Hello everyone! I am Emma Rudman and I will be going into my junior year at Fort Walton Beach High School. Hope everyone’s summer training is going well. This is about to be a good season! I’m sure all of you have been running a lot this summer, which isn’t easy in the Florida heat. Even though it’s pretty rough, it is still great preparation for the season.
This summer, our team started training even before school got out. Right after track season ended, I took a few weeks off from running, but resumed swimming with Coast Aquatics, a local year-round club. I have been swimming competitively since I was 4, so it’s an important part of my life. I have found that by combining swimming and running, I feel stronger and healthier.
But this summer, I focused on running more than I have in the past, hoping to get ready for a strong cross-country season.
Weeks 1-3
Weeks 1 through 3 really kicked off and established the summer training schedule. The team practices 5 days a week at 7 AM with a mix of long runs, tempo runs, hill work (actually, bridge work because we are short on hills here) as well as recovery and easier distance days. The location depends on what the focus is for each run. Because of conflicts with my swim schedule, I typically run 3 to 4 days with the team and other miles on my own. I find running with my Garmin extremely helpful as it keeps me focused on my pace whether I am running alone or with a group. My training pace ranges from 6:30 to 7:30 depending on the day.
Mondays: Trail run/long run days ranging from 5 to 8 miles with core work and a 2 hour swim workout.
Tuesdays: Tempo runs ranging from 4 to 6 miles with weights, pushups and a 2 hour swim workout.
Wednesdays: Hill workouts averaging about 5 miles plus abs and pushups.
Thursdays: Tempo runs ranging from 4 to 6 miles with abs and pushups plus a 2 hour swim workout.
Fridays: Recovery run and great breakfast with the team at the coaches’ house. Friday is bonding day.
Saturdays: 2 hour swim practice and 30 minute core and strength building exercises. Evening run to round out miles for the week.
Sundays: Rest, eat well and recover.
Running Miles: 23 to 27
Swimming Miles: 20 to 23
Weeks 4 and 5
As the summer progressed, my focus shifted to running more miles in preparation for the season and for a Week 6 running camp. I tried to keep my swimming miles up, but they decreased slightly during this time period as my running miles climbed. I followed a similar schedule as the first three weeks with the exception of incorporating some speed work into running. I also had to run some easier miles Sunday to build mileage going into camp and the remainder of the season.
Running Miles: 29-32
Swimming Miles: 19-21
Week 6
This week we went to Warrior Running Camp. It was a great experience meeting new people from teams in Florida, Georgia and Alabama, some of which we will see in upcoming meets! It helped to bond our team and make us stronger, but it wasn’t easy. There is definitely a lot more hills in Georgia, to say the least. Aside from the running, we had fun doing other camp activities such as games and going to a nearby baseball game. It was an unforgettable week!
Running Miles: 38
Swimming Miles: 0
Weeks 7 and 8
I really enjoyed camp but I was pretty exhausted from all the hills and could feel the time I had spent out of the pool. Ironically, my family decided to take a short vacation immediately following camp in the Georgia mountains, so that meant 3 more days of fun hill work. The intensity of my running picked up when we returned with more miles and speed work built into team practices. Got back into the pool and started building my swim miles.
Running Miles: 36-39
Swimming Miles: 10
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