how would start training for a 3km -4km cross country run?
828702
Do an internet search for "Couch Potato to 5K plan" I did this and it helped a lot.  Some people say it's bad because you start off by alternating a lot between running and walking, apparently that can make building endurance harder.  I on the other hand went from being able to run about 15 feet before I wanted to die, to almost 2 miles (and I'm improving everyday).  Good Luck.
274707
Begin with an 800 meter jog to get warm...follow this with some streching for about 20 minutes....then do some barefooted sprints in the grass(this will condition muscles in the foot that are not normaly used when wearing shoes)by running 100 meters then walking back...do this at about 7/8 speed and concentrate on your length of stride...about 10 should do....Next go to the bleachers and do 15 minutes of bleacher hops/runs...alternate between hopping and running the bleachers....for a cool down go do some block work....practice perfecting your reaction time in the blocks...work on control, height, and stride....Next finish with a series of run/walk 600s....about 4 should do nicely....it is always best to train slightly above your race distance...cool down by walking long stride a half mile////weight training is a seprate issue and should be done  about 6 hours appart from running workout....last....take a shower...you probably stink
834939
run slowly for half a mile to warm up,rest awhile, then find an incline about 100 to 150 yards, run up it as fast as you can,stay close to 75% of effort,walk down,take time to recover,then repeat at least 6 more times, take one day off then run the living daylights out the next time  you train.
654280
work up to it slowly.  You need at least 13 weeks to train for a half. \n\nYou'll start by running 3-4 days a week.  One long run, and 2-3 shorter runs.  Cross train with swimming and biking to build up endurance.\n\nHeres some links to sample training schedules for beginners.\n\nhttp://www.stlouismarathon.com/event_details/TG_Half_Marathon_NOV.asp\nhttp://www.fleetfeetstl.com/LC/halfmarathontraining.pdf
638693
That's a dangerous proposition without knowing anything about you, your age, your current fitness, experience, If you've ever run any race before, etc.\n\nTackling a 1/2 marathon may be a bit foolhardy. You may want to consider a 5K or 10K first and train up to those. Try to contact some runners clubs in your area if they exist, some may work with you to create a specialized plan for you to get to the level you want.\n\nIn the meantime, start with this site and observe what they have to say. There's some great explanations and they gear the info to Novice, Intermediate and Advanced runners.
699996
Well ... if you've been running for 6 months now, you probably know that there is no "average" pace for different types of runners. Personally I would be very unhappy with anything over 30 minutes, but I know some people who run frequently and would still be pleased to come in under 40.\n\nSo here's how to set your goal. First you have to figure out with some degree of accuracy what sort of shape you are in. While I suppose you could just go out and run your 5 miles hard, look at that time, and try to improve .... but it's hardly the only way to do so. You may know your mile time, or you may not but it's easy to find (eg. stopwatch+track). So if you now know how fast you can run a mile, running 5 miles can be roughly predicted from that time. If your mile is 6:00 minutes, expect around 6:50 pace for the 5. If you run a 7:00 miles, 8:00 would be about it. If you ran an 8 minute mile, expect around 9:10. Clearly there is room above, below, and between those times, so feel free to check out the link at the bottom.\n\nThen comes the fun part. Be honest with yourself here, or you'll find your goals are extremely disproportionate to what you can/can't do. Are you a sprinter? Are you truly a marathoner at heart? Is 5 miles the *perfect* distance for you? Or could the mile have been your true event, so the predicted time is far too fast? If you are better at the really short events, you can expect to see your 5 mile time drop of considerably .... many 200m runners would have loads of trouble in a 5mi race. Milers will see their times drop off considerably as well (a few seconds more than the given amount). For people who are best suited to a 5mi run, those estimates might be a bit too conservative. etc etc etc ...\n\n*note* I'm referring to what distance your body is most suited to running, not what you enjoy running most.\n\nThen, you have your immediate goal for what you can run at this very moment. If you're looking for a goal as you move forward with your training, it all comes down to how aggressive you want to be. Take some time off, and work away!\n\nGood luck mate, here's to good times!
