Summer Training Blog: Will Merritt (Entries #2 & #3)

This week I traveled down to Asheville, North Carolina to the All-American Cross Country Camp sponsored by Adidas. At the camp I met a number of outstanding runners from North Carolina and even had the opportunity to meet Brandon Hudgins and Graham Crawford (2016 Olympic Trials semi-finalists in 1500 meters). My focus so far this summer has been to experiment with running increased weekly mileage. I didn't start running competitively until about a year and a half ago, so to date my weekly mileage has been somewhat low (under 50 miles a week).

Eight hour drive to Asheville followed by moving into dorms. We were then assigned running groups by the camp directors and soon after went for a relaxed 6-mile trail run around the campus of The Christ School to loosen up after the car ride.

A.M. -  8.5-mile run at a place called Hooker Falls. Some extremely steep inclines made this some pretty brutal hill training.

P.M. - 3.25-mile relaxed run on trails led by a familiar face- camp counselor, Dulaney alum, and incoming NC State freshman Eric Walz.

10-mile run at the Dupont State Forest. This trail had rolling hills that were very comparable to the back part of the Hereford high school cross country course.

2.5-mile warm up followed by a tempo run on the track. Tempo run splits: 5:30, 5:12, 5:06, and 5:00 with a two minute slow jog between each mile. This was a great session as I stayed completely aerobic and ran this workout with Eric Walz and another Kenny Kneisel (another incoming NC State freshman).

A.M. 7-mile run at the North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville.

P.M. 3.5-mile relaxed run on trails around campus of The Christ School.

A.M. - 4-mile trail run around campus of The Christ School, followed by the car ride home.

P.M. - 4-mile run back in Smithsburg