Why not?

The earlier you start your base building the better. If you are not running spring track then you can by all means start training now. I would just do tons of easy running to get the mileage up. Do some striders at the end of your runs (twice-thrice a week or so) so your legs retain some speed. You can start phasing in formal speedwork when summer comes round. But if you start high-intensity stuff now you could peak too early and burn-out. Oh, and if you do start you base building now be sure you can keep it up until XC...don't slack off or your advantage in longer training period will not pay off.

Sorry, my server was down last night.

First of all, track will help build base for cross country. There is no law that says base building needs to be long slow distance (it's just the easiest, least stressful, way to build a base) Races are extremely good providers of training stimulus. So, if the reason you don't want to do track is primarily so that you can focus and prepare for cross country, then you should consider running track in the spring.

However, you said that you are kind of blue or in the dumps with regard to running. This could be solved by a season off. Or, it could be solved by a couple of weeks off. The best person to discuss your feelings with is your coach. Even if the person is not a distance specialist, he or she should have some empathy and understanding as to your situation. Explain your situation. Say that you are thinking about not doing track and give the reasons you gave us. It may hurt your team not having you for a couple of weeks while you rest, but it would hurt your team more to not have you for the whole season. Beside, wouldn't it be better for the team if you were able to race at 100% later in the season by sacraficing a few weeks in the begining for the sake of rest?

I know how you feel and I can guess how your coach feels. I have a boy (10th grade, 5th man in CC.) who doesn't want to run track because he is feeling pretty burned out. He went all the way to our section meet, jumped straight into basketball and is mired in a huge losing streak with that team. He is feeling low and down in the dumps. I feel low because he doesn't want to run and because I hate seeing my athletes bummed out. If anything, I wish that he would tell me exactly what he is thinking, so that, if needed, I could help him out with any anxieties that he is having.

Things go great when we communicate.


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He who conquers others is strong. He who conquers himself is mighty
- Lao Tzu

Okay, thanks everybody.

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"It eluded us then, but that's no matter. Tomorrow we will run faster...Stretch out our arms farther--And one fine morning......"
-F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

Please don't get mad at me for this, but if you are in HS, are you making sure that running is not your life? Aside from the wonderful, rational suggestions other made, may I add to it that taking Spring season off may help you keep balance in life? Take it from me, and DON'T make it your life, it will end up costing you dearly.

I hope this helps...Try and resolve why your junior cc season was not up to par. Learn from it and close the chapter. Look back on your running log..when were you feeling your best.. sleeping hours? eating? workouts miles etc. Find the answers. Did your coach do too many speed workouts and not replace any longs runs in the training? (That was my daughter's downfall and her teams for that matter) Remember you are just a kid, your coach is the one who should be able to monitor you and see what is working for you. But you have lost some confidence (It comes across that way) and that is a normal process.Now learn and grow from it. Take control of your running, write it all down... every mile.. every hour you sleep... your resting heart rate every am all of it. RUN FOR YOU ..Go do those 5Ks every month.. race again if that's what you want..but do it for yourself. If you don't feel like you could go through the dissapointment of maybe another sub-par season (track) you owe it to yourself to find out what is causing it and change it. I am preaching but I am very close to a young lady in your shoes and once YOU take control you will be a winner again on and off the course. DO IT FOR YOU! Good Luck!

Hey mhscc; I'm up here in Canada. I have 20 yrs of coaching experience with HS distance runners. Talk to your coach. Run a few races
just to see how you feel. You may like
cross country more than track that's fine.
Focus on what you like best. Just use track to get you ready for cross country. Don't put so much pressure on your self. Just go out- run and have some fun. You're not going to win every race- just be realistic about your goals. All the best to you. Cheers

My school didn't have winter track, neiter does my college. If you take time off the only advice I can give you from my past is to watch what you eat. During high school I used to take large portions of the winter off and I would gain large portions of weight. I gained 15 pounds my senior year and it took all track season to loose it. I'm going into my first college track season and I've been training through the winter and actually lost 2 pounds. My training pace is faster and I lift more weight on my weight lifting days. I don't think I would want to run winter track if my school had it, it sounds like an extra way to get burnt out to me. I usually feel beat after cross country and spring track, I couldn't imagine continuing running hard in a season such as winter track immediately after a season like cross country. I took a few weeks of then I went down to 25 a week after my cross country season, then went to 35, then 45, then 50-55 etc. Now I feel ready for track.