Why training alone will help me this cross-country season

Summer training.

For cross-country runners, it can make or break a season.  If you log too many miles in the summer, your body will inevitably pay you back with either burning out or an injury.  If you slack off during the summer, your coach and teammates will see that day one of preseason and you’ll be playing catch-up for months.  Summer training is a delicate balance between dedication and temptation.

Especially if you’re training alone.

Most of my teammates have the luxury of living close to or nearby teammates (or even old high school friends and teammates) to train with over the summer. They can discuss workouts and provide each other company on long runs.  Sadly, I don’t have this luxury.

The closest I live to one of my teammates is a good hour away.  We both are full-time interns working 40 hours a week, so getting together with him would take more effort than running by myself.  This is nothing new, either; the last two summers have been solitary out on the roads for me, so I’m used to it. The past two summers however, I eschewed the thought of going out on my daily run alone, especially because I was so used to running with other people.

Yet, this summer, either I’ve approached it with a different attitude or seen something I hadn’t realized, which is the value in training alone to the point that it will even benefit me for the upcoming cross-country season.  Here’s why:

Toughness

This summer, more than any other one previous, has been a true grind to get in my weekly mileage.  Not only am I training at a much higher level this summer than I have been in the past, but I’m working a full-time internship 40 hours a week while also commuting 90 minutes per day.  With 9 hours devoted to work, another 1.5 devoted to commuting, running is the last thing I want to do afterwards, but it’s the first on my mind.  Training at a mentally compromised state will make you stronger. I promise that.

But that’s not all.  As aforementioned, all of my teammates have old friends or current teammates to train with every summer.  Half of the team lives on Long Island, so they routinely get together for long runs on nice trails and workouts with no hills.

Me? Every single day, I’m out there alone. I don’t have that support group telling me, “OK, it’s  6 p.m., time to go for a run.  Nobody at home would know that I didn’t run a particular day because I was “tired” or “didn’t feel like it”.   If anything, running alone has toughened me up dramatically, a trait I desperately need for the latter miles of the 8K.  Having that support system that I have at school vanish during the summertime is dangerous.    It’s just as easy to not run than to run every day when you’re training alone.  You’re your own coach, teammate, critic and support system, and entirely independent.

Terrain

Living in the Adirondacks means one thing: hills, and lots of them.  I’m inadvertently getting stronger every day because I run on hilly terrain.  On a typical 10-mile run, I’ll go through an elevation change of close to 750 feet.  That’s a lot for an easy distance day.  And that’s the flattest place I run.  Hills are a blessing in disguise; you loathe them with the utmost of passion daily, but on race day you’re thankful for having trained on them day after day. 

Focus

I’ve been able to focus every workout, long run or off day based on my schedule.  While I do have my coach who guides my summer training, I’m primarily able to tailor my workouts based upon my own feeling.  Am I feeling a little worn down? I’ll take an easy day today.  Feeling strong? Maybe I’ll hammer today, or move my workout up a day.  It’s hard to do that when you’re one of 35 on a team.  Most of my teammates and I usually do our workouts on the same day or follow the same schedule.   I’ve had some freedom to become creative with my schedule and try new types of training.  The result has been a few findings as to what works for my body and what doesn’t that I was oblivious to before.

Volume

The volume of training this summer has been incomparable to summers past.  A little detail that my teammates may not know; I only had one (yes ONE) 60-mile week last summer, and that was the week prior to preseason.  The rest were in the 50s.  I had to play a little bit of catch-up myself last summer, which wasn’t fun.  This year? I’ve been at a consistent mid 60s level since June, am on pace to hit 70-75 this week and am ready to hold it at that until I bump it up again at preseason.  The extra mileage will assuredly help me get into shape faster, barring injury.  Taking ice baths and stretching three times a day will go a long way to ensure that I stay healthy, which I have been doing. 

That doesn’t go without saying that this summer’s training has been immensely difficult.  To find the time and energy to run after long hours at the office is no easy feat.  No I see why so many adults with real jobs and families have trouble finding the time.  I have a newfound appreciation for those dedicated runners out there who still run daily despite being a caregiver or working even longer days than I am. 

Putting in this work over the summer has given me more confidence that I’ll be able to achieve my goals this upcoming season.  They’re not easy and will require everything I have, another reason why I go out there every day; I want to achieve so badly.  I want to prove those who have doubted, including myself.  I need to prove my legitimacy as a Division I runner.  This summer training along will (hopefully) guide me there as preseason starts in just 3.5 short weeks, where I’ll be ready to run.  Plus, it’s going to be pretty nice to run with my teammates, too.