2025 Summer Mileage, August 8, 2025, Week 5, Day 5, an easy day

2025 Summer Mileage, Week 5, Day 5, August 7, 2025, an easy day

2025 Summer Mileage, August 8, 2025, Week 5, Day 5, 45-60 minutes of easy running in one session or two, cooldown. 

#SummerMileage, #hillrunning, #RunBlogRunSummerMileage, #running, #crosscountry,

Some reasoning for Hill Training (thought you might want to consider this one again)

Hill Training is my secret sauce for training cross country and track and field!

In the classic Arthur Lydiard, the New Zealand coach who revolutionized distance training in the 1960s, hill training was its own specific period of training, prior to track work.

In the complex training system of Coach Pat Clohessy, the coach of Rob De Castella, hill training was done all year round, a moderate day, done over a 5k with 8-10 hill charges.

The great Lasse Viren, 1972 and 1976 Olympic 10,000m/5,000m champion, hill training prepared him for track racing. His classic was 20 x 800m hill workout, done once to twice a week, followed by some short track intervals after a 50-50-50, jog, sprint, jog for 5,000 meters.

I embraced hill training, in my last years in college. building up to 20 x 800m hill a day, 2-3 days a week, 8-10 weeks. I beat myself up, then, dropped mileage, built into track work and including 4 races in build up, ran 8 straight races, from 2 miles to 10,000m scoring PBs including four straight tough 10ks on the road.

Hill training is perfect training, it will get you into shape rather quickly. My coach buddy, Joe Mangan, who I worked with for six years at Foothill College was a hill evangelist. We did hills almost every day for 4-6 weeks. We had young men and women who did not run over the summer. We built them from grumpy out of shape runners to calloused cross country runners who could handle the 4.2 mile XC courses with slight hills. We gave them six mile hill runs that were challenging, as the were able to do it. Hill work builds body strength, speed, confidence and safely helps you handle higher loads.

Consider hill training all year long. Ron Warhurst, the long time developer of milers at Michigan, and coach at Very Nice Track Club, includes hill training all year long.

Hills can work for you! Ask your coach their opinion!

#USATFoutdoors, #USATF, #JourneytoGold, #NIKErunning, #NIKE, #HaywardField, #Haywardmagic, #runblogrun, #runningnetwork, #RBRSummerMileage, #colehockers, #steeplechase.

In his sophomore year of track, Steve Prefontaine did not make the state meet. He was embarrassed and upset with himself. That summer, he planned, with his coaches, a ruthless series of training runs over the summer. He not only did mileage, he made himself stronger. He made himself tougher. That fall, Steve Prefontaine was ready for his junior season of high school cross country.

Will. you be ready? Follow our daily training suggestions, and daily athlete stories and you will be ready to race in the fall! 

The Nike Pegasus PLUS is a great entry shoe for high school cross country. You should consider it, and learn more about it at nike.com. It is light, cushioned, a good summer mileage shoe. If you need a little more cushioning, try the Vomero 18. The Vomero 18 has more cushioning that the Pegasus PLUS. If you like NIKE, I would suggest high schoolers use the NIKE Pegasus PLUS for Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I would suggest the Vomero 18 for Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I always suggest two pairs of training shoes. Why on Vomero 18? It is a cushioned shoe that feels great and is good on the roads and trails.

If you need a more cushioned shoe, try the Vomero 18 and the Vomero 18 PLUS, for great cushioning, a more sophisticated ride. Check them out at your local NIKE retailer or NIKE running store.

Do you want to be a better cross country runner than you were in the past? Focus and follow our training. It is all about the consistency. 

For Great Summer reading! Self Made Olympian by Ron Daws, A Clean Pair of Heels by Murray Halberg, Pre! by Tom Jordan, Quicksilver, The Mercurial Emil Zatopek, by Pat Butcher, The Destiny of Alain Mimoun, by Pat Butcher (a monograph)

Remember, one day at a time!!!! #SummerMileage, #CrossCountry, 

Larry Eder has had a 52-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America’s first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: “I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself.” Also does some updates for BBC Sports at key events, which he truly enjoys.

Theme song: Greg Allman, ” I’m no Angel.”

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