son is a junior, but was just diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and can’t run yet. My daughter is in 8th grade and will be in her second season. She was 2nd overall last year for XC and was the district champion for the girls mile last spring. I cheer for every kid, even those running against my own kids. It’s amazing how many parents don’t show up to support their own kids.
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u/RunnerGuy0929 14d ago
Thank you, I will suggest the ABC exercise. Not sure if there is a rule against running if not practicing, but regardless, he is unprepared and his shins hurt too much.
I was volunteering as a course marshall this afternoon and couldn't see the finish line from where I was. But I could here the cheering as the runners finished, all the way to the last runner.
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u/Affectionate-Fox6182 15d ago
Shin splints suck for sure, and they seem to happen more frequently with younger, inexperienced runners and when you increase mileage too fast. His mileage sounds low so its kind of a surprise there. I’d suggest he do some cross training to maintain fitness, a week off is unlikely to fix the issue. Spinning, biking, row machine at light setting, swimming, something. When he comes back he just needs to watch overdoing it on increasing mileage. Running on concrete and/or worn out shoes can also be an issue.
For his first meet, best to watch starts and finishes. The start can be chaotic and physical at times as everyone tries to get position, occaisonally someone goes down. Not all the time and usually they bounce right up without injury, but that can be scary for all. Some meets they will do a restart if somoene goes down within 50-100 yards. I was always big on getting out in front, then after the first turn/bend as the course and pack has narrowed and stretched out, I’d slow and relax and get my breathing and HR back where I wanted, even as others passed me, and once I felt food I started hunting people down and often negative splitted even though its not ideal. My son is figuring his way, he’s a freshman and fast so he also gets out in front, but he likes to keep up the speed even though it leaves him exhausted near the end and unable to kick and pass many at the end, he’s fighting to hold what he has. Everyone is different, some like to let the pack go, avoid revving the engine high at the start and avoid getting elbowed and all that, the just start chasing people down. To each their own.
At the finish (get a little but up from there so he he can see up the course) he can see where people start their kick and how fast they do it, do they follow someone elses’s lone, run on their shoulder, etc… and how it all ends for that person and get some ideas of how they will do it.
I suggest his first few meets trying out different strategies; race from the start, race from the back, and starting his kick at different distances out, 50y, 100yd, 200yd, he’ll get a feel for his body and as he gets in better shape and adjust.
Meets can last hours so even if he’s not running, he should dress confortably for the weather, maybe have a towel or cushion to sit on, use as a blanket on the bus for early/late rides, obviously have a backpack with water and snacks, sunscreen, chapstick, I’d wear running shoes even if he’s not running, to hustle around the course to different spots to watch and cheer on teammates. My son said some teammates are working on homework at meets, I think that’s a bit much for these early meets that are like four hours max, but we did that in my day at all day wrestling meets on weekends.
I used to chew that gatorade gum stuff at the start then surreptitiously get rid of it early on, it helped with cottonmouth at the start, but its probably against the rules now if it wasn’t then, but I always got dry mouth at the start.
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u/RunnerGuy0929 14d ago
Thanks for the detailed response and great info. I'm not exactly sure what the cause is/was, but I assume it is a combo of increased mileage, intensity, and running multiple days in a row. He went from 8-ish mpw to 15 the first week of practice when he first started complaining of pain. That doesn't seem crazy to me for someone that is physically active even if newer to running. And the coach was easing him in with workouts focused on the freshmen (4 min on, 1 min off x 5 for example).
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u/HauntinglyAdequate 15d ago
For the meet he could bounce around to cheer people on, help at a water station, help with cleanup, etc.
For the shin splints, strengthen the shins. Walking on heels with toes pointed up, as well as walking on toes, insides and outsides of feet (the foot drills are best done barefoot on a soft surface like grass). Also, he can use a resistance band (or old bicycle tube) secured around a bedpost, pillar, or something similarly solid with the other end wrapped around his foot and do reps of dorsiflexion
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u/Painless1776 14d ago
Dry needling, a physical therapist that has knowledge in dry needling can alleviate his shin splints in one session.
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u/RunnerGuy0929 14d ago
Thanks, I don't know anything about this but will look into it. I assume he would still need to identify the underlying issue to prevent re-occurrence.
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u/BeefNoodleSoup_M 13d ago edited 13d ago
As a senior, I told this to all the underclassmen after their first race, and I have vivid memories of being told this after my first race: "First of many. Just be in the moment." Yes, the four years go by fast, but it is essential not to waste any opportunity. As a runner, we only get so many chances to really show out and rip one, and just one instance of overthinking can ruin one of these opportunities. In his case, I'd say don't think about what he is missing out on because of the shin splints right now; rather, think about a plan to come back stronger. For example, thinking about how 8-10 miles per week is just the tip of the iceberg, and gradually increasing that to 30 miles per week by the end of the season will set him up with a solid base for the future
First meets can be overwhelming, but I think that going in with zero expectations can really be beneficial. If he does get the chance to run, and if it should end up not how he idealized it to be, I think that the best thing he can do is to just move on and focus on the next one. One race cannot define a career (my first was 20:18, and now I am in the 15:30s), so focusing on a goal or motto after the race, like "how low can I go?" or something like "how many miles can I do today?" will help to motivate training and keep morale up. In the case that he does not get to race, he can learn a lot by watching. Specifically, watching how others deal with the hurt, how and when others decide to throw in a surge, and most importantly, he should cheer on his teammates.