201818
The best way to train for a 5k is going to be lots of running.  I'm assuming you can already jog 3 miles without stopping.  So, here's the type of schedule I'd use (fit to your own needs/schedule):\n\nWeek #: Sun  Mon  Tue  Wed  Thu  Fri  Sat\nWeek 1: 3.00 R 2.00 R 2.00 R 1.00\nWeek 2: 3.50 R 2.00 R 2.00 R 1.00\nWeek 3: 3.75 R 1.50 R 2.00 R 1.00\nWeek 4: 3.25 R 2.00 R 2.00 R 1.00\nWeek 5: 4.00 R 1.50 R 2.00 R 1.00\nWeek 6: 3.00 R 1.50 R 1.50 R 5K\n\nThe numbers are the distance in miles, and the 'R' stands for a rest day (no running).  Don't be afraid to change the long-run days around, as long as you make sure the next day is a rest day.  The above schedule is a little guesswork on my part, since I typically prepare for things months in advance, not weeks.  All the above training should be done at conversational pace (you could easily talk with someone who was running with you).\n\nI wish you the best of luck at your 5k.
1050773
The above posts are pretty much right, but don't get into any mileage too quickly.  Ideally, you'll want to start out at slightly less than the most miles/ week you've ever done, and not increase by more than 20% per week.  Also take a low week once ever three or four.  \n\nI posted the following for someone else who asked the same question:\n\nVery gradual mileage build up over time. Each summer top out at more weekly mileage than you did the previous summer. Ideally in HS you'll be running around 5 days per week. Make sure of course that you're having fun while doing it, and don't worry too much about how fast you're doing it, and of course avoid doing it all at full speed. These runs should all be at conversational paces, a pace that you feel you could do an extra mile or two of without having any difficulty. As long as the volume is there, you'll get a lot more out of workouts once the season starts than people who did less training over the summer.\n\nOther suggestions I'd have would be to make sure that you get into this training very gradually, starting as infrequently as once every three days, with bike rides, or something else fun and active to fill in the gaps, and to get you some additional aerobic conditioning. Once you're fully in the swing of things, I'd avoid doing many runs shorter than your goal race distance (this is reasonable for XC, not reasonable later in life when you're training for marathons).\n\nMake sure you also have good shoes for this training. Nothing spoils a summer of hard work like a stress fracture from old shoes. On top of that, get any injuries fixed asap, rather than letting them drag out.\n\nLastly, from personal experience, I've raced best when I've been very confident that I was prepared to race well, rather than being really fired up for it. If you put in the time over the summer, you'll be able to step up to the starting line calm, cool and collected, because you know that this is the easy part, the hard part is behind you. Sorry if this was long winded, distance running is sort of my passion.
175774
train! train! train! you would probaly want to join a team. run mon wed fri sat sun doing 6-10 miles and do sprints the other days for about 3 hours. it takes a lot of work. try a marathon.
682626
First off, run 2 miles instead, if your going for a time trial, it will be much better mentally to already know you can run further then that when the time comes.  Run the set distance at a comfortable pace for a few days, then time yourself, and try to beat your time every day by speeding up your pace throughout the run.  A good time for running a mile is 6 minutes, if you can do ur mile and a half in under 10 your in pretty good shape.  Just keep your training slow and easy, go everyday or every other day. The hardest thing to do after day 2 is gonna be to go out on day three, so push yourself everyday.
506927
How soon do you have/want to be in shape to run the miles? if you have a month or so, you can start out by running 1/4 mile 4 days per week on the first week and increase by 1/4 mile (to 1/2 mile) the following week. Continue to increase by 1/4 mile each week until you get to 2 miles.\n\n1.Remember to go slow in the beginning. If you try to go fast you will get tired fast, and easily discouraged if you can't go the full distance.\n2. Push yourself. Half of distance-running is "mental" if you think you can, YOU CAN!\n3. While trying to complete the distance, don't stop running, you can slow down, but don't walk. If you get weak, dizzy or nauseated you should stop, though.\n4. When you feel like you can't go even one more step, look at your watch and go for only 1 more minute. you'll be able to do it, knowing you have only 60 more seconds.\n5. If possible, take your music with you and listen to motivating music. I personally prefer hard rock like Ozzy and Metallica.\n\n6. Remember to HAVE FUN!! try not to get discouraged and if you can't go the distance today, TRY AGAIN TOMORROW!! \nGood luck!! :)
846238
You should be able to train for one in 4 months go to www.runnersworld.com. They have a great program that designs to your pace also great tips on traing, nutrition and a lot more. The program is free and it ranges from the beginner to the Elite runner
1096764
You should start out walking, then add running intervals, and work towards running the whole time or distance.  A good beginner program that uses increasing running intervals is the couch to 5K program: http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml\n\nA book that you might like is The Courage to Start by John "The Penguin" Bingham.\n\nOh, and definitely buy good running shoes.  Go to a local running store (not a mall store like Foot Locker) and ask for help getting the right shoes for your feet.  If you don't have a local store, try http://www.roadrunnersports.com and use the "shoe dog."  Shoe dog will suggest shoes based on your answers about your foot type, weight, how much you run, etc.
