Sarah LaTour has documented two weeks of her summer training as she gears back up to have a strong senior cross country season. LaTour was the NCHSAA 3A XC Runner-Up last season and will be the top returner headed into this season. LaTour had a two week training stint on a family trip to Ireland in week 1, then in week 2 she had a senior led training week as it was at NCHSAA Dead Period where coaches aren't allowed to organize practice.
If anyone else, preferably seniors, are interested in doing a summer training blog documenting your training first ask your coach, then email us at jcreasy@MileSplit.com.
Sarah LaTour Summer Training Blog
Summer training is one of my favorite times of the season. Not only am I building base mileage for the upcoming cross country season, but I get to train and hang out with the best team in the state. During the summer, my team is focused on building up our aerobic systems with steadily increasing volume. We won't start speed work until later in the season to avoid injuries and to guard against an early peak, but we do flat and hill strides regularly so we don't completely lose our speed. Our school is fortunate enough to have trails on our campus with rolling hills and long loops so we don't have to travel around to find places to run. I have complete trust in Coach Walsh, Coach Sluiter, and Coach Thompson's training and guidance of our team to make sure we are fit and prepared for the upcoming cross country season. We do a lot of strength and core circuits during the summer and throughout the season to make us stronger runners and prevent injuries. Our team trains together every morning during the summer starting mid-June, and it's great to run with teammates early in the summer rather than running by yourself. Logging miles is just one component of summer training; eating right, hydration, sleep, recovery, and team building are a focus for us, and are the keys to a great summer of training. One of my process goals is to improve on each of those things. As Coach Walsh says, "today is gonna be awesome." And it usually is.