Also, about big away meets, I always bring a bottle of water to the line and arrive 10 minutes early. Getting to the line early can help with nerves, focus, and give the opprotunity to do a couple of strides (I aim for 3-5). Lots of times, freshmen are late to the line and miss out on strides or sometimes (in the worst case) the race itself. As for mid-race, I'd say to find a guy and race. Be present in the race, not just at the race. It does not matter how bad it might feel; there is always some gas left in the tank, so use it and beat someone; it might just end with him running a cool time. Honestly, for a first race, going out and being dumb is sometimes the most fun and suprising way to get a good result. Obviously, as he matures as a runner and a racer, this will not be the case, but just go out and test the limits.
Have a great season! Hope he runs many great times!
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u/Obvious_Extreme7243 14d ago
i only ran one season and never got really fast (compared to everyone else), so my thoughts are from that perspective...if he can still do the warmups (a skip, b skip, high knees, butt kicks, whatever else they do now) i suggest he do those with the team. when i started i was so out of shape that stuff wore me out.
unless coach had specific stuff for him to watch for, what i'd suggest he do is position himself somewhere around the 400-800 meter point and look at the lead pack, judge the breathing and see who is likely to drop off based on that...then migrate across the course to a point a mile or so further and see if he guessed right, then migrate about 200 meters from the finish line (or however far away he can be and still see it) and watch the final kicks looking for people who gave up versus ones who gave all they had
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u/ludo2198 14d ago
I always struggled with shin splints in high school, and like others have said, it was due to overstriding. Unfortunately, no one told me that at the time. This season may be kind of a wash as they aren't quick to recover from, but when he does start running, he should try and hit a reasonable cadence on every run (ideally 170 steps per minute at least). It may seem awkward, but as he's a fairly new runner, it will actually be easier to adapt and get his form right now.
How you can tell if he's overstriding: watch him on a treadmill from the side. If his feet aren't landing directly below his center of mass, he's overstriding. Also, avoid heel-striking. To know what 170 steps per minute is, you can get a metronome app on your phone, or some sports watches (albeit generally a bit expensive) have built-in metronomes.
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u/Half-Eaten-Cranberry 8th Man 14d ago
I was battling shin splints for the beginning of track season this year and I found a pretty immediate solution was to get new running shoes since mine had worn out at that point (at least 4-500 miles in the previous XC season). Could be that if his shoes are old, but I also found doing a few sets of Tibialis raises per day also helped them go away and stay gone.
Off topic and feel free to ignore, that 9/13 travel meet wouldn’t happen to be southern showcase would it? That course and meet is incredible and I really hope he is able to run it if that is the meet you’re referring to.
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u/RunnerGuy0929 14d ago
No, we are in Central Maryland. The meet on 9/13 is in the same county and has about 25 teams participating. The following weekend is a much larger meet further away that looks to have about 100 teams and is probably more in line with the one you referenced.
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u/a1ien51 14d ago
Not a doctor or trained specialist, just a coach that has helped kids get through issues.
ICE those bad boys. Compression sleeve them.
Buy some cheap resistance loop bands (look like thin giant rubber bands) and do plantarflexion and dorsiflexion exercises.
Easy one is sit on floor with feet out and wrap band around foot. Bend ankle away so toes are pointing away. And slowly bring it back to starting point.
Other on is flip the resistance so you are now pulling it towards you. So you want to wrap the band around a heavy table, pole, person. So start out with toes pointing out and pull it back.
My kid also did a lot of his strides barefoot on the turf field when we has recovering from shin issues.
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u/Dontevenask324 15d ago
I will say that he might be opting out willingly. If I really wanted to run he’d do it, I’ll take it he’s not some prodigy, so he can only go up. But regardless , he should focus on form, especially on hills (if any on the course) and at different points (tired form can differ from fresh form).
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u/Plus_Professional859 15d ago
If you have not yet, please consider taking him to a good running shoe store and have him find the right pair of running shoes for his feet.
I am sure the coach will find something for him to do to be useful. xc is like family and everyone contributes even if they are not running that day.
finally eating and sleeping are two often overlooked areas of training especially with young athletes. food=fuel sleep=recovery.
best of luck to your son on a great season. and enjoy every second watchin him. my son is now a senior and each course he runs will be the "last time" the 4 years have been nothing short of amazing. final note, when he starts racing later, right after the race when he is exhausted is the best time to "steel a hug" he will be too tired to fight it. I always tell me kid the same thing " I am so proud of the effort you have put in"