In His Own Words: Nic Jacobsen - Summer Training Log Plus Bold Season Predictions

Florida XC 2014: In Their Own Words

Aug 17, 2014

Hello again! Now that I have finally gotten back home to South Florida, the heat index may be high, but the excitement is even higher! Although I enjoyed my time running through woods, over hills, along cliffs, and on beaches up north, it is comforting to be situated at home and I am eager to get back into consistent training at a high level. With this past week being the start of official practices and meetings, it has been a blast getting the team back together, running, joking, and plotting the season ahead. With that being said, I would like to take one last look back on a great summer and go into a bit more detail as to how I tackled my training.

Basically, my summer can be broken down into three different phases. The first would be early on when I was just running easy miles and trying to be consistent again. The second portion, starting in July, transitioned into running more volume but still no tough workouts. Finally, my last several weeks have been the beginning of the final part of my summer training with mileage and workouts combined. Here are some handpicked weeks from my log from each period:

Phase I (Early June):

Mon- 30min easy

Tue- 35min steady (working down to 6:15 pace or so)

Wed-35min easy

Thu-OFF

Fri- 35min steady

Sat- 30min easy

Sun- 55min steady

Phase II (Mid July in NY):

Mon- 40min easy

Tue- 48min easy (over light hills)

Wed-55min steady (pushing hard on uphills)

Thu-40min easy

Fri- 32min quick (6:25 down to 6:10)

Sat- 35min easy

Sun- 70min steady (hammering uphills with push last 1.5miles all uphill)

Phase III (Early August in MA):

Mon- 48min easy

Tue- 25mins WU, 300m hill repeats @hard effort getting quicker each rep (shuffle down hill recovery), 15mins CD

Wed-52min progressive (4m out in 27:00, 4m back in 24:50 over rolling dirt roads)

Thu-50min easy

Fri- 54min steady

Sat- 48min easy

Sun- 75min steady (first 3 easy, middle 5 @6:25—6:10, last 3 easy)

It has been a slow, gradual process this summer and I am clearly not race fit, but the goal is November, not September! Speaking of this fall, being that school activities and practices are underway it is time for me to break my own rule and look ahead at the season a bit. Some of the meets the team and I are looking at tentatively are the Kings Academy Invite on September 6th, and then the FlRunners Invitational and Palm Beach County Championships in October. I’m still not entirely sure what my full schedule is going to look like, however, as my coach is still keeping me very much in the present and solely focused on training-not racing!

Last but not least, as friends, family, and other runners have been talking to me about this cross country season, many have asked me for predictions about the team, myself, and the state meet. I thought it would be fun to give my “varsity list” of predictions for the 2014 Florida cross country season! I think I would be satisfied if I was correct on four out of these seven by the end of the year.