Rising Senior's Summer Training Log

I ran all of last week’s miles on my school’s track. This week, I transitioned back to the roads for my easy runs. For this reason, I slowed my pace and cut out the hill sprints.

6/10/18 – 6/16/18

• Sunday

o Easy run of 4 mi (7:40/mi)

o Easy run of 4.6 mi (7:50/mi)

o I wanted to do a long run of about 9 mi that morning, but was forced to cut it short and do a second run that evening.

• Monday

o Easy run of 6.6 mi (7:51/mi)

• Tuesday

o 3200m warmup

o 6 x 800m

o Ladder rest (2:00 after 1st, 3:00 after 2nd, 4:00 after 3rd, 3:00 after 4th, 2:00 after 5th)

o 2:51, 2:52, 2:51, 2:52, 2:51, 2:50

• Wednesday

o Easy run of 6.2 mi over hilly roads (7:57/mi)

• Thursday

o 3200m warmup

o 4 x 400m hill

o Downhill recovery jog between reps

o 1:38, 1:36, 1:37, 1:37

o 6:00 rest

o 4 x 100m hill

o Downhill recovery walk between reps

o 0:19, 0:18, 0:18, 0:16

• Friday

o Easy run of 3.3 mi (7:38/mi)

o 6 wind sprints (100m with acceleration, sprint, and deceleration phases)

• Saturday

o Easy run of 6 mi (7:54/mi)

o 6 wind sprints (100m with acceleration, sprint, and deceleration phases)

Total: 39.7 mi

I’ve run 4:17 for 1600m and 15:02 for 5k, but you run your easy runs faster than I run mine. You might want to slow down, bud.

Would recommend varying your surface types - road, track, trails, etc. Variety is better for your body and mind. Sticking to the schedule you've outlined (or similar to it) will be drudgery if it's the same scene every day. And by all means, don't do everything on a track. You might plateau after a couple months as this training load is likely more than you've handled in the past so don't freak out. Assume you're running XC in the fall, yes? Error on the side of longer, slower runs early in the summer and use the Fall for faster, more tempo workout. Your 3200 goal time seems more accessible of those you listed. Finally, stretch a lot and take care of your body. Injury is a realistic possibility when you amp things up like this; might want swap one day with a swim or bike to hedge the stress on your body.

JerryRuns567 wrote:

I’ve run 4:17 for 1600m and 15:02 for 5k, but you run your easy runs faster than I run mine. You might want to slow down, bud.

How quickly do you run your easy runs? I've been going by feel, only looking down at my watch at the end of my run to see and subsequently record my pace. I don't want to plod, but you certainly have more experience (and better PRs) than I do, so I'll take your advice into account.

I live in the city, so the track is the only soft surface conveniently available to me. Yes, I will be running XC in the fall. Are you telling me 40 miles per week is too much? Friday is my designated rest day. I didn't take it this week because I substituted a shorter hill workout for my tempo run on Thursday.

Man, you can do this. I had similar PRs last year, just built up over the summer, and dropped minutes off my 5K time, and went on to smashing all of those goals of yours with much less leg speed (14 100m and 29 200m). Just train smart, build your mileage high enough, and you'll get there, except maybe the 5k goal by cross country, but by the end of track season I think you will be there. Consistency and SLEEP is key.

Good Luck!

OK, I'll bite. Are you a boy or a girl? Ultimately, the details of your training don't matter. If you're committed to improving (sounds like you are), just consistently run. Run 6 days per week including a longer'ish run and a tempo day. All others days are "ruffage" - miles you log to recover and to simply build endurance. The trick? Doing this week-after-week, month-after-month. There's an old saying, the "miles of trials and the trials of miles." Just keep at it and you'll see big improvements come October. Don't overthink it, just do it.

I go anywhere from 7:30-8:00 so similar to you. However, some of my peers are running 6:30-7:00 on easy days. I don't think it really matters as long as you are staying relaxed and the pace truly feels "easy".

Skeptical1111 wrote:

OK, I'll bite. Are you a boy or a girl?

Crucial info. Don't want to assume based on times.

These times in your life are crucial for development.

You can either go through the Pure Love route, or the Pure Hate route.

I don't need to elaborate on how we choose our routes, but I can confidently say that I went the Pure Hate route and became devilishly fast. The training and miles and beatdown attitude can be seen on my face, and I did this all alone.

After going through college, my peers have given me titles such as: "Legend, Crazy, That Guy." - Those are all true.

Remember though, going through the Pure Hate route, you will lose out on happy experiences. You won't need a team environment because all the work comes from your determination ALONE.

