As a reminder, get your senior designed shirt today! We will only be selling the shirts a little longer, and we would love to see everyone on the team with these shirts on meet days! Follow the link below!
Another incredible week of training is in the books, and we just keep stacking good week after good week! We are now just two weeks from the official start of the season, so if you are in town, we would love to see you at practice each day if you can make it!
We will again offer practice Monday-Friday at City Park near the Thatcher Statue at 8:00 a.m., and on Saturday, we will meet at 7:00 a.m. in the East student lot to head down to the Highline Canal Trail for a progression long run. (This will be like a workout, so having teammates to run with will be extremely beneficial!)
Ferritin Testing: Here’s your weekly reminder to get your ferritin levels checked at your doctor or at a lab site such as Ulta Labs. Talk to your coaches if your levels are below 50!
Training Schedule:
(Level 1: First year of high school running, Level 2: 2nd year of high school running, Level 3: Third year of high school running. Level 4: 4th year of high school running).
Monday: 15-20 minute warmup.
Level 2-4 10×40 second hills w/ jog back R in 1:40 Level 1: 8-10×40 second hills w/ jog back R in 1:40
Pace: Start at 10k effort, then try to make it a little farther up the hill each time.
Cooldown: 10-15 for levels 3-4. 5-10 for levels 1-2.
Level 4: 20-25 min split Threshold: 4-5x 5 on w/ 2 min jog + 4×30 on/1 off (55 total) Level 3: 20 min split Threshold: 4x 5 on w/ 2 min jog + 4×30 on/1 off (45-50 total) Level 2: 3-4x 5 on, 2 min jog + 4×30 on/1 off (40-45 total) Level 1: 2-3x 5 on, 2 jog. + 4×30 on/1 off (35ish total).
Cooldown back to City Park.
Strength Training
Friday: Manuel Route “Jumpies”
4-8x 10 second hill sprints.
Level 4: 40-45 mins Level 3: 35-40 mins Level 2: 30-35 mins Level 1: 25-30 mins
Saturday: Long run at Highline Canal
Level 4: 90 minute progression long run (45 easy, 30 medium, 15 extra medium). Stay controlled! Level 3: 80 minute progression long run (40 easy, 25 medium, 15 extra medium). Level 2: 70 minute progression long run (35 easy, 25 medium, 10 extra medium). Level 1: 60 minute long run with possible progression. (30 easy, 20 medium, 10 extra medium).
(OR if you aren’t at these max levels yet, +5 minutes of your longest run of the summer with a progression in the second half).
Sunday: Level 4: Off day or 30 minutes easy. Level 3: Off Level 2: Off Level 1: Off
Go Angels!
(Below: Angel runners last week learning mental skills from former professional runner, Katie Follett!)
On Saturday, we will meet in the East student lot at 7:30 a.m. to drive down to the Highline Canal Trail for our weekly long run. The long run is one of the most important runs of the weekthis time of year, so we’d love to see as many athletes as possible there this weekend! Our biggest showing so far this summer for the long run has been 11 athletes… can we get to at least 20 this weekend?! I think we can! We’ll have snacks! If you’re struggling to find a ride, reach out to teammates and coaches!
The address for the Highline Canal entry point we’ll be parking at is 4101 S Dahlia St, Cherry Hills Village, CO 80113.
Ferritin Test Reminder: If you haven’t had your ferritin levels tested already, this is a very important thing to do! You can ask your doctor to test your ferritin at your physical this summer, or you can get it tested at other sites like Ulta Labs (which has multiple fast and convenient locations). Distance runners in Colorado often need ferritin levels over 50 to run and feel their best. Talk to your coaches about next steps if you’ve tested low for ferritin! We’ve had many kids test low over the years, but many who have been able to get their numbers up with proper supplementation.
We’ve had an AMAZING week of training so far! Let’s keep it going!
We will once again offer practice Monday through Saturday this week, with Monday-Friday in City Park and Saturday at a sight to be determined. We only have three weeks till official practices begin, so if you haven’t been attending practice, we highly encourage you to start doing so!
Thursday, we will be joined by former professional distance runner Katie Follett (formerly Katie Mackey), who will be talking about the mental performance coaching services she offers! Katie was a standout athlete at both the collegiate and professional level, and we are so excited to have her! Here are a few of her personal bests:
800m 2:01.2 (Portland 2015)
1500m 4:03.8 (Prefontaine DL 2015)
Mile 4:23 (5th Ave Mile 2016)
3000m 8:43.1 (NYRR Millrose 2018)
5000m 15:04.7 (Payton Jordan 2014)
Training Plan This Week: (Level 1 = 1st year of high school running, Level 2 = 2nd year of high school running, Level 3= 3rd year of high school running, Level 4 = 4th year of high school running). (This will also be based off training experience and injury history).
