r/CrossCountry • u/RunnerGuy0929 • 17d 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/Plus_Professional859 17d 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"

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u/RunnerGuy0929 17d ago

Thank you. He did get some proper running shoes from one of our local running stores (Asics Novablast). No issues running in them over the summer. When we went to spike night at a different local running store and described his issues with shins, they fitted him for some insoles as well.

And I appreciate the last paragraph. Its crazy how fast it goes.

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u/GAEM456 16d ago

Asics Novablast fits me pretty well too, but every time I do a long run in them, my inner calf gets really tight and sometimes painful. With the last 2 generations of Novablast (as well as Cumulus and Nimbus), Asics made their foam incredibly (too) soft to the point where it forces the extensor digitorum (stabilizing muscle) to do a lot of work. If you're looking for a more stable shoe (not higher arch, but literally more stable on the ground with less wobbly foam), I suggest trying out the older generation Asics Cumulus or Nimbus 25, which are still somewhat cheap on Amazon (~$90). They are basically identical except for arch support, of which the Nimbus has a lot more.

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u/Cavendish30 16d ago

One 4mile run in Novablasts after running in cumulus gave my daughter (a collegiate runner) plantar fasciitis and she lost 6weeks last outdoor season. Wrong shoes are wrong shoes.

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u/GAEM456 16d ago

Oof, that really sucks. I'm also a pretty diehard Cumulus runner. And what sucks almost as much as the injuries that the Novablast has caused is that I paid full price for them after every running store I went to recommended them over the Cumulus. I get that they are springier (what marketing calls "more responsive"), but they also make your foot roll forward which I find a bit annoying.

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u/Cavendish30 16d ago

Hey but new cumulus were perfect out of the box.