Is is OK for a high schooler to follow a race (cross country 5K) on Saturday with a long run of 90ish minutes on Sunday?
Some people I asked said THEY did it way back when; others did not.
I am working with some fairly talented kids, running 60/wk presently, who will begin racing every weekend in a few weeks. and I worry about not giving them enough rest.
Thanks for the help.
Personally I would do it, as long as they don't race it and everyone realizes it is a relaxed 90-minute run.
I did them all through high school. During the season we did them at a slow pace ... more or less just getting some time in on our feet. We did one run a couple of times a month where we ran on 2 adjacent golf course and 'played' golf by throwing lost balls at the holes. In the off seasons we ended up going both longer and faster.
I'd have the most experienced guys running up to 2 hrs. for a long run (only that long a couple of times) every other Saturday during the PRESEASON, then reduce that to 90-95 min. during the season and put it on Sunday (maybe don't do them EVERY Sunday). After doing some TRUE long runs in preparation, these moderately long runs don't count as hard efforts, yet they help maintain such things as the mitochondrial density that was mentioned in another post.
thanks for the input.