Staying up till the wee hours of the morning, procrastinating and having free time are all concepts that college students take for granted. But for the members of the Penn State women's cross country team, these ideas maybe as abstract as Picasso's "Femme a la Fleur."

"I can't stay up studying, I can't do an all-nighter, and I can't wait till the last minute," sophomore Sonja Hinish said. "It will show up in my training and hurt my [performance in] races."

The members of the team follow a vigorous daily schedule, entailing three to three-and-a-half hours of practices, six days a week, with no offseason. In addition, the runners must exercise self-control and strong discipline in every decision they make, including their diets, sleep patterns and social lives.

While the coaching staff does not mandate any specifics, they highly encourage and recommend a pattern that consists of eight to nine hours of consistent sleep each night.

"It is important for rest and recovery," Penn State women's cross country coach Beth Alford-Sullivan said. The coach added that diet is just as important as rest. While there are no regimented diets, the team's sport nutritionist offers individual counseling and healthy eating tips.

Junior Shannon Van Dyke said she focuses on eating small amounts during the day.

"I try to eat a little something every hour, no big meals," Van Dyke said. "I try to take fruit or yogurt to class."

Said Hinish: "On workout days, I eat a lot and on time. No greasy or Mexican before a meet."

Hinish also said she tries to eat healthy near competition days or when she has a long day ahead of her.

"[On the day of the meet] I get up four hours before I run, I eat, and then go back to bed," Hinish said. She takes care of her health and stays away from people who are coughing or showing signs of sickness.

"If I start feeling bad, I pay attention and tell the coach and trainer right away -- they take care of it," Hinish said.

An average day for Hinish begins when she wakes up at 8 a.m. Twice a week she and teammate sophomore Nicki Bohnsack go for a 10- to 20-minute morning run.

"It loosens me up," Hinish said.

Hinish attends class until 2:15 p.m., and, if she's lucky, she gets a short nap before practice. The team's practices consist of runs or workouts, followed by lifting in the weight room, body circuits, stretching and icing.

The ladies come home by 6:30 or 7 p.m. -- just in time to refuel with dinner and then hit the books.

Being student athletes, the team has to make arrangements for when they travel to away meets and miss class.

"For the most part, [the professors] are cooperative," Hinish said.

"Professors are understanding about it," junior Shannon Van Dyke said. "The animal science professors go out of their way to help you."

Van Dyke, an animal bioscience major, tries to do an hour or two of work every night but makes it a point to get eight to 10 hours of sleep.

"I go to bed at midnight at the latest, even if I'm not done with my work," Van Dyke said. "I hear people complain about how they don't have any time, but I don't say anything, I just grin."

All the members of the team are accustomed to these schedules because, as athletes in high school, they followed a similar pattern of school, practice, dinner and homework.

"[This] helps keep me on schedule," Van Dyke said.

Hinish said she also tries to get as much work done as she can, but sleeping is vital to her success as a runner. Like Van Dyke, she has a tough course load to manage in her architectural engineering major, but, nonetheless, the ladies know how to relax and make the most of their downtime.

"The night before a meet, we go out to eat together, watch a movie and just chill for the night," Hinish said.

Before home meets, the runners have team dinners, such as pasta parties, at a teammate's house.

"[The team] is pressed to not have a social life," Alford-Sullivan said. "They are encouraged to make intelligent decisions."

Friday night is generally downtime for the runners because they have competitions on Saturdays. They meet for dinners and watch movies before calling it a night. "Saturday after our meets, we go to the football games if our schedules permit," Van Dyke said. "Saturday nights we are usually very exhausted because we've been up since 7 a.m."

Although they have other friends, members of the cross country team tend to make friends with athletes.

"My best friends are athletes -- my teammates, they're the people I hang out with, eat with, shop with," Hinish said. "We spend a lot of time together, and we're really close."

The members of the team are not dissatisfied by their unique lifestyles -- they don't party, drink or even stay up late. The team members have devoted their lives to running and are content with the decision.

"I chose to do it, this is what I want," Van Dyke said. "I wouldn't change it for the world."