by Larry Eder
Since 2006, RunBlogRun has provided daily summer training for cross country. In fact, in our earlier life, as American Track & Field, we started daily training programs online in 1998. This is day 4, week 8 of the 2022 RunBlogRun Summer Cross Country Mileage Program.
Summer Mileage programs are as old as cross country. I remember getting a shirt in the summer of 1973, having run 250 miles for summer mileage at De Smet Jesuit High in Creve Couer, Missouri. Mr. Burns, our football/track and, most importantly, our art teacher, screened the shirts for $3!
My program in the summer of 1973 was pretty simple. I would run the one mile to St. Blaise Parking lot and run around there for 2-3 miles. Then, I would run home. It helped me deal with my sophomore year of cross country.
The summer of 1974 training was much different. I had run 12:06 for two miles in track, which was dead spanking last in the Varsity race. I went to Father Devlin, who we called Rocket Ray. Now, remember, I had moved to California from Missouri and hated it that first year. Everyone made fun of my accent, and I was running poorly.
Father Devlin ( I went to Bellarmine) said, “you need to run more.” So, I began in earnest. I started with two miles in the morning and then two miles in the evening. I built up to eight miles to Lake Vasona, would walk around the lake, and then run back another eight miles. I ran sixteen miles a day for eight weeks. I still have the sheets my Mom signed to show my coach.
In the fall, I was not finishing last. I was actually running with the pack and took tenth in JV cross country that year, which was pretty good for a guy who finished last for two straight years.
So, I was a devotee of summer mileage programs. How about you?
We are now in week 8, and we will begin early season training next week. If you have done our daily training, then good for you. You will be able to withstand the first few brutal weeks of training with the great unwashed, I mean those who did not run at all over the summer, and their numbers are legion.
Today’s workout for August 25, 2022, is a hill day.
Warm-up, 30-minute good run, and then, 8 times 250 to 300m hills, tough hills, charge them, and jog down, sucking in the air that you did not know was there, and repeat until you dislike me very much, then, thank God you are alive, jog an easy 15-20 minutes and cool down. Oh, and hydrate.
