Congratulations on your choice to run with the Plainfield Central Middle School Cross Country team!
It is a pleasure to be coaching for a third year! We lost a lot of talented runners to the high school and I
hope those runners continue to “wow” the cross country and track coaches there! As for this year, I am
looking forward to seeing previous runners again and welcoming any new talent.
My name is Ms. Conger and I am the Cross Country coach. Helping me again this year is my assistant
coach, Mrs. Skulczyck. Our philosophy about coaching the cross country team is simple. This is a sport of
running. Challenge yourselves. Stay dedicated. Running is as much a mental sport as it is a physical
sport. Look at your failures the same way you would look at your successes – with a positive attitude. With
each failure, you learn something about yourself and you should let that take you to your next success.
Being a student-athlete may be a new experience for you. Finding the balance of keeping up with your
school work and staying dedicated to the team can be difficult. If you are struggling and feeling
overwhelmed trying to keep up with your studies, please come see Coach Skulczyck or myself.
Attached you will find our practice and meet schedule. We have 5 meets scheduled this year. In addition
we have the QVJC Championship scheduled for October 22nd. On this day, runners leave school early to
make it to the Woodstock Fairgrounds on time. Each school will host one meet, but Plainfield is lucky
enough to host twice. Home meets will be on October 1st and 8th. A portion of the parking lot in the back
will be closed off for the meet. Runners will first walk the trail together and the race begins at 3:30 pm.
Also attached is a run-down of how I intend to hold practice each day. I may veer from this schedule from
time to time in order to fit in a practice run on our course, and to accommodate our meets. Practices are
only Monday through Thursday – each runner is expected to continue their training on their off days
(including holiday’s) using the schedule below. This means you are responsible for your long run on the
weekends. It would be great if you ran with a friend or family member, or even with a teammate if you can
make arrangements.
Please take note that runners will need to be picked up Monday through Thursday at 3:45 pm until late
buses are running. Late buses begin on September 23rd. Furthermore, you will need to find transportation
home EACH Monday as late buses only run Tuesday through Thursday. Pick up is promptly at 3:45 pm.
You may take the late bus home Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Please see Mrs. Griffin in the main
office to obtain a late bus permission form if you do not already have one.
Feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns at 860-564-6437, x-2225. You may also contact Mrs.
Skulczyck at x-2115.
Thank you!
Coach Conger & Coach Skulczyck
Practice:
Tempo Runs: (Scheduled for Mondays.) A tempo run is a workout of 30 to 45 minutes, usually run on trails or in the
woods so you have no reference to exactly how far or how fast you are running.
 Begin at an easy pace.
 After 5 or 10 minutes of gentle jogging, gradually accelerate toward peak speed midway through the
workout, holding that peak for 5 or 10 minutes.
 Gradually decelerate, finishing with 5 minutes of gentle jogging, which will be your cool-down.
 This approach should be intuitive. Run hard, but not too hard. If you do this workout correctly, you should
finish refreshed rather than fatigued.
Interval Training: (Scheduled for Tuesdays.) This is a more precise form of speed training. Interval training
consists of fast repeats (400, 600 and 1,000 meters), followed by jogging and/or walking to recover. It is the
"interval" between the fast repeats that gives this workout its name. Running on the trails adds to the challenge, but
running fast over softer, less-groomed paths can increase agility and athleticism. Just be careful not to trip!
You do not want to run this workout and discover near the end that you are running the repeats slower than at the
start, or that you need more rest during the interval between. If that happens, you picked too ambitious a time goal
for the workout. Interval training is best run when you maintain consistency. Below is more information on the three
interval workouts:
10 x 400: Run this workout in the first, fourth, seventh and tenth weeks of the program. Pick a pace in the first
week that you can handle easily. I would rather have you run too slow a pace than too fast a one. You can
run faster as you adapt to the rhythm of interval training.
 For the intervals, jog 400 meters at a fairly fast pace. You want to recover between repeats, but not
recover too much.