Monday: (Mile High Loop)
10-15 minute warmup (Regroup on jog) Level 4: 6x 3:30 @ Threshold with 75 second jog. 3 mins rest, 6×20 seconds on w/ 60 second recovery jog. (50-55 mins total) Level 3: 4-5x 3:30 @ threshold, 75 second jog. 3 mins rest. 6×20 seconds on w/ 60 second recovery jog. (45-50 mins total) Level 2: 3-5x 3:30 @ threshold, 75 second jog. 3 mins rest. 5×20 seconds on w/ 60 second recovery jog. (40 mins total) Level 1: 3-4x 3:30 @ threshold, 75 second jog. 3 mins rest. 4-5×20 seconds on w/ 60 second recovery jog. (30-35 mins total)
5-10 min cooldown.
Strength Training
Tuesday: (Towards Manuel: 23rd to High to 26th?) “Jumpies” 4-8x 10 second hill sprints.
Wednesday: (Towards Cheesman) (Bring Spikes) Level 4: 55 mins + 5 x 25 second strides (in spikes) Level 3: 45-50 + 5×25 second strides (in spikes) Level 2: 40-45 + 5×25 second strides (in spikes) Level 1: 30-35 + 5×25 second strides (in spikes)
Thursday: Katie Follett Talk
(Mile High Loop)
10-15 minute warmup (Regroup on jog) Level 4: 10-7-3 (Sub threshold, threshold, to 10k effort) w/ 2 min Recovery jog (8 min walk) 4×30 on/90 walk (55 total)
Level 3: 10-7-(optional 3) (Sub threshold, threshold, to 10k effort) w/ 2 min Recovery jog (8 min walk) 4×30 on (1600/800 effort)/(90 walk (45-50 total)
Level 2: 10-5- (optional 3) (Sub threshold, threshold, to 10k effort) w/ 2 min Recovery jog (8 min walk) 4×30 (1600/800 effort) on/90 walk (35-45 total)
Level 1: 10- (optional 5). (Sub threshold to threshold effort) w/ 2 min Recovery jog (8 min walk) 4×30 on (1600/800 effort) /90 walk (30-35 total)
5-10 minute cooldown + Strength Training
Friday: (17th Ave)
“Jumpies”
Level 4: 45 mins + 7-8 barefoot strides Level 3: 35-40 mins + 7-8 barefoot strides Level 2: 30-35 mins + 7-8 barefoot strides Level 1: 25-30 mins + 6 barefoot strides
Saturday: Long Run
Level 4: 85 + 4 20 second strides (or +5 of longest run of the summer) Level 3: 70-75+ 4×20 second strides (or +5 of longest run of the summer) Level 2: 60-70 + 4×20 second strides (or +5 of longest run of the summer) Level 1: 45-60 + 4×20 second strides (or +5 of longest run of the summer)
Sunday: Level 4: Off day or 20-30 minutes easy. Level 3: Off Level 2: Off Level 1: Off
Please upload your photos from our 2025 Cross Country Season to our Memento Account. The link is here: Cross Country Photos 2025
We have plenty of highlights from camp already posted.
Trivia Time: Who is the American record holder for the women’s mile? When was the record set and at what meet? What time did she run? Prize at Monday practice for whoever shares the correct answer first.
Our creative seniors have designed a shirt for this season. Please order yours now, but no later than July 31, to make sure we have them for the start of the season.
We will meet at 8 a.m. in our normal spot near the Thatcher Fountain in City Park on Saturday, July 19th.
Those coming back from camp will run a slightly longer maintenance run with a possible progression, depending on how they are feeling. Those who were not at camp will run their longest run of the summer (+5 minutes of your longest run of the summer unless you’ve already reached your max for the summer).
We had 11 kids at Saturday practice last week, and we would love to see that number go up this week! We had an amazing week at camp! Let’s keep that momentum going! We believe in you!
For those NOT going to camp, here is the workout schedule for the week. Grab a teammate and go running together! We will meet back together on Friday morning at 8 a.m. in our regular spot.
8-10x 40 second hills. Start at 10k/5k effort. Try to make it a little farther up the hill each rep. Jog down recovery in about 1:45.
5-10 minute cooldown.
Strength Training
Friday:
Level 3/4: 35-40 Level 2: 30-35 Level 1: 20-30
4x speed zones (7 second buildup, 7 second sprint, 7 second deceleration).
Saturday:
Camp runners: Let’s see how you feel and decide from there what Saturday looks like.
Non camp runners: +5 minutes of your longest run of the summer. (Level 1: No more than 60, Level 2, no more than 70, Level 3, no more than 80, Level 4, no more than 90). (You do not have to go the max! Just 5 minutes more than your longest of the summer).
We will meet in the East student lot at 7:30 a.m. to drive down to deKoevend Park (the site of our second meet of the season), to run our long run on the Highline Canal Trail. Come enjoy this beautiful soft surface trail and get in your longest run of the summer! We encourage anyone who can make it to attend!
Run 5-10 minutes longer than your longest run of the summer tomorrow with four strides afterwards. For those nearing their peak mileage, here are the max distances for each experience level: Level 1: No more than 60, Level 2: No more than 70, Level 3: No more than 80. Level 4: No more than 90. (If you are nowhere near these distances yet, that’s ok! Let’s keep building gradually throughout the summer).
Denver East High XC 