by Larry Eder
This is Sunday, May 19, 2024.
Week 10, day 7.
This is your long run day.
Your workout:
Warm up slowly,
75-90 minutes of running for juniors and seniors and 65-70 minutes for freshmen and sophomores.
Hydrate,
Cooldown,
get out of wet clothes,
Recover,
Larry’s Deep Thoughts:
Long runs build many things.
Long runs are part of your weekly programs if you are a middle-distance runner.
I would run on trails on many long runs. My first real long run was in the summer of 1977 at Quicksilver Park in New Almaden, near San Jose, California. Hollis Logue III, a writer for Runners World in the 1970s and a trust lawyer most of his career, was one of my training partners. We would run in Quicksilver Park 3 times a week, a 15-17 mile run, just enjoying the trails, grinding up the hills, and enjoying the bobcats, turkey buzzards, deer, and wild pigs in the park. Hollis would tell us jokes that had me gasping more than the hills.
Running on trails during most of the summers in college helped build up my base and gave me confidence in climbing any hill on a cross-country course. I recall the 5.8-mile home course we had at Coyote-Helyer Park. The mountain came near the end, giving me the confidence to move late in the race.
Long runs build you up.
The picture below is of the late George Young. George was a four-time Olympian, three times in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and one time in the 5,000-meter steeplechase. George was one of American history’s toughest and most enduring distance runners. George broke 4 minutes for the mile at the ripe old age of 34.
George went on to become a coach and Athletic director. The picture below shows George taking the bronze medal in the steeplechase at the Mexico Olympics, being passed by two altitude-trained athletes in the last 300 meters. George also finished 16th in the marathon (what a double) in Mexico!
