by Larry Eder
Ben True (Orange) and Galen Rupp (black) are both tough cross country runners. It has helped their track racing immensely! photo by PhotoRun.net
Summer training is about a lot of things. Think of each mile as a piece of pasta. Each mile that you run adds up and by the end of the summer, running 300, 400 or 500 miles, you would have a lot of pasta and a lot of mile built up.
To race well in the fall, you need to put the miles in the summer. It took me two years in high school to figure it out. The summer I trained well, I broke my mile best and took a minute off my two mile best.
Strideouts are important. They keep you flexible and fast. And they are fun to do.
Week 4: Training Gets Rolling
This week, runners taking the 500 Mile and 400 Mile challenges begin running daily. Advanced athletes should add a 20-25-minute session (3 miles) of easy running on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Do these runs at the opposite time of day that you do your hard workout.
Week Four, Day Five, July 10, 2015, Friday: Warm up; 5-mile run (400 Mile: 4 miles/300 Mile: 3 miles); 3×150 yds relaxed strideouts on grass, jogging back to the start after each, no rest in between; cool down.
Want to know why Jenny Simpson is such a great miler? She built up through cross country and track in high school. In 2014, Jenny ran the Cinque Milini XC race in Italy. It goes through houses (seriously) and is one of the most famous races in the world! photo by PhotoRun.net
Week 4: Training Gets Rolling
This week, runners taking the 500 Mile and 400 Mile challenges begin running daily. Advanced athletes should add a 20-25-minute session (3 miles) of easy running on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Do these runs at the opposite time of day that you do your hard workout.
Monday: Warm up; 5-mile run (400 Mile: 4 miles/300 Mile: 3 miles); 3×150 yds relaxed strideouts on grass, jogging back to the start after each, no rest between; cool down.
Tuesday: 1-mile warmup; 20-min tempo run, 1-mile cool-down. To determine your tempo run pace, add a half-minute to your present mile pace for a 5K. For example: If you currently run 19 min for a 5K, that’s 6:10 pace. Add 30 seconds to get your tempo run pace of 6:40 per mile. Recalculate your pace as your fitness improves, about once a month.
Wednesday: Warm up; 5-mile run (400 Mile: 3 miles/300 Mile: 3 miles); 3×150 yds relaxed strideouts on grass, jogging back to the start after each, no rest in between; cool down.
Thursday: 1-mile warmup; 4 hill repeats (run 200 yds uphill, turn, jog downhill to start; repeat 3 times, no rests); 1-mile cool-down.
Friday: Warm up; 5-mile run (400 Mile: 4 miles/300 Mile: 3 miles); 3×150 yds relaxed strideouts on grass, jogging back to the start after each, no rest in between; cool down.
Saturday: Easy 3-mile run or walk. (400 Mile: 2 miles/300 Mile: off)
Sunday: Easy 8-mile run on grass or dirt with friends. (400 Mile: 7 miles/300 Mile: 6 miles)
Week 4 Total: 500 Mile-35 miles; 400 Mile-30 miles; 300 Mile-21 miles
Mo. 1 Total: 500 Mile-134 miles; 400 Mile-108 miles; 300 Mile-90 miles
And here is our earlier three weeks of training suggestions:
Anna Rohrer, FootLocker 2014, photo by PhotoRun.net
Before You Begin:
1. Get your gear in order.
If possible, you should have two pairs of good training shoes so you can rotate them. Most training shoes last for 8-10 weeks, depending on your training. Take your time at your local running store when selecting shoes and remember to go at the end of the day as your feet swell during the day. Bring a clean pair of socks and be prepared to check out 5-7 different shoes to find the right one for you. Assess your stash of socks, shorts, tops.
2. Hydrate yourself.
Eight to 10 glasses of water a day plus sports drinks and juice are a good start. Minimize the amount of coffee, tea, and carbonated soda you drink.
3. Fuel your engine with the right food.
Get the proper amounts and types of food into your system. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, pasta, and modest amounts of fish, chicken, and beef make sense. For snacks, try apple slices spread with peanut butter. Nuts are also good. Pizza, tacos, and fast food places are fine as infrequent treats.
4. Sleep!
I know that at 17 or 18 you can text all night or check out the newest game on Xbox, but it will affect your training. Get 8-10 hours of sleep and, if you can, try for a nap (yes, a nap) on a few afternoons.
5. Establish your training group.
Though some people prefer to train alone, a group helps with the hard days and long runs. Figure out what works for you and your training style.