1015862
yeah i did xc and track in school.  \n\nto do a marathon, you should be running 15 to 20 miles a week prior to attempting this training schedule. At a minimum, you should be able to run for at least 30 minutes without stopping. \n \n   \nBuilding Up  \n  \n  Steps:  \n1.   Week 1: Run 5 miles one day, 4 miles one day and 3 miles on the remaining days.  \n  \n2.   Week 2: Run 6 miles one day, 4 miles one day and 3 miles on the remaining days.  \n  \n3.   Week 3: Run 7 miles one day, 4 miles one day and 3 miles on the remaining days.  \n  \n4.   Week 4: Run 8 miles one day, 5 miles one day and 3 miles on the other days.  \n  \n5.   Week 5: Run 10 miles one day, 5 miles one day and 3 miles on the other days.  \n  \n  \nBuilding and Maintaining Stamina  \n  \n  Steps:  \n1.   Week 6: Run 11 miles one day, 5 miles one day and 4 miles on the other days.  \n  \n2.   Week 7: Run 12 miles one day, 6 miles one day and 4 miles on the other days.  \n  \n3.   Week 8: Run 14 miles one day, 6 miles one day and 4 miles on the other days.  \n  \n4.   Week 9: Run 16 miles one day, 7 miles one day and 4 miles on the other days.  \n  \n5.   Week 10: Run 16 miles one day, 8 miles one day and 5 miles on the other days.  \n  \n6.   Week 11: Do the same workout as week 10.  \n  \n7.   Week 12: Run 18 miles one day, 8 miles one day and 5 miles on the other days.  \n  \n8.   Week 13: Do the same workout as week 12.  \n  \n  \nTapering Off  \n  \n  Steps:  \n1.   Week 14: Run 9 miles one day, 8 miles one day and 5 miles on the other days.  \n  \n2.   Week 15: Run 8 miles one day, 5 miles one day and 3 miles on the other days.  \n  \n3.   Week 16: Jog 3 miles every other day. Then run the marathon.
825971
Do a walk/jog program and work from there. go to www.runnersworld.com they have a program called smart coach you can design a training program and lots of tips for the beginner to the elite runner...also nutrition
1176194
Not to throw cold water on your ambition, but there are a lot of high school runners who jog their warm-up at 8:00 per mile.\n\nThe good news is that you have all summer to get in better shape before you cross country practice starts in mid-August.\n\nYou should check with the team coach to see what he/she reccommends for a summer workout schedule.\n\nYou are going to have to race 3+ miles so you should start working on increasing your distance. Start out by running until you are tired, then rest by walking for about half the length of time that you ran. Then run again.\n\nWhen you get comfortable, lengthen the runs and shorten the walks.\n\nYou should also run shorter distances than the mile, but at a fastere pace.\n\nYou will probably be running over hills so you should find a hill and run up and down that about once a week.\n\nAs far as high school standards, top high school runners can run 5K in around 15:00 which is better than 5:00 perl mile.\nFor cross country, I would work up
935798
They will help but I would only do a few and make them quality as opposed to "doing a ton".\nIf you really want to bust out a good 400 time start training with hills. Do repeats of varying length and effort levels. \nYou also mention doing a 10 miler which in my opinion is not necessary for a quarter miler. You'll have good endurance but you could be far more efficient keeping your long run under 8 miles, doing 2-3 moderate to easy runs, and then hills and speed work.