Also, once you finely tune your Pure Hate, you can reach into it and use it for bursts of speed. It is true that Pure Hate lasts for up to 800 meters. That is the duration: Less than 2 minutes. So if you're looking to go for longer distances, only use your Pure Hate when it really matters: When you want to win!

I'm trying to get into an MLS team and I have less than 2 years before real life and a professional career development other than soccer bites my ass.

Don't be weaksauce, OP.

Just wanted to say if you get your mile time down to 4:59 your 800m is probably only going to be around 2:14 at best unless your more talented with the shorter distances.

Skeptical1111 wrote:

OK, I'll bite. Are you a boy or a girl?

I'm a boy.

Pure Hate route seems good to me. I'm already training almost entirely alone. Our XC team consists of myself and three other guys, who I can't get to show up for practices.

Take a Deep Breath wrote:

Man, you can do this. I had similar PRs last year, just built up over the summer, and dropped minutes off my 5K time, and went on to smashing all of those goals of yours with much less leg speed (14 100m and 29 200m). Just train smart, build your mileage high enough, and you'll get there, except maybe the 5k goal by cross country, but by the end of track season I think you will be there. Consistency and SLEEP is key.

Good Luck!

Thank you for your encouragement. Truthfully, I'm not expecting anything better than 18:30 for 5K this fall. Sub-18 is my goal for a road 5K in the spring. I won't complain if I can run that distance that fast earlier, though.

6/17/18 – 6/23/18

This week, I attended a church camp on Lipscomb University’s campus. I didn’t have access to their track and knew going in that sleep deprivation would be unavoidable, so I cut out speed work and just ran easy miles when I felt like it. Now, however, I’ll be returning to the grind.

• Sunday

o Long run of 10.1 mi (8:30/mi)

• Monday

o Rest from running, lots of walking

• Tuesday

o Easy run of 5.9 mi (7:56/mi)

• Wednesday

o Progression run of 6 mi (First 4 at 7:58/mi, last 2 at 6:51/mi)

• Thursday

o Easy run of 4 mi (7:55/mi)

• Friday

o Rest from running, lots of walking

• Saturday

o Rest from running, core workout

6/24/18 – 6/30/18 (30.3 mi total)

• Sunday

o Failed long run of 2.1 mi (8:15/mi)

o I arrived home late, and attempted a long run soon thereafter. Darkness was falling and my stomach was growling due to

a lack of supper, so I returned home far earlier than I had originally planned to.

o Chest and core workout

• Monday

o A.M. Steady state run of 4 mi (6:59/mi)

o P.M. Easy run of 6.2 mi over hilly roads (8:00/mi)

• Tuesday

o Interval workout:

 1600m warmup

 6 x 400m (72, 72, 80, 80, 80, 80)

 2:00 rest between first 2 reps, 1:00 rest between last 4 reps

 1600m cooldown

• Wednesday

o Rest:

 Spent the day at Norris Lake with my family.

o Chest and core workout

• Thursday

o Local track meet:

 1600m warmup

 1 mi (5:20) and 800m (2:30)

 1600m cooldown

o I had only 10 minutes of rest between the mi and 800m. I went out in 70 seconds for the first lap of the 800m before

deciding I could not hold it and dropping back to mi pace for the second.

• Friday

o Rest:

 Visited Sewanee: The University of the South.

o Chest and core workout

• Saturday

o A.M. Easy run of 4.6 mi (7:37/mi)

o P.M. Easy run of 6.4 mi (8:01/mi)

This week was busier than I expected, and sadly, I did not find as much time to run as I wanted to.

stop racing and doing 400 repeats in the summer. just run for about 50 minutes most days, throw in some 30 second spritns here and there, sometimes do a progression, maybe surge on hills. sprinkle some tempos and long runs in there. that is all you need. you're trying to train hard, not smart.

that 5:20 seems promising though. don't waste it and peak in August.

the question still stands... are you a boy or a girl??

7/8/18 - 7/14/18 [32.5 miles]

7/8 - Long run lasting ~95 minutes [11 miles]

7/9 - Easy run lasting ~40 minutes [5 miles]

7/10 - Easy run lasting ~60 minutes [7.5 miles]

7/11 - Rest (swam a lot)

7/12 - Easy run lasting ~35 minutes [4.5 miles]

7/13 - Rest (endured an 11 hour drive home from the beach)

7/14 - Easy run lasting ~35 minutes [4.5 miles]

I spent this week at the beach with a friend's family. We stayed in an apartment located on a peninsula in Gulf County, Florida. I enjoyed running on the bike path that follows the coast line. It makes for good "out-and-back" routes. Even at 6:00 in the morning, heat and humidity were beginning to rear their ugly heads. This made finishing my runs a discomforting experience despite the easy pace.