6. Inspiration.
Find some good books that support your running goals. Some classics include Once a Runner, The Irishman Who Ran for Britain, The Lonely Breed, A Cold, Clear Day, and Self-Made Olympian. Music can also be a great motivator. Find great additions to your playlist by talking to your friends and searching online, plus we’ll post the Shoe Addicts’ running music lists. We don’t recommend running with earbuds or headphones, however, since they compromise your awareness and possibly your safety. They can also mess with your ability to “tune into” the pace you’re running, which is essential come race time.
7. Set your goals.
Do you want to make the top 7? Improve your times at your league and section meets? Race better over the second half of the course? Think about these things now, write them down and prop them in your room where you can read them each day. It will help you stay on track.
8. Calculate your workout amounts.
To run 300 miles over 12 weeks, for example, you’ll need to average 25 miles a week, which is very good for freshmen and sophomores. To reach 400 miles over the summer, you need to average 34 miles a week, and to reach 500 miles, it takes a weekly average of 40 miles. The default numbers noted in the daily workouts (miles, reps, minutes) are for those accepting the 500 Mile Challenge. Numbers for those in the 400 Mile and 300 Mile Challenges appear in parentheses that follow. If there’s only one number/amount, it’s for all runners.
9. Questions?
Email us at runblogrun@gmail.com or tweet us @runblogrun and we’ll get back to you within 24 hours.
Here is a rehash of our first two weeks:
Weeks 1&2: Summer Training Begins
You’ll start on the road to a good summer of training with a long run, a tempo run, and some moderately paced runs. Don’t worry about pace in these first two weeks; just get out there, have some fun, and get into the habit of regular running. Workouts always begin with a warmup, some gentle stretching of major muscle groups, and light jogging. Repeat for your cool-down.
Monday: Warm up; 5 miles easy running (400 Mile: 4 miles/300 Mile: 3 miles); cool down.
Tuesday: 1-mile warmup; 20-min tempo run; 1-mile cool-down. To determine your tempo run pace, add a half-minute to your present mile pace for a 5K. For example: If you currently run 19 min for a 5K, that’s 6:10 pace. Add 30 seconds to get your tempo run pace of 6:40 per mile. Recalculate your pace as your fitness improves, about once a month.
Wednesday: Warm up; 5 miles easy running (400 Mile: 3 miles/300 Mile: 3 miles); cool down.
Thursday: 1-mile warmup; 2 hill repeats (run 200 yds uphill, turn, jog downhill to start; repeat once with no rest); 1-mile easy cool-down.
Friday: Warm up; 5 miles easy ru
nning (400 Mile: 4 miles/300 Mile: 3 miles); cool down.
Saturday: No workout. Walk, bike, watch a movie.
Sunday: Easy 6-mile run on grass or dirt with friends. (400 Mile: 5 miles/300 Mile: 5 miles)
Weeks 1&2 Totals per week (total): 500 Mile-31 (62) miles; 400 Mile-24 (48) miles; 300 Mile-22 (44) miles
FootLocker 2014, photo by PhotoRun.net
Week 3: Getting the Habit Started
Make sure you’re doing your runs on a variety of surfaces–dirt, grassy fields, sand, road, track. It’s good for the feet and helps you use your feet in a healthy variety of ways. You’ll be a little sore this week as your body adjusts. Drink your liquids, sleep, eat well, and hang out with your friends.
Monday: Warm up; 5 miles easy running (400 Mile: 4 miles/300 Mile: 3 miles); 2×150 yds relaxed strideouts on grass, jogging back to the start after each, no rest in between; cool down.
Tuesday: 1-mile warm-up; 20-min tempo run; 1-mile cool-down. To determine your tempo run pace, add a half-minute to your present mile pace for a 5K. For example: If you currently run 19 min for a 5K, that’s 6:10 pace. Add 30 seconds to get your tempo run pace of 6:40 per mile. Recalculate your pace as your fitness improves, about once a month.
Wednesday: Warm up; 5 miles easy running (400 Mile: 3 miles/300 Mile: 3 miles); 2×150 yds relaxed strideouts on grass, jogging back to the start after each, no rest in between; cool-down.
Thursday: 1-mile warmup; 3 hill repeats (run 200 yds uphill, turn, jog downhill to start; repeat twice more, no rests); 1-mile easy cool-down.
Friday: Warm up; 5 miles easy running (400 Mile: 4 miles/300 Mile: 3 miles); 2×150 yds relaxed strideouts on grass, jogging back to the start after each, no rest between; cool down.
Saturday: No workout. Walk, bike, watch a movie.
Sunday: Easy 7-mile run on grass or dirt with friends. (400 Mile: 6 miles/300 Mile: 5 miles)
Week 3 Total: 500 Mile-37 miles; 400 Mile-30 miles; 300 Mile-25 miles
