Preseason Training
By Catherine Sheffo
I'd like to introduce myself - I'm on of your women's cross country seniors, and a multiplatform journalism major at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism. I've worked at USA TODAY and The Arizona Republic, and this year, I'm giving you an inside look at Terps cross country and track.
Check back on this page for interviews with our top athletes, features on the teams, meet updates and more. We'll have weekly updates to keep you in the loop as we travel and compete in our second year in the Big Ten Conference from our local meets in Maryland to championships in Chicago.
We've had a busy summer both in Maryland and across the country, focusing on quality mileage and injury prevention programs to keep us strong and healthy. We've put in between 50 and 80 miles per week, starting slow and building up to workouts like tempos and track intervals toward the end of July.
A typical summer training week starts with a Sunday long run. When they can, our full-time Maryland Terps meet at the C&O Canal at Great Falls to run together on a soft surface. Other teammates train at home with friends who also compete in college, or organize training trips in New Jersey where many of our runners live.
Monday and Tuesday are double run days to get more mileage in without too much pounding on our lower legs. Tuesday afternoons are usually a tempo run, followed by a recovery day on Wednesday. After Thursday's double mileage runs, we start off Friday morning with a shakeout before our track intervals in the afternoon. Fridays are usually the longest day aside from Sundays, but the intervals are only at quick tempo pace – just enough to get our legs moving without getting too worn down. We finish up each week with a medium-length recovery run on Saturdays.
We do our longest weeks over the summer to build endurance to carry us through faster workouts and races in the fall. Our coach sends us the same picture of a triangle every summer with the note that a larger base means a higher peak at the end of the season. Summer miles can be tough, so when we can't get together we use the team Facebook page, group texting and frequent phone calls to keep in touch and encourage each other.
Our cross country Terps aren't just runners – we're newspaper journalists, New Jersey lifeguards, physical therapy volunteers and cybersecurity interns. Many of our student-athletes hold a summer job that will contribute to our successful careers down the road.
We're excited to share our season with you, as well as the track seasons ahead, and look forward to making this another big year.