 I suggest a 400-meter jog between the 400 repeats as your rest.
5 x 1,000: Run this workout in the weeks after you run the interval 400s: the second, fifth and eighth weeks of
the program. This workout is best run on trails.
 The average distance of our meets is 2 miles. To adjust this section, I suggest 4 x 1,000 meters
 Run each rep fast, somewhat slower than race pace the first time, with your goal to eventually run as
fast as race pace.
 I suggest 3 minutes walking and/or jogging between the 1,000 repeats as your rest.
6 x 600: Run this workout during the third, sixth and ninth weeks. Jog a fairly fast 200 between, and then go
again. Keep the pace the same in later weeks, but progress instead in number: 8 x 600, ultimately 10 x 600. I
choose these variations mainly so that you speed train differently from week to week.
 Don't get into the trap of comparing one week's workout to the one before or the one after. Focus
more on how you feel at the end of each workout, not the numbers on your watch. You should finish
fatigued, but also refreshed.
 I suggest a 200-meter jog between the 600 repeats as your rest.
Run correctly and in control, interval training can be invigorating. It is also the single best way to improve both your
speed and your running form. Overdone, however, it can lead to injuries and fatigue, chipping away at your ability to
attain peak performance. Learn to use interval training as the key to cross-country success.
Long Runs: (Scheduled for Saturdays, but you can run long on Sundays if it seems more convenient.) Long runs
are necessary to improve your aerobic fitness and endurance. You begin in the first week, running for 60 minutes
and add 5 minutes each week. I prefer to prescribe time rather than distance. I also don't care how fast or slow you
run, as long as you run for the prescribed length of time at a pace that allows you to finish as fast as you start. If
your pace lags and you have to walk in the last few miles, you obviously ran the early miles too fast. Run at a
conversational pace. If running with your teammates (something I recommend), use this workout as an excuse to
talk about every silly thing that happened to you during the week. This is a workout that you can run on the roads or
on trails. Mostly, have fun.
Rest/Easy Days: (Scheduled for Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.) These are the three days of the week when
you do not run hard. And quite frankly you can't run hard seven days a week without risking injury or overtraining.
So in between the hard workouts, run easy. Rest can be an easy run of 30 minutes, or it can be a day when you do
not run at all. You need days of comparative rest between the hard workouts; otherwise you will not be able to run
those hard workouts at full speed. If you fail to do the hard workouts properly, you will not improve. Don't train hard
every day assuming that it will make you a better runner; it may actually affect your training negatively.
TRAINING SCHEDULE BY WEEK:
WEEK
MON
TUE
WED
THU
FRI
SAT
SUN
1 (9/8)
35 min tempo
10 x 400 interval
run
35 min easy
Course run for
time
35
min
easy
60
min
long
run
Rest
or 30
easy
2
(9/15)
XC MEET
35 min tempo
35 min easy
(NO PRACTICE –
DONE ON YOUR
OWN)
5 X 1000
30
min
easy
65
min
long
Rest
or 30
easy
3
(9/22)
Course run for
time
6 x 600
40 min easy
XC MEET
30
min
easy
70
min
long
Rest
or 30
easy
4
(9/29)
45 min tempo
40 min easy or
course run
XC MEET
10 x 400
30
min
easy
75
min
long
Rest
or 30
easy
5
(10/6)
45 min tempo
40 min easy
(NO PRACTICE
– DONE ON
YOUR OWN)
XC MEET
5 X 1000
30
min
easy
80
min
long
Rest
or 30
easy
6
(10/13)
45 min tempo
(NO PRACTICE
– DONE ON
YOUR OWN)
8 x 600
40 min easy
XC MEET
30
min
easy
85
min
long
Rest
or 30
easy
7
(10/20)
45 min tempo
Easy run
QVJC LEAGUE
CHAMPIONSHIPS
WOODSTOCK FAIR
(rain date TBD)