Cross country team picking up the pace

Senior runner Matt Dettloff (left) leads a pack of cross country runners during a warm-up run at the Panther Trail near the campus pond on Tuesday. (Jordan Boner | The Daily Eastern News)

One might think a team will slow down its training regimen during an off week, but not the Eastern cross country team.

The Panthers are coming off back-to-back meet weeks with the Panther Open on Sept. 10 and the Illinois Intercollegiate at Illinois State on Sept. 17.

The team is looking to sharpen its skills in preparation for Friday's Notre Dame Invite in South Bend, Ind.

"Usually in the off weeks, we hit it pretty hard," red-shirt sophomore Nick Brehm said.

"But we had a pretty tough workout on Tuesday and then came back on Friday and got a nice, long tempo workout in."

Brehm said the week off gave the team a chance to mentally recover, besides working hard to improve.

"You know you have another week until the next race," Brehm said.

Brehm said off week practices are actually more difficult than meet week practices.

"Usually on a meet week, you will do a work out, but it won't be as hard," Brehm said. "But the week before, you're kind of just trying to put in a tough workout to get stronger."

Brehm said the difference between off week and meet week practices is that during off weeks you are focused on the workout more, while during meet weeks you are also looking toward the meet.

Brehm said he definitely gets more out of the off week practices than the meet week practices.

Freshman Casey Harms said meet weeks usually only include one workout, while off weeks offer two instead.

"We'll probably have two workouts a week, just to make up for that meet not being there," Harms said. "That week we'd get a hard run in, just to sort of simulate that fast paced motion that we would get in the race."

Harms said head coach Erin Howarth is conscious of the runners bodies in that she doesn't want to overwork them.

"With us not having a meet a lot of us want to run hard so we don't lose anything," Harms said. "So our coach does a very good job of keeping track of us and injuries and all that stuff."

Friday, the Panthers travel to South Bend, Ind. for the Notre Dame Invite.

Dominic Renzetti can be reached at 581-7944 or dcrenzetti@eiu.edu.