madteaparty Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 My DS recently articulated that he does not want to participate in his main sport competitively any longer. I am secretly relieved as it was a huge money, driving and time pit, and it was not going anywhere. He says he wants to run more instead and just play tennis for fun. He has ran a few 5Ks already (he actually did the first one with barely any training and finished it--which is more than I can say for yours truly ;)) and his time improves with each 5k. My sister ran in college and does these 5Ks with him, offers pointers, etc. DH will take him running 3 times a week or so, and we will get a treadmill for the winter months (it snows a lot. For that reason, we were getting the treadmill for ourselves anyway). Besides doing these casual 5K races and keeping track of the finish time, what do your runners do? His previous sport (tennis) was such an undertaking for us (rural area) that this seems so little to do. I am not worried re: exercise bc we ski in the winter and tennis frees up a lot of time for swimming, etc. I was at a homeschool camp day at a Y camp recently and the local high school cross country team was training. It seemed pretty hard core and they train everyday! Curious what it looks like in middle school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaLisa Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 My dc ran track but never took up cross country. Have you looked into track for the spring? Most of the cross country kids we know do track in the spring and cross country in the fall, with training in the summer. Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 My dd is running cross country with her middle school. She is mostly home schooled but does band and science at the middle school at the end of the day and then stays for xc Mon, Tues, and Thurs. She would be welcome even if she didn't take any classes there; there are students from private schools, other home schoolers, a K-8 school, etc. Practice runs from 3:50 to 5:00 with a run to somewhere else to warm up (a different school, a park), group stretches, a longer run ending up back at school, more stretches. There are 6-8 meets during the season (ending next week), and the races are usually 3K meters (high school races are 5K). There are very fast runners, slower runners, runners who do other sports, etc. All are welcome and it's a pretty popular program--almost 100 runners this year! She's enjoyed it and will probably keep doing an informal running program with the same leaders through a running club over the winter. She's really looking forward to track in the spring. High school XC is more intense. Training runs are longer and in the hills and races are 5Ks. Fastest boys are in the 16-17 min range and girls in the 18-19 min range. Pretty amazing to watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted October 14, 2014 Author Share Posted October 14, 2014 My dd is running cross country with her middle school. She is mostly home schooled but does band and science at the middle school at the end of the day and then stays for xc Mon, Tues, and Thurs. She would be welcome even if she didn't take any classes there; there are students from private schools, other home schoolers, a K-8 school, etc. Practice runs from 3:50 to 5:00 with a run to somewhere else to warm up (a different school, a park), group stretches, a longer run ending up back at school, more stretches. There are 6-8 meets during the season (ending next week), and the races are usually 3K meters (high school races are 5K). There are very fast runners, slower runners, runners who do other sports, etc. All are welcome and it's a pretty popular program--almost 100 runners this year! She's enjoyed it and will probably keep doing an informal running program with the same leaders through a running club over the winter. She's really looking forward to track in the spring. High school XC is more intense. Training runs are longer and in the hills and races are 5Ks. Fastest boys are in the 16-17 min range and girls in the 18-19 min range. Pretty amazing to watch. I would love something like this, however in NY homeschooled kids generally are not permitted to participate in school activities. You're lucky! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mbelle Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 We did xcountry for the first time this year with a homeschool team. We met one time per week for a 2 hour team workout/run. There was another optional team run another day of the week. Everyone was expected to run on their own the other days. There were races on Saturdays and if no race there was training. It was really a very fun experience that we plan to repeat next fall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 Sorry. But we tried to "do sports" on our own by just being active but it just didn't work. And as much as we feel sometimes wr all wish we had a more free afternoons it's better than being bored. As my son hit puberty his mood swings are VERY improved by his sport. His sleep is better and he fidgets less or not at all. We have Fridays free and then no swimming Saturday and Sunday ans by Sunday afternoon he is fidgeting, cracking his knuckles, constantly moving in whatever seat he is in etc. It's because he got no major exercise for 3 days. It even makes school on Monday challenging with the fidgets. By Tuesday after that hour long workout Monday afternoon and a good nights sleep he is so calm and still. If he is tired of x country that's fine, but I personally recommend finding another sport. :) I myself quit x country and found my niche in swimming. It has a lot of the same good things about x country but the water is so refreshing.., Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEmama Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 My DS runs XC at the middle school, and runs distance in tracking summer (plus lots of other sports). The middle school trains 3x a week and has races once a week, and the kids are encouraged to run at least once on the weekend. Races are 3k (5k in high school), and they vary their training with anything from short sprints to 3k ++. He also runs in the Jr Olympic development program, and races in various 5ks. He's running his first 10k this weekend--the forecast calls for cold rain or snow, which he insists will make it even more fun. :) Winter training is tough. He plays hockey, and will be competing on a local private school Nordic ski team. People do run here year round, even in the snow and ice, but I'm guessing he will turn his attention to his other sports at the end of November. I love his enthusiasm for running, but I am glad he rounds it out with sports that use other muscles and promote various muscle development. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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