Mile Clubs and Summer Training Guidelines
Summer Running Clubs
Any runner who documents that he or she ran a minimum of 300 or 500 miles will automatically become a member of the summer running club. Members will receive a "300 Mile Club" or "500 Mile Club" t-shirt upon attaining membership in either club.
Mileage for the clubs will be the total miles ran and documented over any consecutive 11 (12 for incoming freshmen) weeks between February 8th and August 14th. Mileage must be kept track of during the 11 weeks, not done from memory after the fact.
The purpose of summer running is to have a great season, not to get a T-shirt!! Please follow the guidelines below and communicate with coaches to ensure you run summer mileage in such a way that you will have the best chance to have a good season.
Breakdown of Summer Running
300 mile club
25 miles / week for 12 weeks
4 days/week = 50-60 minutes per day, 6.25 miles per day
5 days/week = 40-50 minutes per day, 5 miles per day
27 miles / week for 11 weeks
4 days/week = 54-70 minutes per day, 6.75 miles per day
5 days/week = 44-55 minutes per day, 5.5 miles per day
500 mile club
42 miles / week for 12 weeks
4 days/week = 67-84 minutes per day, 8.5 miles per day
5 days/week = 56-70 minutes per day, 7 miles per day
45.5 miles / week for 11 weeks
5 days/week = 73-90 minutes per day, 9.1 miles per day
6 days/week = 60-75 minutes per day, 7.5 miles per day
Injury Prevention
Do not over train. Do not run through injuries. Do not run too hard. Do not abuse your body. Take care of yourself
Keep most runs at very low intensity (easy effort--able to talk easily the whole way) until halfway through the summer.
Stay on soft surfaces as much as possible.
Ice or soak legs in cold water after every run.
Have good shoes. A good pair of running shoes will go a long way towards preventing injuries. A pair of shoes should last the average runner between 300 and 500 miles. Do not try to get too many miles on one pair of shoes. If shoes are cost prohibitive, talk to coach about money saving ideas.
Drink lots of water. Water should be going right through you all the time. It should come out the same color it went in (clear).
Eat right. Listen to your body. If you are craving something, your body probably needs it. Eat healthy snacks throughout the day. Do not be afraid of eating--food is your fuel. Without the right fuel, you body will not go! For more specifics, talk to coach.
Avoid overtraining. Soreness and aches and pains are normal, but should go away. If pain persists, stop running for a few days. Do not injure yourself in the off-season. Do not be afraid of taking a day or two off. When you miss a run, do not try to make up for it the next day. Make up the miles you missed slowly and over several days or weeks.
Burnout Prevention/Season Preparation:
Do your summer running in cycles with one easy week for every three harder weeks.
Starting half way through the summer, if you are in good shape, add a day or two of speed/strength work (tempo runs, fartlek, hills, steady states) to your running.
Listen to your body! If you need to rest, rest. If you need to slow down, slow down.
Do not try to make up for lost time if you cannot run for some reason. Bring yourself along slowly, whenever you start running. Those who are not in as good shape when the season begins will be treated accordingly in practices.
Run in road races.
Run with the team for summer running! While running alone is better than not running, running with your teammates is immeasurably better than running alone.
Contact Coach Nelson to have a specific summer workout program created for you, or with any questions or concerns.